Best American-Made Cookware: Lodge vs Made In vs All-Clad

Lodge, All-Clad and Made In come up together in almost every search for American cookware. Two of them make their core lines in the United States. The third is an American company whose pans are mostly made in Europe. This guide compares what each one makes, where, and which to buy for the way you cook.

At a glance

Lodge: cast iron from South Pittsburg, Tennessee

Lodge has made cast iron in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, since 1896, and now runs two foundries there. The second, a 127,000 square foot plant, began running at the end of 2017. Lodge product pages read "Made in the USA" for its seasoned cast iron skillets, Dutch ovens, the Combo Cooker, griddles and grill pans, and for its lighter Blacklock line.

Lodge also makes seasoned carbon steel skillets, which it labels made in the USA and seasons at its foundry. That matters for this comparison: if you want carbon steel made in America, Lodge sells it.

Lodge's standard enameled Dutch ovens, its stoneware and some accessories are made in China. The exception is the USA Enamel Dutch oven, which Lodge says is made in the USA with imported hardware. For a US-made Lodge pan, buy bare seasoned cast iron, Blacklock or carbon steel.

How it cooks. Cast iron is heavy and slow to heat, then holds that heat well. That makes it good for searing, frying and baking. It works on gas, electric, induction, in the oven and over a campfire. It needs to be dried after washing and oiled now and then, or it rusts. Care is covered in how to care for cast iron.

Pieces to start with:

• Lodge 12-inch cast iron skillet, the everyday pan
• Lodge 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven, for braises, soup and bread
• Lodge Combo Cooker, a deep skillet with a shallow lid that doubles as a bread baker

See Lodge for the full range.

All-Clad: bonded stainless from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Founder John Ulam was a metallurgist who, All-Clad says, held more than 75 patents for bonding metals used in car parts, aircraft and coins. He applied the idea to cookware, bonding stainless steel around an aluminum core, and started All-Clad in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1971. The company still makes its stainless cookware there.

All-Clad's D3 pages say the pans are "Bonded, Engineered, & Assembled in Canonsburg, PA" and "Made in the USA with global components." D5 and Copper Core carry the same wording. All-Clad does not say which components are imported. Its HA1 hard-anodized nonstick line reads "Designed in Canonsburg, PA - USA, Made in China." All-Clad's own FAQ tells buyers to check each product page because origin varies by collection.

How it cooks. Stainless with an aluminum core heats faster than cast iron and responds quickly when you turn the burner down. You can see browning easily on the bright surface. Food sticks more than on seasoned iron unless the pan is preheated and oiled. It goes in the dishwasher and needs no seasoning. D3 is three layers; D5 adds two more for slower, more even heat; Copper Core puts copper in the middle.

Pieces to start with:

• All-Clad D3 10-inch or 12-inch frying pan
• All-Clad D3 3-quart saucepan with lid
• All-Clad D3 10-piece set, if you are outfitting a kitchen at once

See All-Clad for the full range.

Made In: an American company, mostly European pans

Made In is a cookware company founded in Austin, Texas, in 2017. Most of its range is made in Europe. Its carbon steel and stainless clad cookware and its knives are made in France and Italy. Its own pages now label its ProCoat nonstick frying pan "Made in Italy," and its current CeramiClad 2.0 nonstick pan reads "Made in Italy" as well. Some earlier CeramiClad and ProCoat pans were made in the US, and older listings for those pans still say so.

If US manufacture is the reason you are buying, Made In is the weakest choice of the three. Check the origin line on the exact pan before you buy, and expect most of the range to be imported. We list one Made In pan, an older CeramiClad model sold as US-made.

US-made alternatives for what Made In sells:

• Carbon steel: Lodge seasoned carbon steel skillets, seasoned in South Pittsburg.
• Stainless clad: All-Clad D3, or Heritage Steel, which makes its clad cookware and lids at its own factory in Clarksville, Tennessee. Heritage Steel labels its pans "Made in USA with Global Materials" and says its clad steel comes from South Korea.

Which to buy

Buy Lodge if you want the lowest cost, cook on high heat or over a fire, and do not mind drying and oiling a pan. A 12-inch skillet and a Dutch oven cover most cooking.

Buy All-Clad if you want stainless that goes in the dishwasher, heats quickly and responds to the burner. It costs the most of the three. A frying pan and a saucepan are a good start before committing to a set.

Skip Made In if US manufacture matters to you. For carbon steel, buy Lodge's. For stainless clad, buy All-Clad or Heritage Steel.

A common pairing is one Lodge cast iron skillet for searing and baking and one All-Clad D3 frying pan for eggs, sauces and quick sautés. Both are made in the United States, and both last for decades with ordinary care.

For more, see the cookware and kitchen guide, Lodge vs Smithey and the home and kitchen category.