PSA on Made In 5 qt. saucepan

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
B

BAPyessir6

Senior Cook
Joined
May 15, 2020
Messages
243
Location
Prior Lake
A.K.A. It Was Great! Until it wasn't . . . 5 months later.

I received this pan as a Christmas gift back in December, and I've used it pretty much 2-3 times monthly, searing steaks and used it to make 1 tomato sauce. It was great. Eggs slid out of it easily using only a little oil, I used medium to low heat on my electric stove, never really got it above 500 F. (I used an infrared to make sure). I also always hand washed it, green scrunge (no steel wool), rarely metal utensils, etc. I was going to use it again today, but I was surprised to see stippling in the metal itself (and I can insert a pointy toothpick into the microscopic holes, telling me this isn't just cosmetic). I am dismayed to see that this pan is either degrading already or corroding somewhat, though I never used super acidic ingredients on it and I haven't boiled any salted water in it. This pan was brand new, cost my sister about 160$ USD, and I would recommend not buying this product to anyone, as I can't believe something $160 is already showing serious wear and tear after only 5 months of gentle care, handwashing, etc. In the picture (in the center) you can see the small holes that I'm discussing. (It looks like grains of black pepper).
 

Attachments

  • PXL_20240616_070819864.jpg
    PXL_20240616_070819864.jpg
    138.5 KB · Views: 41
Defects do happen with any product. Made In have a lifetime warranty and are a decent product, why not have them replace it and see what happens. People would never buy Rolex, Rolls Royce or any product based on a manufacturers defect, because they do happen all the time. they are a 5 ply fully clad pan, so they aren't mucking around and I would suspect it is a legitimate defect possibly from a batch of SS. Grant Achatz, Nancy Silverton and Sean Brock use them professionally and suspect what you encountered was an anomaly. I've many different SS pans of much lesser quality that have lasted for over 30 years and I still use them and abuse them, just my opinion.
 
Last edited:
Return it for a new one. All of my stainless is All Clad try-ply. Made-In is the new darling among YouTube "influencers." I don't need any more pans, so never considered buying a Made-In pan.

BTW, acidic foods shouldn't bother stainless steel. I often use my All Clad for my tomato based sauces. I also put my smaller pans in the dishwasher. Some of them are 20+ years old. They have tiny "swirl" marks from years of use and cleaning, but that is normal. I've never experienced pitting.

CD
 
Last edited:
caseydog said:
Return it for a new one. All of my stainless is All Clad try-ply. Made-In is the new darling among YouTube "influencers." I don't need any more pans, so never considered buying a Made-In pan.

BTW, acidic foods shouldn't bother stainless steel. I often use my All Clad for my tomato based sauces. I also put my smaller pans in the dishwasher. Some of them are 20+ years old. They have tiny "swirl" crates form years of use and cleaning, but that is normal. I've never experienced pitting.

CD
Click to expand...
Same with my All-Clad and Calphalon stainless. I make lasagna sauce and Greek lemon-egg soup in mine, among other acidic items. I've had them for over 20 years with no issues.
 
I have Lagostina stainless steel pans. My late DH bought or was gifted the set close to 35 years ago. I use them for acid stuff. I can't count how many batches of tomato sauce have been cooked in the big one. I use metal utensils in them frequently. They have been in the dishwasher and they are still doing great.

I was going to give the same advice as pictonguy. Get them to replace it.
 
caseydog said:
Return it for a new one. All of my stainless is All Clad try-ply. Made-In is the new darling among YouTube "influencers." I don't need any more pans, so never considered buying a Made-In pan.

BTW, acidic foods shouldn't bother stainless steel. I often use my All Clad for my tomato based sauces. I also put my smaller pans in the dishwasher. Some of them are 20+ years old. They have tiny "swirl" marks from years of use and cleaning, but that is normal. I've never experienced pitting.

CD
Click to expand...
I contacted their return customer support and they say it's something that "just happens" with regular use. I'm going to keep pressuring them for a replacement, but it's frustrating to see them just give me a lazy answer of "don't salt your pasta water!" When I stated in my message that I've never even made pasta in my pan anyway.
 
BAPyessir6 said:
I contacted their return customer support and they say it's something that "just happens" with regular use. I'm going to keep pressuring them for a replacement, but it's frustrating to see them just give me a lazy answer of "don't salt your pasta water!" When I stated in my message that I've never even made pasta in my pan anyway.
Click to expand...

So, they are not willing to give you a replacement? What's the point of a Lifetime Warranty if they just basically tell you pitting is just part of regular use? Five months of regular use?

