I love a good piece of cookware. For years, I was on a quest for the perfect pan to match my culinary ambitions – and my kitchen cabinets are crammed to the gills with stainless, cast iron, carbon, copper, traditional nonstick, you name it. But I’d never tried ceramic.

Why? I was scared, after reading so many bad reviews of trendy, Instagrammable ceramic pan companies. The nonstick wasn’t actually nonstick. The material was too delicate. The quality sucked. There seemed to be SO many reasons to avoid ceramic.

After doing some research, I realized I just needed the right ceramic nonstick pans. And for me, that’s GreenPan's Valencia Pro 3-piece set. If you’re similarly nervous about going ceramic, here are my top 5 concerns – and how this $99 set put them to rest.

1. I Thought It Wouldn’t Be As Good As Traditional Nonstick

This was my biggest concern. Traditional nonstick is just so slippery! And I just wasn’t sure that ceramic could ever compare. But the second I cracked an egg on my Valencia Pro pan, I knew that I was worried for nothing because these pans are incredibly nonstick. With just a few drops of oil and a little bit of time for the bottom to set, that egg was practically flying off the pan.

And unlike traditional nonstick, GreenPan doesn’t use PFAS, PFOA, lead, or cadmium in their manufacturing process. Which means that all of that nonstickiness is coming from genuinely toxin-free cookware. That’s a big win-win for me.

2. I Thought It’d Be Cheap, Flimsy, And Easy To Break

I’ll admit that this opinion was definitely colored by reviews I read of other ceramic nonstick pans. Because there are definitely cheap ones out there that heat unevenly and will chip if you look at them funny. 

But GreenPan takes everything about their cookware seriously. The Valencia Pro pans are seriously sturdy. They’re made with diamond-reinforced ceramic so you don’t have to completely panic when a well-intentioned friend uses a metal utensil in them (though it’s best practice to use wood or silicone) and their armored bodies are extra-tough and scratch-resistant.

3. I Thought It Wouldn’t Be Able To Keep Up With My Expensive Stainless Pans

My thought process here went as follows: I paid (insert an exorbitant amount of money) for these stainless steel pans. Therefore, they’ll perform these ceramic pans by a factor of (ridiculous difference in price). And oh man, did this $99 set of pans prove that wrong.

For starters, they’re good to go on all cooking surfaces, including induction. Then, toss in the fact that they’re oven-safe up to 600° F. Add a dash of their Balance Pro Base that stays perfectly flat even when heated up, and you’ve got a set of pans that can give even the bougiest cookware options a run for their money!

4. I Thought It’d Be So Much Extra Work To Take Care Of 

I feel like ceramic pan detractors use this as their biggest scare tactic. They’ll talk about how they baby their pans and somehow they still fell apart. I’ve managed to hurt my pans exactly once. I had a brain fart moment and decided to char onions on them. On max heat. And yes, I did burn an onion shaped black mark into my pan. And yes, it did ruin the nonstick in that section. But! A little scrubbing with a melamine sponge and it was as good as new – seriously.

The reality is that you do need to be a little extra careful with ceramic, but it’s nothing in excess of traditional nonstick. Try to avoid metal utensils. Don’t bang your utensils on the sides to get food off them. Use medium or medium-high heat instead of max. And if you want to get extra life out of them, let them cool off and handwash instead of throwing them in the dishwasher. That’s it! 4 little things that will become second nature in no time will ensure that your Valencia Pro pans live a long, healthy life.

5. I Thought PFAS And PFOA Weren’t That Big Of A Deal 

I wish I had a good explanation for this one. I honestly don’t. All I can really claim is a lack of education as to what exactly prevents the stick in traditional nonstick. And now that I know, I need to share. Not only because it’s seriously concerning, but also because avoiding these chemicals is as easy as changing your pans.

Traditional nonstick is made from PTFE, which you may know better from its brand name: Teflon. PTFE (and PFOA which has been used in its manufacturing process) belongs to a larger family of chemicals called PFAS. And PFAS are forever chemicals. Meaning that once they’re in your body or the environment, they don’t degrade. As a cherry on top, when exposed to temperatures above 482°F (like in a hot oven or on the stovetop), it begins to degrade and release chemicals into the air that are harmful to humans. 

Don’t Fall For The Nonsense

Honestly, I can’t believe what I was missing out on! For just $99, I snagged my new favorite set of pans in the Valencia Pro. And, I managed to ditch PFAS, PFOA, and other nasty toxins in the process. If you’re looking for a cleaner, healthier, and all-around better set of nonstick pans, I can’t recommend these enough.