Made In and Misen are two cookware brands making a big splash recently. Not many cookware brands can boast such strong returns in their first few years of business. In this Misen vs. Made Cookware and Knives review, we take you on a journey exploring two young and passionate companies that are still in their first decade of life.
Misen and Made In have plenty in common in their product offerings, warranties, and customer feedback ratings despite being rival companies. The two brands of cookware sets and knives constantly strive to outdo each other. However, keeping up with the competition also means learning from your enemies.
It can be hard to tell the difference between Made In and Misen’s products at first glance with such similar trajectories. Luckily, we’ve put together this guide with in-depth research of both Misen and Made In cookware and knife sets, so you don’t have to. Instead, we’ll be handing you all the key differences, similarities, and unique features on a silver platter.
We hope our readers will be able to pick and choose the best products from Misen and Made In to get the best of both worlds!
What is Misen?
Misen’s name is derived from the French culinary term “Mise en place,” meaning “to put in place.” The brand was founded in 2015 by Omar Rada through a Kickstarter campaign which grew to epic proportions (1). The company’s success is mainly due to its high-quality cookware at an affordable price.
Misen’s range of cookware products includes nonstick, enameled cast iron, stainless steel cookware, and other cookware accessories. In addition, their product lines feature single knives, knife sets, knife storage, and knife accessories. Misen provides a lifetime warranty for its customers, covering them for any defects related to manufacturing.
What is Made In?
Made In was founded in 2016 (just a year after Misen) by childhood friends Jake Kalick and Chip Malt. The pair were motivated by 100-year family history in the kitchen supply business. They wanted to innovate on how things are done by rethinking the kitchen landscape and succeeded.
Partnering with the best raw material providers and multi-generational, family-owned manufacturers across the USA and Western Europe, the duo began their journey of building excellent culinary tools.
With the world’s finest chefs as Made In’s product development partners, the brand has been able to produce cookware and knife sets designed for exceptional performance with long-lasting craftsmanship. As a result, Made In cookware and knives are now used by Michelin-star kitchens worldwide and top-rated hotels and restaurants.
In addition, the brand boasts over 60,000 5-star reviews from home cooks. Therefore, it has proven to be an exceptional choice of culinary kitchen products that appeal to the whole cooking world spectrum.
What’s better about Misen?
Misen cookware is all made to be compatible with induction cooktops. Made In only has selected products that work with induction within their stainless steel and carbon steel range.
Misen also has slightly thicker steel pots and pans, coming in at 3.0mm thick compared to the 2.7mm thick cladding of the Made In range. Ultimately, this means you get greater strength and durability with them. In addition, this means they are likely to last slightly longer than Made In and retain heat a little better.
Generally speaking, Misen’s cookware and knives are significantly more affordable than Made In compared to their most similar item sets. But, of course, this is mainly due to Misen manufacturing its products in China. Made In manufactures its products across the USA and Europe.
A further reason for this large price gap is that Misen has a direct-to-consumer model that eliminates the middle man and cuts down costs. In addition, Misen offers a slightly better warranty offering a 60-day money-back guarantee. Made In’s warranty is a shorter 45-day money-back guarantee.
Misen’s product range is far more simplistic, which, while some may argue is a con, it depends on the person. Many home cooks just want a quality cookware set at an affordable price. It lets them cook as soon as possible, with little care for extra kitchen accessories or personalized engraving options.
What’s better about Made In?
One of the significant features that Made In has over its competitor Misen is the offering of carbon steel cookware and knives. The biggest benefit of this material is the enhanced durability that comes with it. While Misen may have had the edge with slightly thicker cladding, the longevity benefits of high carbon steel pans and pots far outweigh it.
Perhaps the most prominent aspect of Made In that surpasses Misen is its greater range of products across its cookware and knife lines. While they may not necessarily have more styles of cookware or knives than Misen, the brand offers greater versatility in its product offerings. As a result, you can expect a larger selection of single items and a wider range of knife and cookware packaged bundles.
Another reason that many people prefer Made In over Misen is because their products are made in the USA and Europe. Usually, this means greater quality materials than the cost-efficient Misen that China supplies.
Perhaps this reason makes Made In a more trustworthy brand among Michelin-star chefs, receiving the backing of professional chefs and culinary experts worldwide.
Who should get Misen?
Misen is the ideal brand for those looking for affordable and reliable quality in its performance and durability. The brand may not compare to the quality of Michelin-star level cookware, but it tends to be a preferred choice for the everyday home cook. Therefore, I would recommend Misen cookware to those who would like to get the best value for a smaller price.
