If you’re curious about ceramic cookware, I recently switched most of our cookware over. Here’s my Caraway cookware review. This post isn’t sponsored, but I was given the set to review.
Get a Complete Cookware or Bakeware set $150 off when you shop through my Caraway partner link. Both are normally priced at $545, so you get them for $395!
Caraway Cookware Review
As I’ve worked to clean up many of our household products, I’ve been interested in switching to ceramic cookware.
What you cook your food in (especially at high temperatures) should be just as important as choosing the food itself.
Is Caraway Cookware Safe?
There is some emerging research on the forever chemicals that are commonly used to make non-stick pans.
PFAS, a group of about 5,000 synthetic compounds, are present in the blood in nearly 100% of the U.S. population.
Per the FDA, the main suspected source is from our food supply. Polytetrafluoroethylene, aka Teflon, is in 95% of nonstick pans. And polytetrafluoroethylene can be released into food at high heat.
Research by the Environmental Working Group has shown that forever chemicals take decades to leave the body and they never break down in the environment.
So I can’t imagine how many of those are hanging out in my body during the years I’ve been using them (sometimes scratched, which is the worst for leaching into food!).
Ceramic is better choice for healthy home cooks
If you create a spectrum with traditional nonstick cookware, like Teflon-coated on the far left, and cast iron, carbon steel, or a stainless steel pan on the right, ceramic coated cookware would fall right in the middle.
It doesn’t have the forever chemicals of traditional non-stick coatings yet it doesn’t take the elbow grease – or literal grease – that those timeless pans require to maintain.
This chart is a great visual:
The Caraway Cookware Sets
Caraway Home has been on my radar for YEARS as one of the leading ceramic companies.
I can’t tell you how many times I almost bought their beautiful cookware sets. What held me back was that Thomas and I had a nice mixed collection of cookware that we merged together when we got married, so I never took the plunge.
I actually did purchase small and large Caraway baking sheets when they first came out last Christmas.
Our old baking sheets were scratched and gross, and I have been SO HAPPY with the ceramic sheets ever since (more below!).
Plus we have been gifted several of the Our Place cookware pieces (like the Always Pan), so I never thought it necessary to buy the whole set.
Caraway recently reached out and asked if I’d like to write a Caraway cookware review. I responded with an enthusiastic yes.
Then we sorted through our cookware and decided what to keep and what to donate to make room for the new set.
You can buy Caraway cookware as a set or as individual pans, depending on what you need and use. The set is discounted as a bundle though, so you’ll save $150 over buying it all al la carte.
In addition, the Caraway pots and pans come in some gorgeous colors!! I decided on navy since it’s a theme color in our house and also being a darker color that will hopefully not show as much grime over time.
What Is Caraway Cookware Made Of?
They feel like very high quality cookware and are on the heavier side.
- The pans are made from aluminum at the core and coated in non-stick ceramic with stainless steel handles.
- The cookware is oven-safe up to 550 degrees.
- You can also use it on all of the common cooktops: gas, electric, and induction.
- Pots and pans are free of potentially toxic materials including PFOA, PTFE, other PFAs, lead, cadmium, or toxic cookware metals and made without hard anodization.
What’s Included In The Cookware Set
- 10.5-inch fry pan
- 3-quart sauce pan
- 4.5-quart sauté pan
- 6.5-quart Dutch oven
- Matching lids
- A cork trivet
- ORAGANIZERS!!
The Storage System
I was PUMPED about the storage system, and luckily they fit perfectly in my lazy susan.
Shout out to our Always Pan – which we’re keeping – in the middle! I LOVE the sideways storage – brilliant!
The unstacking of pans to find the one you need is never a fun process.
The magnetic pan racks are like storage dividers and snap together.
I do find that they shift forward and backward when getting a pan in and out, so I wish they were a little more weighted.
You can stack them vertically too, but I found with that direction that they were too tippy with a heavy pan inside, so we went with horizontal.
Lid Storage
I was very sad that the canvas lid holder did not work in our kitchen. We didn’t have a lower cabinet door that was wide and tall enough.
However, I will be saving the lid storage to use if we re-do the kitchen! For now, our lids are placed in a drawer, and that works well enough.
Is Caraway Cookware Worth It?
Cleanup
How do they work? So far we’ve been very impressed!! I knew from the sheet pans I’d already purchased that the non-stick ceramic coating was good. I will blacken meatloaf crust onto the pan and it literally wipes off. Over a year later, the nonstick coating looks good as new. I use olive oil or butter as my cooking medium on most things.
The pots have been the same – easy to clean and they totally look brand new.
This residue was left from steaming an artichoke and it wiped right out.
Should food get stuck, Caraway recommends a mixture of 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar soaked for 30 minutes and then using a gentle scrubbing brush.
Is Caraway Cookware Dishwasher Safe?
Unfortunately, the pans aren’t dishwasher safe, but I don’t tend to put cookware in the dishwasher anyways, so that’s not a huge deal for me.
Wear and Tear
I can’t speak yet to how many years they will continue to look new.
One major difference between these and the Our Place pans is the outer coating is slick, so grime has washed off easier.
The Always Pan has a very rough outer coating, and the outside of our pink pan looked brown in a matter of weeks (the ceramic inside, however, looked brand new.)
The brown stains would not come off. So far the Caraway pans have come clean.
I have noticed a few chips on the bottom of the pans, likely from me banging them hard on the rough stove grates.
I hope this is not a bad sign for chips in the future. So I will update this post to let you know!
