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Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan Review

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Introduction

The Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan is extraordinary.

It comes with a lifetime warranty, strikes a nice balance between being durable and light, and it is fully clad in stainless steel. It also comes with some nice design touches and the unpaid approval of several Michelin-star chefs.

For over two years I have been using the 12” pan for nearly every meal I cook, and once I figured out some recipes demand two pans, I bought the 10” pan as a companion. Made In also offers an 8” pan, or you can grab all 3 and get a discount for buying the full set.

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s start from the top.

Construction

Made In’s stainless steel pans are fully-clad, 5-ply pans manufactured in Italy. This means five layers of metal are bonded together across the entire surface of the pan. Made In’s fully-clad design is in contrast to disk-bottom pans which only have a clad disk on the bottom and a thin layer of steel on the sides.

Source: Made In

The cooking surface of the Made In stainless clad frying pan is a layer of 18/10 304 grade stainless steel, which resists corrosion and does not react with food. The term “18/10” means the steel is 18% Chromium, 10% Nickel, with the remaining 72% made of Iron and trace elements.

Most premium stainless steel cookware and tableware use 304 grade stainless steel, though some use 316 grade stainless steel for even better corrosion resistance and strength.

The core of this pan is made of a layer of aluminum alloy that sits between two layers of pure aluminum. This aluminum core improves conductivity which helps the pan heat up quickly and evenly. Since aluminum is only 1/3rd as dense as stainless steel, the core aluminum layers add thickness which improves durability and heat retention without adding much weight.

Finally, the bottom surface is made of high-grade ferritic 430 stainless steel. This layer is magnetic, which is necessary for using this pan on an induction stovetop.

The 12” pan weighs 3 pounds, which is towards the lighter end of premium stainless steel pans of a similar size and is less than half the weight of a typical cast iron pan. The cooking surface of the 12” pan is 9.5” which is more than enough space to tackle big meals with a single pan, and still have extra food for leftovers.

Durability

With proper care, this pan can last a lifetime. And if it doesn’t, Made In has your back. They offer a lifetime warranty, signalling confidence in both their workmanship and choice of materials.

A few other stainless steel and cast iron pans also offer lifetime warranties, but these kinds of durability guarantees are quite rare in the cookware industry.

Another factor contributing to a pan’s durability is surface thickness.

Made In’s stainless steel pans are 2.7mm thick, which is thick enough to withstand daily use but thin enough to be light. Thicker pans are more resilient to warps and dents and typically retain heat better than thinner pans, but they are also more difficult to lift and maneuver while cooking.

Another durability factor worth noting is the connection between this pan and its handle.

Made In uses stainless clad rivets to bond their pans to their handles instead of welding the two pieces together. This has some reliability benefits, but comes with an aesthetic cost.

Pans with welded handles appear to have a seamless connection with a smooth interior surface that is easy to clean. A high quality weld can also be very strong, but quality varies between manufacturers and determining the strength of a weld in advance is a challenge.

Though welding failures are rare, when a welded handle does fall off a pan, it happens suddenly. This is more likely in high stress situations, like when lifting a pan full of hot food off the stove.

Made In’s stainless clad rivets have rounded ends that protrude from the pan, but they are highly durable and just as resistant to corrosion as the rest of the pan.

Rivet failures are also rare, but when they do happen it tends to be a gradual loosening rather than a sudden break so you can detect and fix the problem before your handle falls off.

After two years, my 12” pan feels just as sturdy as my newer 10” pan, and has not suffered any warps or dents. The rivets connecting the pan to the handle have never shifted or become loose either. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought the pan and handle were a single piece of steel.

Setup & Maintenance

One strength of stainless steel pans is that you can start using the pan right away without any of the pre-seasoning one might perform on a cast iron or carbon steel pan.

This pan is also dishwasher safe and does not contain any toxic coatings or PFOAs one might find on a non-stick pan.

However, one common criticism of stainless steel pans is that food tends to stick to the surface more often than on a seasoned cast iron pan or a non-stick surface.

It is true that there is a learning curve to cooking with stainless steel, but once you’ve mastered the art of pre-heating your stainless steel pan, you can confidently cook without fear of your food sticking to the pan.

If you do happen to burn food on your pan, you can soak your pan, toss it in the dishwasher, or in extreme cases, rub the food stains out with some baking soda and vinegar.

Cooking Experience

Made In has elevated the cooking experience of this pan with a few nice touches.

The most obvious upgrade is the rolled rims. The entire pan’s rim extends outwards to eliminate spills when pouring liquids and to make it easier to move delicate foods out of the pan.

The rolled rims have been far more useful than I expected them to be, and they are now a feature I would not want to live without.

The flattened handle and brushed steel finish provide a better grip when tilting the pan to pour liquids, and the smooth edges of the handle offer a comfortable feel while cooking.

The handle’s hollow core also keeps it cool when cooking and cuts down on extra weight.

This pan is oven safe up to 800°F, which means you can seamlessly move food from the stovetop into the oven without needing a second pan, something I frequently do when searing steaks.

Because of the ferritic 430 grade stainless steel exterior, you can also use this pan on all stovetops: gas, ceramic, electric coil, and induction. However, for cooking on a grill or an open fire, Made In recommends their carbon steel pan which can handle temperatures upwards of 1200°F.

Aesthetics

Made-In has subtle branding on this pan with logos hidden on the bottom surface of the pan, underneath the handle, along with one small icon on the neck of the handle.

The placement of the logos makes it so none of the logos are even visible while you’re using the pan.

One final aesthetic note is that this pan has a brushed finish which does a good job hiding any fingerprints, smudges, and scratches that come with use.

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