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Our Place dazzled the cookware marketplace in 2020 with their Always Pan, a pan designed to replace all the crusty, bulky pans shoved into your kitchen cabinets with one perfect pan that could do it all. They definitely delivered on that promise, and I’m delighted to share that even after over a year of using mine daily it’s still in very good condition. Now, they’ve introduced a sister piece called the Perfect Pot, constructed to accomplish the same goal on your stove top, replace all your old, cracked pots with one great one that can do it all from boiling to crisping. I was lucky enough to receive a sample of this brand new pot and I’m happy to share that they’ve done it again, this time with a bigger, more complicated piece of cooking machinery.
The number of functions you can perform with this pot is impressive, they include standard tasks like crisping up bacon, braising a roast, steaming vegetables (which you can also easily do in the Always Pan), boiling, baking and serving. The pot has a 5.5 quart capacity which is about family sized, and works with all cooktops, including induction. My stove is a gas cooktop with spider burners and it works perfectly.
It weighs just 4.5 pounds with the lid, which feels super lightweight compared to other dutch ovens or large soup pots, and the nontoxic, nonstick ceramic coating on the outside looks beautiful and performs well.
It comes with a roasting rack that doubles as a steamer, and it’s got a Beechwood Spoon designed to nest two different ways on the pot. The modular lid has modes for letting steam out or keeping heat in, can easily strain pasta, and the pour spout makes getting rid of excess liquid, oil or fat super easy.
Courtesy of Our Place
Our Place Perfect Pot: Review
This pot is impressive. It conducts heat beautifully, it does feel super lightweight and it’s extremely easy to clean. All of the dishes I’ve made in it thus far have been tomato-based, and I’ve let them cool in the pot after serving on purpose to get grime stuck on the sides. As soon as I took a sponge, soap and water to the pot all of the stuck-on food came off almost immediately, and it didn’t require a soak like other pots do. Granted the nonstick coating on the side is brand new, but judging by how well it’s held up in the Always Pan after a year of multiple uses a day, I’m guessing it’ll still be impressive a year from now.
The roasting rack fits well inside the pot and has soft feet so it grips the floor of the pot and feels stable while you’re using it. The pot went in and out of the oven just fine, and the spoon rest is convenient while you’re not using it. I wouldn’t recommend placing it on the pot while the pot is hot, as it’ll burn the wood. This happened to me with the Always Pan and the spatula it comes with, so now I use a regular spoon rest while actually cooking.
My stove gets very hot, especially when the oven is on. The pot didn’t burn any of the food inside of it, even garlic, and heated up quickly so it was ready to use as soon as I finished chopping all my vegetables.
The pot’s handles do get very hot while cooking, so it’s similar to a cast iron pan in that you can’t touch it with your bare hands once you get going. I wish they had added some sort of temperature-proof coating or other protective measure on the handles, but I’m guessing that would’ve sacrificed the cohesive design.
Courtesy of Our Place
Another note, that applies to both Our Place products, is that I don’t really understand building in a utensil that can rest on the pot if it can’t do so while you’re cooking. During the meal prep is when the utensil is dirty and needs to be stored off the counter, but if you place the spoon or spatula on the Perfect Pot or Always Pan while you’re cooking it will most definitely burn. Sure, storing them together makes the spoon or spatula easy to find next time, but it seems like a flawed design overall.
My Verdict: Buy It
The pot is a tad large for smaller households of 1-2 people, but it functions very well and will replace your other pots and pans with its functionality. It looks beautiful, cooks very well and cleans easier than any other kitchen gadget I own. It’s also much lighter and easier to lift in and out of the oven, so it would be great for young and older users alike.
It comes in four different colors and is available to ship now. It would make a great Christmas gift for someone who loves shiny new cookware, or a great gift for yourself ahead of the holiday meal prep season. Go for it, Our Place has delivered once again.
You can also purchase both the Always Pan and Perfect Pot together in a bundle, if you’re sold on both and want to indulge.