When it comes to cookware, one of the benefits of going with Misen is the thicker cladding, so I’d recommend the brand to those seeking higher levels of heat retention. Despite being a budget brand, Misen can compete with Made In on many levels and offer the same quality in terms of performance.
Most notably, Misen’s pots and pans, such as its Dutch oven, have higher sidewalls that better contain ingredients. As a result, their cookware usually heats up faster than Made In.
As far as knives go, Misen offers Japanese-style blades, which may be preferable for many buyers. Tapping into individual acquired tastes, Misen also suits those who prefer a flatter bottom for the knife handle. All their knives come with this design.
Misen’s handles are also significantly wider than Made In. This makes them suitable for individuals with larger hands or who simply prefer that particular design.
Who should get Made In?
Made In is an excellent brand for lovers of high-carbon steel pans or kitchen knives as they have dedicated product lines for this particular category. The brand also has a greater range of cookware sets with a nonstick cooking surface. As a result, you have more options to enjoy the benefits of quick food release and easier cleanups.
In addition, Made In’s pots and pans come with flared rims that make pouring easier to transfer your food from stove to plate more safely and effortlessly.
Made In suits buyers willing to pay extra for more features and more items in their cookware and knife sets. It’s also a good pick if you value fast heat-up time and heat retention. In addition, they build the pots and pans in the Made In product line to be slightly thinner than Misen’s.
Finally, I would advise going for Made In if you are looking for a premium experience. The brand is backed by the validation and admiration of Michelin-star chefs, kitchens, and restaurants across the globe.
Features – Misen vs Made In
Cookware
Materials
Both Misen and Made In use cladded 5-ply stainless steel materials in their cookware sets. Although, Made In comes at a slightly thinner measurement. Furthermore, both brands use a combination of triple-layered aluminum for the core. This is sandwiched between stainless steel sheets for optimal heat distribution and durability.
With both Made In and Misen sporting similar material construction, the winner is decided by a narrow margin as we look to the suppliers of each.
Sourced from the best steel manufacturers across the USA and Europe, Made In’s quality is trusted by Michelin-star chefs worldwide. Contrastingly, Misen is a more cost-effective brand that sources its materials from a region in China. This means it excels in affordability but falls short in the premium material department.
Thus, the winner on this occasion has to go to Made In for its higher quality materials and backing by Michelin-star chefs worldwide.
Winner: Made In
Product Offerings
It’s no secret that Made In offers a wider selection of products across both their cookware and knives range compared to Misen. As a result, when comparing similar items from both brands, you’ll often find more pieces included with Made In than with Misen. For example, Misen’s starter cookware set comes with 5-pieces, whereas Made In’s has 6-pieces.
One such example is Made In’s extended range of carbon steel skillets and carbon steel pans. Of course, Misen trumps Made In when it comes to cost-efficiency. However, Made In takes the cake once again when looking solely at product versatility and set inclusions.
Winner: Made In
Handles
One feature certainly has the people divided. Both Made In and Misen cookware offer stylish handles made of stainless steel that are ergonomic and stay cool under high temperatures.
The minor details lie in the finish. Made In uses a brushed stainless steel finish for its handles to match the rest of the pan. Misen goes for the shinier, polished stainless steel finish with its focus on aesthetics. This is where the division occurs, as many customers argue in favor of Made In. They say the brushed finish helps to conceal smudges and fingerprints, so it always looks clean.
My view is that I would rather be aware that something needs cleaning rather than hiding it. So, I’d prefer to see the smudges and wipe them down as needed to maintain hygiene and aesthetics. Hence, my pick on this occasion goes to Misen cookware for its shinier, more stylish handles that lay it all out there.
Winner: Misen
Cooking Surface
The differences between Made In and Misen’s pans regarding the cooking surface are once again a matter of minuscule details. However, for some customers, they may be a game-changer. Both brands use 18/10 stainless steel for their cooking surfaces. This means they are food-safe and resistant to rust and corrosion while maintaining a glossy look over time.
However, Made In uses this 18/10 steel only on its cooking surface, while Misen uses it on its cookware’s exterior. Made In uses more of a hybrid construction in this instance, applying a 430 stainless steel material known as chromium alloy for its exterior and base.
The benefit of this is that it accommodates induction cooktops. However, it doesn’t mean much because brands like Misen simply add a magnetized plate to their base to enable induction cooking. Both brands also offer PFOA-free nonstick pans, making them equally good for cooking surface features.
Winner: Tie
Performance
Since both brands come with thick stainless steel cladding and 5-ply construction with aluminum cores, it is quite difficult to tell the difference between their performance.