Make sure you always use wooden or silicone utensils since metal utensils can scratch the ceramic coating.
The Caraway Bakeware Set
We also got the half bakeware set which comes with a muffin tin, baking pan, and the small and large baking sheets. As mentioned above, these are the best baking sheets I have ever used!
They are on the heavy side, but it hasn’t been a problem to take them in and out of the oven with one hand.
I love the metal handles on the side of the larger sheet, and the smaller sheet is perfect for a half-dozen cookies or a bunch of asparagus.
Bakeware Storage
The organizer is pretty awesome too! But just like the lids, the bakeware organizer didn’t fit in our lower cabinets. But luckily I already had a vertical organizer that the sheet pans fit well in.
The organizer did fit well in our upper cabinet space, so I am storing less-used bakeware up there.
How Caraway Is Sold
You can buy Caraway directly through their website and get free shipping on $90 and up orders.
They also have free returns.
Lastly there is a 30-day trial for a full refund. Note returns do need to be in original packaging, so keep your box while you test drive everything.
The sets do go on sale, so keep your eye out for those too!
If you just want to try one thing to accent your cookware collection, I would recommend the large sauté pan and the large baking sheet.
Shop here.
This post includes affiliate links
Heidi D. says
I got the green Caraway set. They truly are beautiful. I have had no issues with 3 of my pans but the sauté (smaller) pan has discoloration and food sticks to it- especially fried eggs ?it’s a pain to get it clean even with the vinegar/baking soda mixture. I’m really bummed because I’ve only had the pans for almost a year. Only use silicone spatulas and let pans cool before cleaning. It’s not in my budget to replace the pan right now but I love it enough and believe in the product to replace again. Great review Kath!
Emily says
Reach out to them about cleaning method. They replaced mine when that didn’t work and I was having issues with sticking when it was still relatively new.
Chris says
I also have the fry pan and hate it. Eggs stick. Can’t make pancakes in it for the same reason. Waste of money, in my opinion.
Kath Younger says
I still use butter with my eggs but not nearly as much as I’d need in a stainless pan.
Sadie says
Honest question, how is it not sponsored if they gave you hundreds of dollars worth of pots and pans in exchange for a review? Isn’t that the definition of sponsored? I’m not being snarky, I’m trying to understand what these words mean!
I will always be loyal to my Le Creuset – the quality is without rival!
Kath Younger says
It means they didn’t pay me to write a post. Gifted but not sponsored.
Lois says
Artichokes come out perfectly in the InstantPot! Same with potatoes, beets, and eggs.
BTW, that olive sweater in one of your recent posts is so flattering. You need to wear that color more often. Way more often.
Meg Southern says
I hate my set. I used it about a handful of times, always cleaning carefully. Everything sticks to it. Also, Lead Mama tested the Caraway pan and found “ Caraway “cookware without the chemicals” positive for 20 metals including Lead, Mercury, Cobalt & Antimony (when tested with XRF technology.” Needless to say, I am beyond disappointed.
Please refer to Tamara Rubin, Lead Mama’s site for her article.
https://tamararubin.com/2021/08/caraway-cookware-without-the-chemicals-tested-positive-for-20-metals-including-lead-mercury-cobalt-antimony-when-tested-with-xrf-technology/
Kath Younger says
Hey Meg, I can’t speak for Caraway so I asked for any response that they had about this claim. Here’s what they said:
As a brand, we stand firm in our products and believe in the safety of our non-stick coatings. We have conducted thorough testing through accredited third-party agencies, including but not limited to SGS S.A and NSL Analytical. In addition, we regularly review the authenticity of claims made where appropriate. Although these tests were performed by third parties and we cannot guarantee accuracy of third-party findings, we stand firm by their results and conclusions.
It’s important to note – our tests are only performed on our non-stick coating and not on the cookware materials itself, as the interior surface and coating is the only food-contact area, therefore components such as the handles or bases may yield different and unrelated results. It is our belief that these tests being performed by parties unrelated to Caraway have tested the handle, base and/or other non-food contact areas of the products.
Our cookware is made with an aluminum core and have stainless steel bases and handles. The interior is made with a non-stick coating free of lead, cadmium, PTFE, PFOA, and other harmful chemicals. The non-stick is a sol-gel processed fine ceramic coating material formed from a low curing temperature.
We are very transparent with all claims we make, and we stand firm in confirming that our non-stick coating is created without many of the common toxins and metal traces found in traditional non-stick cookware in the market.
Please see the links to our test reports below conducted on our non-stick coatings:
California Prop 65 leaching tests for heavy metals
LFGB test report for PFOA, PFOS, and extractable metals
FDA leaching tests for lead and cadmium
NSL Analytical PTFE detection test
Sarah says
My question is, how is the actual cooking? Do you find that you have to change the way that you cook (temp, preheat time, etc) compared to your previous pans at all? I have 12-year-old nonstick fans that are definitely showing their age and I just get stuck with indecision about which direction to go. I will not pick nonstick again due to concerns you mentioned in this post, but it seems like there are trade offs in each category! My sister has cast iron and I hate cooking on them because I feel like my nonstick cooking experience doesn’t transfer! Do these pans have a similar cooking experience?
Kath Younger says
Very comparable to non-stick. I use a little butter or olive oil and haven’t had anything stick in a bad way. You can’t use nothing and you also don’t need a lot.
Cathy McDaniel says
Bought many pieces. Work great at first. After a year I stopped using them. They stick. The handles get hot and chips inside. I called them, they never called back. Poor performance for the amount if money. Cathy Georgia