Our Editors Love Made In and Material, But One Brand Came Out Ahead in Our Tests

While legacy brands like All-Clad and Le Creuset continue to dominate the world of cookware and other kitchen tools, a handful of new brands have grabbed our attention with some seriously impressive launches over the last decade. Two standouts are Made In and Material, which have garnered massive followings in the direct-to-consumer retail market.

The release of a stainless-clad frying pan in 2017 marked a new era for a family-owned kitchen supply business that’s been around since 1929, now known as Made In. The brand designs pieces with input from chefs like Grant Achatz and Nancy Silverton to ensure functionality.

In 2018, friends Eunice Byun and David Nguyen founded Material, which has built its reputation on gorgeous, performance-oriented kitchen goods, ranging from cookware to tableware. Working with an in-house design team, the brand continues to produce a tight, curated collection of pieces.

We put these brands head to head in four categories to determine if one is better than the other. After testing several products from both Made In and Material, here’s what we found.

Key Specs

• More Variety: Made In
• More Curated: Material
• More Colors: Material
• More Affordable: Made In
• More Popular: Made In
• Preferred by Chefs: Made In
• Our Overall Pick: Made In

What We Love About Each Brand

Made In brings restaurant-quality cookware (and more) to home cooks. This Boston-based, chef-driven brand incorporates feedback from chefs around the globe in its design and development process, and its materials are meant to stand up to heavy daily use. Small details, like the shape of a handle or the thickness of a baking pan, are deliberate and thoughtful. The company also opts to manufacture in the United States and Europe, ensuring cookware meets both U.S. and E.U. safety and manufacturing standards. Made In’s portfolio currently includes cookware, bakeware, tabletop, culinary accessories, and cutlery, and it continues to grow. 

The ethos behind Material stems from the founders’ fond memories of the kitchens and tables of their childhood homes. With an in-house design team, Material creates everyday items, from cutting boards to ceramic serveware, which are not only useful and long-lasting but so beautiful that you will want to display them. It sources materials and manufactures products all over the world, from South Korea to China, the U.S. to Europe, working to ensure its partners are environmentally and ethically compliant. Material’s collection includes knives, cookware, kitchen tools, ceramics, and glassware.

Who Makes the Better Nonstick Pan?

Constructed with five layers of metal and stainless steel, the Made In Pro Coat Nonstick Frying Pan delivers consistent and even heating without sticking. Its flared rim and long, stay-cool handle are excellent for one-handed flipping, and it is compatible with every cooktop, including induction. Plus, the entire pan is oven-safe to 500°F, something not many nonstick pans can claim. Its professional-grade (and FDA-approved) nonstick coating excelled in our tests. We loved how easily food, especially eggs, slipped from the pan to a plate, and we found it effortless to clean, either by hand or in the dishwasher. We tested the 10-inch pan, but it also comes in an 8-inch or 12-inch version, so you can select the size that best suits your needs. 

The Coated Pan by Material comes in three modern colors and has a sculptural silhouette that looks beautiful on the stove. Under layers of aluminum and stainless steel, it has a 5-ply copper core, which gives it excellent heating capabilities, like responsiveness to temperature changes. In our tests, it heated quickly even at low and medium temperatures. We loved how this pan performed across the board, from sautéeing vegetables to making omelets. Its non-toxic stainless steel alloy coating successfully kept food from sticking. Hand-washing it was easy, and you can put it in the dishwasher when needed. It only comes in a 10.5-inch diameter (for now), but it’s a great all-purpose size for daily cooking.

Size: 10 inches | Induction compatible: Yes | Oven-safe: Up to 500°F | Dishwasher safe: Yes

Size: 10.5 inches | Induction compatible: Yes | Oven-safe: Up to 500°F | Dishwasher safe: Yes

The Verdict: Which Brand Is Better?

It was difficult to find cons against these pans, but the construction of the Made In pan seems a bit better than the Material’s, and we feel confident recommending it for frequent use.

How We Tested Nonstick Pans

We wanted to simulate regular household use of the nonstick pans, so we put each model to the test by cooking a variety of foods, including egg dishes, vegetable sautés, and searing proteins. We noted if there was any sticking or noticeable hot spots, as well as the overall resulting dish in terms of doneness and evenness. The construction of the nonstick pans largely determines how they will handle day-to-day use, so we inspected each piece for any chips, scratches, or discoloration that may have occurred during the testing period.

Who Makes the Better Knife Set?

The Made In Knife Set comes with an 8.5-inch chef’s knife, a 9-inch bread knife, a 3.8-inch paring knife, and a 6.5-inch nakiri: a Japanese-style knife with a flat blade that uses a slicing (versus rocking) motion. All of these knives are hand-made in Thiers, France, with corrosion-resistant German stainless steel. Full tang and fully forged, they feel strong and well-balanced. We found them impressively sharp and substantial in weight, as well, without being heavy enough to cause fatigue. Not to mention, the paring knife in this set took the title of Best Overall when we tested 25 paring knives against each other.

If you’re a “less is more” person, the Material Trio of Knives includes the three essential knives: an 8-inch chef’s knife, a 6-inch serrated knife, and a 3.5-inch paring knife. Crafted from slightly harder Japanese stainless steel, each knife has a full-tang handle. In our tests, we liked the sharpness of the chef’s knife: It sliced through butternut squash more easily than the Made In. While we generally recommend more length for a bread knife, the Material 6-inch serrated knife did a great job slicing loaves, tomatoes, and squash and even cutting cakes without tearing through the crumb. It also felt less clunky than Made In’s 9-inch version.