Made In comes in with a slightly thinner cladding, which implies a minor advantage in heat up time. As a result, your cookware can reach your desired temperature faster. However, on the downside, it does not retain heat for as long a duration as Misen’s pots and pans.
On the other hand, Made In boasts an enriched line of blue carbon steel cookware, which has its performance benefits.
For instance, the Made In carbon steel pan is more durable and resistant to rust and corrosion than the typical steel pan. Couple that with a higher level of oven-safe properties that reach up to 800 degrees F, and you’ve got a winner. Made In takes the win over Misen when it comes to overall performance.
Winner: Made In
Knives
Materials
The core difference between Made In and Misen knives is the craftsmanship and materials used. The former applies German crafting techniques and the latter goes for the Japanese-style forging. Made In uses a type of German steel known as X50CrMoV15 (don’t bother memorizing that), more simply known as high-chromium steel. These qualities make Made In knives high in rust resistance and blade strength.
On the other hand, Misen uses AICHI AUS-10 Japanese steel for most of its blades, with some, such as the bread knife, using AUS-8 steel. This type of steel is known for its high carbon content, offering greater edge retention and long-lasting durability than most blade materials.
Thus, both blades perform quite well and are mostly similar in their benefits. However, we can’t choose a clear winner as each crafting material is at a premium level and thus of the same quality.
Winner: Tie
Product Offerings
Despite having different fundamentals in materials and craftsmanship, both Made In and Misen can design both German and Japanese-style knives using their unique practices. They include them in their individual product offerings.
Surprisingly, Misen offers more products than Made In regarding knives, a total switch-up from their respective cookware ranges. These extra products come in the form of additional designs such as steak knives, champagne sabers, oyster shuckers, and even fishing knives.
Misen also offers more knife accessories such as chopping boards, honing steel rods, sharpening stones, wooden blocks, and a cutting board. This makes the user’s cutting tasks, maintenance processes, and storage needs a lot more convenient and stress-free.
The one offering that Made In does have over Misen when it comes to knives is its option for personalized knives. This allows the customer to have a name or message engraved on the blade or handle. It could be a great gift idea for a loved one.
However, this offering alone is not enough to outshine the wider spread of options that Misen offers in its knife set product lines. Thus, Misen is the clear winner on this occasion.
Winner: Misen
Performance
Misen and Made In both have exceptional performance with their knives in sharpness, edge retention, hardness, strength, and durability. As a result, it could be hard to distinguish between them at first glance. The brand you choose will come down to your personal preferences for the most part.
The differences in performance mostly come from the different blade materials used for each. Misen uses Japanese-style crafting, while Made In uses German steel and crafting.
In simpler terms, this means Made In uses the forging process to curate their knives, while Misen uses the stamping method. Typically, Made In makes its knives with a single bar of steel heated and pounded into shape. In contrast, Misen’s blades are made by cutting out a shape from a large sheet of steel, honing it, and heat-treating it for strength and durability.
Essentially, Made In knives are slightly heavier than Misen’s for the most part, so some may prefer Misen for being somewhat more lightweight. However, in terms of hardness, Made In scores slightly higher than Misen by offering some blades that hit a Rockwell Hardness Score of 60, while Misen caps out at 58 HRC.
This is due to the higher chromium content of Made In knives that use X50CrMoV15 premium steel, making it excel in strength and rust resistance.
While it is indeed a close contest between the two, we must also consider the sharper edges offered by Made In knives. Coming in on average at 12.5-degree angles while Misen averages 15-degree angles.
Slightly sharper, slightly more durable, and having the backing of Michelin-star chefs across the cookware industry, Made In is simply at a more high-end and premium tier than Misen. As such, Made In wins over Misen by a tight margin for knife performance.
Winner: Made In
Blade Design
Misen and Made In have several differences in blade materials that affect their individual durability, sharpness, and edge retention levels. However, discussing design is a new realm, as we look into things like the blade’s shape, design, and how it interacts with the handle.
Both Misen and Made In use full-tang construction for starters, meaning they are resistant to snapping and won’t cave in under immense pressure.
When comparing the chef knives of each brand, we can see that Made In has a wider blade size than Misen. This gives you unique benefits like scooping more ingredients up with your knife after dicing ingredients. It also has a more prominent curve at the edge of the blade, making it more suitable for rocking movements so you can chop up vegetables like a cleaver.
For these obvious benefits, Made In has a clear advantage over Misen as far as blade design goes, offering more possibilities and greater convenience for the user.
