Caraway Ceramic Nonstick Fry Pan

Name: Caraway Ceramic Nonstick Fry Pan
Brand: Caraway

Recommended

The best-known PTFE- and PFAS-free nonstick - a sol-gel "ceramic" coating over aluminum. No plastic in the coating, but it's still a coating that wears out in a year or two.

The verdict: Minimal plastic contact

The nonstick surface is a sol-gel ceramic coating (silica-based, essentially a sprayed-on glass layer) over an aluminum body, with stainless handles. It contains no PTFE, PFAS, or plastic per the brand's third-party testing - so nothing plastic touches food. We rate it minimal-contact rather than plastic-free because it is still a proprietary applied coating that degrades over time, not a bare/inert surface - and the safety case rests on the manufacturer's own testing.

Verification: Manufacturer confirmed

Lead safety: Lead detected in contact surface

Independent XRF testing of a new, unused Caraway fry pan found lead on the gray ceramic cooking surface itself (44-51 ppm across three readings, plus trace antimony), and additional lead, cadmium, and mercury on the handle rivets - i.e. findings on the food-contact coating, not just a hidden component. Caraway disputes the relevance of this result, saying its own third-party lab testing measures leachable metals (what can actually transfer into food) rather than total surface content, and that its leach-testing found no detectable lead or cadmium. The two testing methods (total-content XRF vs. leach testing) disagree, and there is no independent leach-test data available to referee between them.

Verification: Community reported

lab-test https://tamararubin.com/2021/08/caraway-cookware-without-the-chemicals-tested-positive-for-20-metals-including-lead-mercury-cobalt-antimony-when-tested-with-xrf-technology/
XRF test of a new, unused Caraway fry pan - lead (44-51 ppm) and antimony detected on the cooking surface; lead, cadmium, and mercury detected on handle rivets

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What it's made of

Part	Material	Food contact
cooking surface (coating) sol-gel silica coating; PTFE/PFAS-free per Caraway third-party testing	Ceramic Nonstick sol-gel coating	Yes primary 🔥
body aluminum body under the coating	Aluminum	No
handle stainless per Caraway; specific grade unspecified	Stainless Steel grade unspecified	No

A cream-colored (and other colorways) ceramic-nonstick fry pan with an aluminum body and a stainless handle, sold on its own and as part of Caraway's matching cookware sets with magnetic storage. The slick surface releases food with little oil, making it an easy everyday pan for eggs and delicate foods - the mainstream convenience choice for cooks who want nonstick without Teflon.

Pros

No PTFE, PFAS, or plastic in the coating (per third-party testing)
Genuinely nonstick with little oil, easy for beginners
Stainless handle, no plastic parts

Cons

Still a proprietary coating, not a bare/inert surface
Nonstick wears out relatively fast (often 1-2 years)
Safety case rests on manufacturer testing
Aluminum body; avoid metal utensils and high heat

Categories: Cookware

Sources

Every material claim above is backed by these. This is the scattered info we centralized.

manufacturer https://www.carawayhome.com/products/fry-pan
manufacturer describes mineral-based ceramic (sol-gel) coating, aluminum body, stainless handle; PTFE/PFAS/lead/cadmium-free
review https://www.leafscore.com/eco-friendly-kitchen-products/answering-reader-questions-about-caraway-cookware-and-greenwashing/
independent discussion of Caraway's coating chemistry and the limits of its PFAS-free testing claims

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