CD
 
I'll keep y'all updated and try to put up a huge drink to make it more likely they'll honor their "lifetime" warranty.

I meant stink. But I could use a drink after lame customer service! And I don't even drink! 😂
 
BAPyessir6 said:
I contacted their return customer support and they say it's something that "just happens" with regular use. I'm going to keep pressuring them for a replacement, but it's frustrating to see them just give me a lazy answer of "don't salt your pasta water!" When I stated in my message that I've never even made pasta in my pan anyway.
Click to expand...
That's not a reasonable explanation that it just happens with regular use, which means it happens to the majority of their customers. Ask for the contact info for the owners Jake Kalick and Chip Malt based in Texas and don't take no for an answer and ask them if this "just happens" with regular use. What an idiot, in my opinion of course. :) Be aggresive and don't take no for an answer and make sure you get all the contact info on the person that's giving you this information.
 
Most high end cookware manufacturers will replace a defective piece with few if any questions asked. Le Creuset did that for me once. As did Wusthof. They were super accommodating.

So shame on them.

And it’s stupid, as they are relatively new to the market and are trying to develop a reputation (including those paid chef endorsers). Telling you it’s something that just happens will croke them if it really is.

I’m with Pictonguy — keep on them!
 
I didn't know they were Texas based, but they are in Austin. The owners are from Boston, and they have offices in Boston too. I'm guessing they set-up "headquarters" in Austin due to low taxes here, and probably got tax incentives.

While searching for that information, I came across this article from Wired magazine. Seems they are not quite up to All Clad level... but they are cheaper.

www.wired.com

Review: Made In Cookware 5-Piece Pan Set

The cookware startup Made In promises US-made, premium-quality pans and pan sets at a discounted cost.
www.wired.com www.wired.com

CD
 
So basically after giving me the runaround I name dropped the names you awesomely provided then I got a different, higher up, person responding. He basically said that they don't offer replacements as pitting isn't covered, but they'd offer a "one time courtesy" replacement for me. Annoying but I'll take it! I guess their pans are okay but their customer service sucks!
 
BAPyessir6 said:
So basically after giving me the runaround I name dropped the names you awesomely provided then I got a different, higher up, person responding. He basically said that they don't offer replacements as pitting isn't covered, but they'd offer a "one time courtesy" replacement for me. Annoying but I'll take it! I guess their pans are okay but their customer service sucks!
Click to expand...

Pitting isn't covered? Wow, that boggles my mind. If I should someday need or want another SS pan, it will NOT be Made In.

CD
 
I contacted All Clad customer service to basically compare product/customer service (as well) and they agreed that pitting is just due to normal wear and tear. Is it actually?
 
BAPyessir6 said:
I contacted All Clad customer service to basically compare product/customer service (as well) and they agreed that pitting is just due to normal wear and tear. Is it actually?
Click to expand...

I have not experience pitting on any of my SS Tri-Ply pans... ever.

CD
 
BAPyessir6 said:
That's so cool! What brand/where did you buy them from?
Click to expand...

Almost all of my SS is All Clad, but I do ave a couple of Calphalon SS Pans. I buy my pots and pans from overstock stores, like Home Goods or Tuesday Morning, when I find them. I rarely pay full-retail -- only when I need something now, and can't find it discounted. I get my Le Creuset from their outlet store near me.

CD
 
Had to "google" it as I've never had stainless steel pit or otherwise. But much to my surprise it is salt that is a common ingredient to cause pitting.
I once read that one should add salt to water only after it had started boiling. It was never said why, but as an innocent I just believed it and is what I started doing.
Have now read that by adding the salt before the water boils allows it to settle on the bottom - this is what could possibly cause some pitting to occur.
BAP yes, I understand you don't do pasta, but I'm not saying that is what caused your pitting - I'm only (sort of) defending the customer service people. On the other hand they could have been a little more sympathetic and understanding and given you more detailed explanations.

BTW, I worked in customer service under many names - and believe you me, I know what I'm talking about. ALSO, just for your information, the customer is NOT always right, but we always treated them as if they were.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Old Airborne Dog
General FYI: When Flour No Longer Acts Like Flour?
Replies
6
Views
172
Kathleen
Kathleen
R
Fried Corn Corn On The Cob Kernels;
Replies
9
Views
314
Roxy15
R
B
Baking while storing pizza stone in oven?
Replies
14
Views
714
dragnlaw
dragnlaw
B
My water pan looks weird after soaking in in water to clean some burned on junk.
Replies
12
Views
680
Andy M.
Andy M.
G
How do I grill dishes without burning onto the pan??
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
dragnlaw
dragnlaw

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom