Caraway vs HexClad: ceramic or hybrid cookware

Caraway's pans are aluminum with a ceramic nonstick coating over the whole cooking surface, so eggs and fish slide off with a little oil. HexClad's hybrid pans have a hexagon pattern of raised stainless steel over its TerraBond ceramic nonstick, on a three-layer body with an aluminum core. The steel takes the wear from spatulas, and the coating between the hexagons helps food release, though not as freely as from a fully coated pan.

Both makers say their coatings are made without PFAS. HexClad asks you to season a new pan: a teaspoon of oil spread over medium-low heat for two to three minutes.

Caraway asks for hand washing and wood, silicone or nylon tools, and rates its ceramic pans to 550°F in the oven, but not under the broiler. HexClad allows metal utensils and the dishwasher, rates its pans to 900°F and its glass lids to 400°F. Both work on every stove, induction included.

That is the real choice: Caraway's surface is the slicker one but wants gentle treatment, and HexClad's stands up to scrubbing and metal tools but releases food less freely.

Caraway's 12-piece ceramic set is four pans and three lids: a 10.5-inch frying pan, a 3-quart saucepan, a 4.5-quart sauté pan and a 6.5-quart Dutch oven. The other five pieces are four magnetic pan racks and a canvas lid holder. HexClad's 12-piece set is six pans, each with a lid: 8-, 10- and 12-inch frying pans, 2- and 3-quart saucepans and an 8-quart stockpot. It has three frying pans but no Dutch oven and no straight-sided sauté pan.

Choose Caraway if you cook mostly eggs, fish and vegetables at low to medium heat, want a Dutch oven and a sauté pan in the box, and don't mind washing by hand. Choose HexClad if you want pans that go in the dishwasher, take metal tools and very high oven heat, and three frying pans to cook in. Caraway's warranty covers defects for one year; HexClad's covers manufacturing defects for life, but not damage from too much heat or skipped seasoning.