I Bought The Eight-In-One "Always Pan" Six Months Ago — Here's How It's Actually Held Up Over Time (And What I Wish I Could Change About It)

Hi, I'm Farrah, and I cook a lot! I know some people don't enjoy cooking, but I'm one of those who (on certain days) don't mind it. So at the end of last year, I decided to gift myself with the Always Pan — an eight-in-one internet-famous skillet from the cookware company Our Place. I'll admit, I am a millennial who can be easily influenced by a gorgeous aesthetic. I told myself, Look at this pan!!! Look how practical it is!! YOU NEED IT.

This pan has really been hyped up online. So much so that a few weeks ago, Selena Gomez announced her partnership with Our Place, introducing her collection with the company.

There have been mixed reviews on TikTok about the Always Pan. Many TikTok users love it, and others have been less than thrilled with their purchase.

I like this pan, and I definitely don't regret buying it. However, there are a few things that I think can be improved upon! And since I've been using it for the last six months, I figured I'd give my honest review.

I bought the Always Pan back in December after desperately needing to update my cookware. The insides of my pots and pans were scratched beyond repair, and the bottoms had seen better days. For me, the selling point of the Always Pan is its multipurpose functions. I was so confident in my purchase that I got rid of all my old cookware, certain that THIS would solve all of my problems.

The Always Pan begins at $145 (but I think it was on sale during the holidays, when I purchased it) and comes as a set of four: pan, lid, steaming basket, and wooden spatula.

The biggest downside is that this pan can't go in the oven.* It's marketed as being super practical, so I was a little disappointed. You also cannot use the short handle if the pan is hot. It's part of the pan, so you WILL burn yourself unless you're using an oven mitt. I kept the sticker on as a reminder to myself because I knew I would forget. Personally, it's hard for me to lift this with one hand using the long handle, but it operates fine when I use both hands.

This is what my Always Pan looks like after six months of everyday use. The wears and tears are purely aesthetic. On one side, some of the coloring has already worn away. Womp womp. But the inside has resisted any type of scratches or damage, which is fantastic! Can't say the same for my poor Rachael Ray pans that I owned for two years.

Here's what the bottom looks like after six months of use. Not too bad, but there is a bit of staining. I don't own a dishwasher, so I wash all my stuff by hand, and I would immediately wash and dry this pan after use. It was expensive, so you better believe I was going to do whatever it took to preserve it! Our Place also sends you a special sponge for cleaning, which is a nice thought, since they don't want you to accidentally scratch the inside.

As I mentioned before, the set comes with a wooden spatula spoon. It's great in theory, but there's only so much you can do with this kitchen utensil. It's really thick and bulky, so you can't go flipping eggs with it. (I use a plastic one instead.) I also personally would not use it when cooking meat. But it's useful if you need to push some rice or veggies around.

The entire pan is meant for nesting, which means you can store the steamer and wooden spoon within it. There's a little notch where the spoon can rest, which is pretty brilliant. I have a glass-top stove in my apartment that I'm meticulous about keeping clean, so having a built-in spoon rest on the pan keeps my stove top nice and clean. I love the way the steamer works and haven't had any issues with it. As for the pan itself? Wellllllll...

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The pan is good, but maybe not as GREAT as I thought it would be, considering all the hype! I wouldn't say it's 100% nonstick, because I've run into a few issues. For whatever reason, eggs love sticking to this. I've found that butter works slightly better than oil, but in this first example, I'm showing you how my over-easy egg turned out with oil.

As you can see, it didn't come away completely clean. I never had this issue with my previous kitchenware.

Here's how my egg turned out. It's not the prettiest thing to look at, but honestly? It tasted great, so no complaints.

And here's how it turned out using butter. Much better, right? It was also delicious!

I've never run into any issues cooking grains or veggies in this pan, as shown below. It's all smooth sailing — 10/10!

I keep the heat on low to medium when I'm cooking because that's what Our Place recommends for this pan, but sometimes there is still a bit of browning at the bottom.

Here's a look at the pan after I cooked two pieces of salmon. The salmon was only seasoned with oil and spices, and I cooked it on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes. It resulted in even more browning, but this time it was REALLY on there.

After I washed the pan with warm water, dish soap, and the sponge it came with, there was still browning left behind. So I got out my trusty white vinegar–baking soda combo and got to work — because I've found this is the ONLY way to get leftovers to lift.

I let the baking soda and vinegar sit for about a minute, then started scrubbing with the sponge. It's a little hard to see, but it's coming off.

Farrah Penn / BuzzFeed

Good as new! Do I wish I didn't have to do this extra step, especially when I'm hungry and ready to eat? Of course. But it proves that your pan isn't completely ruined if you happen to cook something that's a tough clean.

Don't get me wrong — I really enjoy using this pan. I haven't given up on it! It comes in handy when you're cooking big meals (for around four or five people). I made so much soup during the winter months, and the Always Pan also makes creating one-pan masterpieces (like the dish below) super easy.

Have you used the Always Pan? Are you considering getting one? Let me know if the comments!