Included: 8.5-inch chef’s knife, 9-inch bread knife, 3.8-inch paring knife, 6.5-inch nakiri | Knife Material: Martensitic stainless steel, polymer handle | Blade: Full tang 

Included: 8-inch chef’s knife, 3.5-inch paring knife, 6-inch serrated knife | Knife Material: Japanese stainless steel, composite handle | Blade: Full tang

The Verdict: Which Brand Is Better?

It’s close, but we’re giving Material the edge here because we preferred two of its three knives (the chef’s and serrated) to the Made In versions. It’s also a better value per knife.

How We Tested Knife Sets

We tested these sets in everyday settings, noting how they felt in the hand, the sharpness of the blades, and how easy they were to clean. We also considered what you’re getting for the cost: the sizes and types of blades as well as the construction. 

Who Makes the Better Knife Block?

Sleek and sturdy, the Made In Knife Block combines solid Italian beechwood with a non-slip rubber base. Strong neodymium magnets anchor up to four knives on each side, with room in between each. The 11-inch height is long enough to accommodate a lengthy bread knife or chef’s knife. In our tests, we found the magnets strong enough to pull the knives into place but not so strong that the knives cling when removed. We’re also glad to report that after more than a year of using the block at home, the strength of the magnets hasn’t changed. The block has a relatively large footprint, so it may not work well for those with very limited counter space.

Sustainably harvested walnut wood and a slim design make the Material Kitchen Knife Stand a beautiful piece to have on the kitchen counter. It’s designed with the Material Knife Trio in mind, but it’s said to hold up to eight knives. Testing the block, however, the magnets didn’t hold all of the knives we tried to hang. Paring knives and kitchen shears hung easily, but heavier and larger knives were too much, and its 9.5-inch height was a tight fit for a long bread knife. With that said, if your knife collection is on the smaller and lighter side, or if you have the Knife Trio, this compact stand could be the one for you.

Dimensions: 11.3 x 4.5 x 10.9 inches | Material: Beechwood | Capacity: 8 knives

Dimensions: 9.5 x 9.5 x 4 inches | Material: Walnut | Capacity: 8 knives

The Verdict: Which Brand Is Better?

While both knife blocks look beautiful, we recommend the Made In Knife Block because it holds heavier and longer knives in place.

How We Tested Knife Blocks

To test magnetic knife holders, we used them for everyday knife storage over several weeks. We paid the most attention to design aspects that made each block more (or less) useful than the other, and also rated the holders on specific metrics.

Who Makes the Better Cutting Board?

The Made In Butcher Block is one of our favorite carving boards. It weighs 8 pounds and is made of thick beechwood, providing a sturdy, stable surface and ample space for slicing steaks and carving a Thanksgiving turkey. The deep juice groove can catch a generous amount of liquid from meats or juicy tomatoes and can catch crumbs when you’re slicing bread. The upside to a board like this is its durability and utility; the downside is that its size and weight can make it harder to move around when you need to transfer food or bring it to the sink for cleaning. Since it’s common for a quality butcher block to be heavy, it’s not a dealbreaker. It’s also great looking, so we suggest letting it live on the countertop if you have the space for it.

While plastic boards tend to get a bad rap, this set is an excellent upgrade from the cheap, flimsy mats of yore that tend to warp over time. The Material rePrep reBoards come in eye-catching colors and are made of recycled plastic and sugarcane. Fairly thin and lightweight, they have a textured surface that provides a little bit of grip as you cut, chop, and slice. These boards could benefit from a juice groove, but we generally loved how they performed in our tests, vying for the top spot in our list of the best plastic cutting boards. The reBoards are easy to care for, dishwasher-safe, and don’t retain smells or stains. The set includes one standard reBoard, one “grippy” reBoard with silicone corners, and one smaller “mini” reBoard.   

Material: Beechwood | Size: 17.75 x 11.75 x 1.6 inches | Dishwasher Safe: No

Material: Recycled plastic and renewable sugarcane, silicone corners on the “grippy” board only | Dimensions: 14.75 x 10.75 inches; 13.3 x 8.5 inches | Dishwasher Safe: Yes

The Verdict: Which Brand Is Better?

Since the cutting boards are made of different materials, we can’t call a true winner here. We’ve tested and liked them each for different purposes: the Butcher Block for carving meat and reBoard as an everyday plastic cutting board. 

How We Tested Cutting Boards

Given the different materials, we evaluated the boards by slightly different standards, while paying attention to common factors like design, size, durability, and value. We incorporated the boards them into our normal kitchen routines to see how they fared over time, using a variety of knives on them. 

The Last Word

Both brands have set a high standard in the direct-to-consumer kitchen goods space. We love that Material’s curated collection brings aesthetic creativity to a market that can be utilitarian. When it comes to variety and quality, however, Made In has an impressively extensive catalog of chef-endorsed cookware, cutlery, bakeware, flatware, and more. The brand leans heavily on its nearly 100-year-old roots in the kitchen supply business and the feedback it receives from culinary professionals. We appreciate its quality pieces at prices that match their performance and longevity.

Our Expertise

Bernadette Machard de Gramont is an LA-based freelance writer specializing in food, wine, cookware, and other kitchen and home products. After a two-year stint at the Williams Sonoma headquarters in San Francisco, she now researches and tests a variety of cookware, bakeware, and wine tools, and interviews field experts for their insight.