Finding a reliable pan set is a process that can feel never-ending. Just when you find a good one, the dreaded peeling of the non-stick surface begins and you’re back to square one.
That’s how I was feeling before I tried this Our Place pan, as well as more than a little worried about the presence of microplastics in my kitchen.
I feel like I’ve had a change of fortunes with this frying pan and pot, which are not only virtually indestructible but also boast the best non-stick credentials I’ve ever encountered. Here’s why the pan from this set has risen fast to the very top of my ranking of the best non-stick frying pans around.
Our Place
Titanium Pro Cookware Set
Sold as the brand’s ‘high-performance’ range, the titanium set is kitted out with NoCo nonstick technology and is dishwasher and metal utensil safe.
In a nutshell
I’ve been using this pan for months now (often twice or three times a day) and it’s held up like a dream. The most important thing for me with an everyday pan is the non-stick and that’s where it excels.
Important PSA: there is no non-stick coating here. Instead, the titanium interior is purposely constructed into a pattern to repel anything from catching.
I’ve tried eggs, meat, lasagnes, pancakes, sticky sauces and the rest. None of them pose a threat to the non-stick material and even in scenarios where I’ve turned the heat too high for too long, an effort-free clean brings the surface back around.
My biggest gripe with these pans is that the stainless steel exterior can prove tricky to keep pristine all the time after hand-washing, but it’s a small price to pay for a product this good.
One last thing to note is that the exterior in general holds up far better than the original Always Pan if you’ve tried that product – mine started to lose its appeal after years of use on a gas hob left unsightly black marks. The stainless steel here is a much better alternative.
Our Place Titanium Cookware specs
- Materials: Stainless steel exterior, aluminium core, titanium interior with NoCo® nonstick technology
- Metal utensil safe? Yes
- Dishwasher safe? Yes
- Pan diameters: 50.1 cm length, 27.6 cm diameter, 6 cm depth, 13.4 cm height with lid
- Warranty: Lifetime
- RRP: Titanium Always Pan: £170, Titanmium Pro Mini Cookware Duo: £250
Unboxing and first impressions
Before I began testing this set my everyday pan was the Always Pan 2.0 in Sage (£125 at Our Place). This, the Titanium Always Pan, is the more sophisticated edition of that product, retaining all of the good bits and ironing out its issues.
I was guilty of overusing and overheating my old Always Pan 2.0 (it’s meant for medium temperatures only) which led to some chipping of the non-stick coating and a burnt bottom of my pan. Clearly, I needed a pan I could put through a bit more.
That’s why the ‘indestructible’ claim with this Titanium version was intriguing. It’s oven safe up to 535°C and has a titanium cooking surface that’s meant to be 300% harder than stainless steel. Seeing as chefs swear by stainless steel pans, I had high hopes for this miracle material.
I tried the standard sized pan and the mini pot. There’s also a mini pan (£125 at Our Place) which I think might be the perfect student or one-portion option.
My initial impressions? I was impressed they were so lightweight and worried that the stainless steel exteriors would be a pain to keep clean over time.
Before you get started you need to use a high smoke point oil to activate the non-stick, which was easily done.
What are they like to use?
I’ve used these pans day in, day out since June. Here’s everything I’ve used them for (that I remembered to photograph!).
Eggs
To test how good a non-stick pan is, you can’t beat eggs. Every type of egg (fried, scrambled, these Ottolenghi baked ones) comes out so well with this pan, which is just as capable on a low heat to prevent overcooking for scrambling as it is when popped into a roaring hot oven.
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Fish
Cooking fish like this can be a delicate operation so that you’re not left with a dry dinner. Even within this sticky sauce, getting these basa fillets succulently cooked on either side was easy, especially as I was able to use my metal fish slice on the surface of the pan.
Portioning out cooked rice from the accompanying Perfect Pot was also straightforward and it is somewhat mentally freeing to be able to go in with any metal utensil to fluff or stir without having to worry about scratches.
Lasagne
Next a test of how this pan transitions from hob to oven. I made a sausage one-pot cheat lasagne, beginning by browning the meat in a sauce with veggies. On a high heat, this pan is so excellent for getting colour onto meat without pushing over into burning too easily.
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The shape of the pan and the high sides also made adding in my lasagne sheets without any breakage a smooth experience. I then added it into the oven to melt the mozzarella at 220°C and returned 15 minutes a later to the beautifully done end product.
Stir fry
One of the best woks is the kind of pan you really want to be using for a stir fry but I unfortunately don’t have the cookware storage set up of my dreams just yet. Luckily the shape of this pan makes it so multifunctional, so I’ve used it many times for noodle dishes in the time I’ve been testing it.
Cooking on an induction, you can’t really handle this pan like you would a wok on a gas hob, but using metal tongs to distribute everything around certainly helps here. And there was nothing left sticking to the pan by the end.
Chicken
I cooked chicken thighs in a marinade as part of a recipe, popping on the lid to ensure that the meat cooked through. I found the thighs were evenly browned and cooked well and though the marinade left a mess behind, a run through the dishwasher meant the pans came back up gleaming.
I have seen some reviews complain that the grid texture of this pan can mark meat that you’re searing, but even with the added grill marks, I can’t see why that would have any impact on flavour.
Risotto
I feel like a stainless steel pan is always a winner for cooking risotto, so I gave it a go with this wide, flat pan to see how it fared. I was worried that the smaller grains of risotto rice might stick in the tiny grooves of the bottom of the pan.
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Luckily this wasn’t the case, with the non-stick also providing an ideal surface for the constant stirring you need to do with a risotto. I also just love the size of this pan for a family’s worth of portions.
Cleaning
The stainless steel exterior of this pan, as with all of this type, attracts fingerprints and marks and smears. There’s no getting away from it, so just be wary if you want a total low-maintenance looking pan.
Despite everything I’ve ever thrown at these pans, they look as good as the day I got them. They definitely come out fresher after a turn in the dishwasher, with the high heat bringing out the shine but a soak or a handwash can also suffice. The fact that it’s impossible to chip the non-stick is a godsend.
Comparisons
My immediate comparison would be to our HexClad 7-Piece Hybrid Cookware Set review. Another expensive set, this time with trademark hexagonal patterning, HexClad’s non-stick also wowed our reviewer and home economist Helen. She found it hard to fault the brand.
I personally prefer the look of the Our Place titanium pans and I do buy into the multifunctional design of the Always Pan for those short on space, but either of these are fantastic options for a home chef.
Should you buy the Our Place Titanium Always Pan Pro?
I’d recommend this pan to anyone with no hesitation. If you’re going to buy just one pan, this one will last longer and survive through more cooking mishaps than any other and means that you’re free of worrying about microplastics altogether when cooking.
The shape of the pan makes it so versatile for everyday cooking, as well as the fact it can go from hob to oven to table. Add to that the non-stick is truly the best I’ve tried and buying this pan over any other is simple common sense.
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