Our Place is known for their artful design skills, which definitely show in the Perfect Pot. While it doesn’t have as many color options as the flagship Always Pan, there are still six stylish hues—including the ever-popular sage green—that coordinate with Our Place’s dishware and glasses. I got mine in Blue Salt, and although the color has faded a bit in the past couple months, it’s still pretty enough in my book to place right on the dinner table when entertaining.
What does the Perfect Pot do well?
As a preface, I think the Perfect Pot is a solid piece of kitchen equipment. Most of the things that a good pot or Dutch oven does well are somewhat unglamourous and also nearly impossible to mess up. For example, I won’t waste time talking about how good this pot is at boiling water, simmering stock, or making pasta—because of course it can do those things.
Outside of your basic pot duties, the main thing I’ve kept using my Perfect Pot for—even after I’ve finished reviewing it—is steaming. The Perfect Pot comes with a small perforated tray that functions as both a roasting rack and a steamer basket and fits snugly in its bottom without damaging the pot’s nonstick coating. While the utility of a roasting rack this small was somewhat lost on me (I could barely fit an entire sliced potato on the 8.5”-diameter rack), it works like a charm for steaming—especially when I’m cooking for one and don’t want to deal with a full-sized steamer. My Perfect Pot is a powerhouse for cooking dumplings, shellfish, veggies, you name it, with minimal stickage to boot. Once everything’s cooled down, that tiny tray is a breeze to clean and can be stored inside of the Perfect Pot to save space.
I also have to compliment the design of this device. Like most Our Place gear, it’s very pretty to look at, in a hip, 2021 minimalist way, and it feels like a piece of well-oiled machinery in my hands. An incredible amount of thoughtfulness and artistry clearly went into making this pot a reality, and as someone who dropped out of engineering school after one semester, I appreciate when that much effort goes into anything. While I may balk at Our Place’s assertion that the Perfect Pot’s cleverly notched spoon—which locks onto the pot’s handle like a Lincoln Log—will “replace” your spoon rest (as if a spoon rest really takes up an inordinate amount of space), it is an incredibly convenient trick.
I love the oversized pouring spout, which makes dumping leftovers into deli containers quick and easy while minimizing spillage. Its lid also has a strainer built into it, although the holes are a bit too large to catch smaller grains like quinoa. The handles are plus-sized, which makes carrying the pot or pulling it from the oven a bit safer while wearing oven mitts on both hands. It’s also compatible with your induction cooktop, which could easily be the way of the future.
About that nonstick coating…
Like the Our Place Always Pan, the Perfect Pot is lined with a slick nonstick ceramic coating. I fried eggs, crisped up bacon, seared chicken breasts, and sautéd plenty of veggies in the bottom of my Perfect Pot to see how it would fare, and I have to say it was one of the better nonstick surfaces I’ve ever used. Our Place boasts that the lining is made “without potentially toxic materials like PFOAs, PTFEs, other PFAs, lead, cadmium, toxic metals, and nanoparticles,” which I recently learned are scary from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, so that’s a breath of fresh air for the hypochondriac in me.
Our Place is known for their artful design skills, which definitely show in the Perfect Pot. While it doesn’t have as many color options as the flagship Always Pan, there are still six stylish hues—including the ever-popular sage green—that coordinate with Our Place’s dishware and glasses. I got mine in Blue Salt, and although the color has faded a bit in the past couple months, it’s still pretty enough in my book to place right on the dinner table when entertaining.What does the Perfect Pot do well?As a preface, I think the Perfect Pot is a solid piece of kitchen equipment. Most of the things that a good pot or Dutch oven does well are somewhat unglamourous and also nearly impossible to mess up. For example, I won’t waste time talking about how good this pot is at boiling water, simmering stock, or making pasta—because of course it can do those things.Outside of your basic pot duties, the main thing I’ve kept using my Perfect Pot for—even after I’ve finished reviewing it—is steaming. The Perfect Pot comes with a small perforated tray that functions as both a roasting rack and a steamer basket and fits snugly in its bottom without damaging the pot’s nonstick coating. While the utility of a roasting rack this small was somewhat lost on me (I could barely fit an entire sliced potato on the 8.5”-diameter rack), it works like a charm for steaming—especially when I’m cooking for one and don’t want to deal with a full-sized steamer. My Perfect Pot is a powerhouse for cooking dumplings, shellfish, veggies, you name it, with minimal stickage to boot. Once everything’s cooled down, that tiny tray is a breeze to clean and can be stored inside of the Perfect Pot to save space.I also have to compliment the design of this device. Like most Our Place gear, it’s very pretty to look at, in a hip, 2021 minimalist way, and it feels like a piece of well-oiled machinery in my hands. An incredible amount of thoughtfulness and artistry clearly went into making this pot a reality, and as someone who dropped out of engineering school after one semester, I appreciate when that much effort goes into anything. While I may balk at Our Place’s assertion that the Perfect Pot’s cleverly notched spoon—which locks onto the pot’s handle like a Lincoln Log—will “replace” your spoon rest (as if a spoon rest really takes up an inordinate amount of space), it is an incredibly convenient trick.I love the oversized pouring spout, which makes dumping leftovers into deli containers quick and easy while minimizing spillage. Its lid also has a strainer built into it, although the holes are a bit too large to catch smaller grains like quinoa. The handles are plus-sized, which makes carrying the pot or pulling it from the oven a bit safer while wearing oven mitts on both hands. It’s also compatible with your induction cooktop, which could easily be the way of the future.About that nonstick coating…Like the Our Place Always Pan, the Perfect Pot is lined with a slick nonstick ceramic coating. I fried eggs, crisped up bacon, seared chicken breasts, and sautéd plenty of veggies in the bottom of my Perfect Pot to see how it would fare, and I have to say it was one of the better nonstick surfaces I’ve ever used. Our Place boasts that the lining is made “without potentially toxic materials like PFOAs, PTFEs, other PFAs, lead, cadmium, toxic metals, and nanoparticles,” which I recently learned are scary from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, so that’s a breath of fresh air for the hypochondriac in me.