The Best Products NOT Made in China | notochina.org

I just finished updating my cookware blog post, and I was actually thrilled to find several options for ceramic pans made in places other than China.

I started getting interested in ceramic non-stick pans a few years ago when I'd spent hundreds of dollars on an All-Clad set, assuming that like their stainless steel cookware they were made in the USA. Nope. All-Clad farms its non-stick cookware to China, and sure enough my own cookware started flaking within a year or two. When I tried to ask for replacements under their "Lifetime Warranty", they of course refused, saying it was just "normal wear". It was sad to see, as I'd always admired them as a brand—and I still admire their stainless steel products. But I respected them a little less when I saw them willing to trade away their good name for a quick buck.

The problem with shopping for ceramics, of course, is that they were ALL dominated by China manufacturing. We've seen this with other new industries and technology that arose after China's permanent MFN like air fryers and drones—American brands don't even consider building up manufacturing know-how and infrastructure in the US. They hand over all their IP and R&D to China, who starts out by churning out decent products cheaply, but then turns around and steals the IP, sometimes even running their factories by day for US brands and by night for knock-offs. Brands that should know better like Caraway, Calphalon, T-Fal, GreenPan, Blue Diamond, and everyone else ran to China, allowing China to dominate manufacturing and monopolize supply chains.

I found two brands that bucked the trend: Made In and Fissler

This Made In pan is made in the USA

This Fissler pan is made in Germany.



You can find more details in the latest post on best cookware not made in China.

How lame is Google? When I Google "ceramic cookware not made in china", the #1 result is "Xtrema Pure Ceramic Cookware", and their FAQ clearly states "Xtrema cookware is handcrafted in China".

Even worse, one of their FAQs asks "why is xtrema not made in the united states", and their answer is:

During the product development phase of our cookware we set out with the intention to make our cookware in the United States. With quality as our top priority we found that the quality and innovation coming from our factory in China was much higher than samples that were made in the United States. With over 20+ years of relationships, better access to ceramic materials, a higher quality product, and a 10,000 year history of making ceramics we chose to have our cookware made in China.

First of all, how stupid do people think we are...the "technology" for creating a ceramic pan today has nothing to do with the "10,000 year history of making ceramics" (plus, the CCP likely murdered anyone who practiced ceramic art as part of wiping out the "Four Olds").

I hope people don't fall for the BS that Xtrema is spewing out.

Yeah, I hear you. There are so many false positives on Amazon and Google it makes me sick to my stomach to know how many people are just blindly trusting them without taking just a second to dig. They even fooled ChatGPT.

Honestly, Xtrema sounds more like a gimmick to me. I suppose it might retain heat better but a good ceramic coated iron pan (like Le Creuset) will do even better.

Made In and Fissler are the real deal if you're looking for ceramic coating on steel. Le Creuset is great for cast iron. For 100% ceramic, I'd suggest finding a local artisan with a pottery wheel