Winner: Made In
Handles
Another key factor is your knives’ handles’ ergonomics, material, and aesthetics. Surprisingly, this is actually where Made In and Misen differ the most. You can immediately tell that Made In handles have a more round and straight design.
On the other hand, Misen handles come with flatter sides, squared edges, and a convenient finger guard near the bottom of the handle.
The differences seem minuscule, but the effects are major. While Made In’s handles have a more modern look that creates a friendlier atmosphere, Misen’s handles are designed for practicality and deliver where it matters most. In addition, Misen’s handles are longer in size, making them suitable for those with larger hands (like myself).
On the other hand, Made In has a smoother handle that many customers report offers a more comfortable grip. In addition, the lack of squared-edges means the handle will not dig into your hand as much as Misen’s.
Thus, a close contest indeed, and my decision may be a little biased, but I must go with Misen in this instance for its practicality and classic look.
Winner: Misen
Warranty
Both Misen and Made In offer a lifetime warranty for their cookware and knife sets. These cover its customers for any defects that result from the manufacturing processes or a lack of quality materials. In particular, Misen offers an additional 60-day trial on top of this lifetime warranty. This means you can return your product for any reason and get a full refund provided it’s still in the condition you received it in.
Made In offers a similar trial period for its customers but comes in at a slightly shorter period of a 45-days money-back guarantee. Despite their almost identical warranty policies, Misen’s warranty is ultimately a touch better than Made In and takes the victory on this occasion.
Winner: Misen
About Made In
Founded in 2016, Made In was established by childhood friends Jake Kalick and Chip Malt. The pair were motivated by a family history spanning more than 100 years in the kitchen supply business. The two boys strived to innovate by rethinking the kitchen landscape and seeking advice from the premium-grade professional chefs in the restaurant industry.
Jake and Chip developed partnerships with the best raw material providers and multi-generational, family-owned manufacturers across the USA and Western Europe. As a result, they embarked on their journey towards building superior culinary tools for both professional chefs and the everyday home cook.
Since then, the brand has expanded its business to a global scale. They now offer a huge range of high-quality stainless steel cookware, non-stick pots and pans, and culinary kitchen knives that people love.
Made In has produced cookware and knife sets designed for superior performance and long-lasting results, engaging the world’s finest chefs as their product development partners. As a result, made In cookware and knives are now used by Michelin-star chefs worldwide (2). They have the backing of both top-notch chefs and the average Joe who cooks for their family.
With over 60,000 5-star reviews from home cooks and genuine testimonies from elite chefs in the industry, the brand has proven to be an exceptional choice of culinary kitchen products that appeal to the whole cooking world spectrum.
About Misen
Misen is a term with its roots originating from the French culinary phrase “Mise en place” meaning “to put in place.” The company has adopted the philosophy of properly preparing chefs and home cooks for cooking and all related kitchen tasks.
Misen was founded in 2015 by Omar Rada through a Kickstarter campaign which grew a huge following. That makes the company around the same age as its competitor, Made In. Misen’s success is highly due to its solid range of cookware at an affordable price tag for its buyers.
Misen’s cookware products include nonstick pots and pans, porcelain-enameled cast iron, and polished stainless steel cookware. They also sell additional cookware accessories such as chopping boards, steamers, and tempered glass lids.
Their knife range features single knives, knife sets, knife storage, and knife accessories such as honing rods and sharpening stones. In addition, Misen provides a limited lifetime warranty for its customers, covering them for any defects related to manufacturing or a lack in material quality and craftsmanship.
Made In Cookware Set
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How it’s made
Made In cookware is made using 5-ply stainless steel construction which features a triple-layered aluminum core sandwiched between stainless steel sheets. Known as fully-clad steel, this architecture enhances durability, strength, and heat distribution properties. It also includes higher carbon content in the steel materials for increased strength and durability.
The superior heat control of these fully-clad stainless steel pots and pans provides greater heat retention. The final pass includes an added layer of PFOA-free non-stick coating on the cooking surface.
Design
Many of Made In’s pots and pans feature a brushed stainless steel finish that can hide unwanted visuals like smudges and fingerprints. In addition, they provide a smoother exterior that looks aesthetically pleasing. Made In designs its cookware to deliver a premium experience for easy use, cleaning and maintenance, and exceptional results for delicious food.
Typically, Made In sauté pans, saucepans, and frying pans come with more prominent flared rims, making pouring liquids easy. In addition, Made In’s lid handles have a larger gap between the handle and the lid. This makes it more ergonomically friendly and provides plenty of catering for those with larger hands.
Misen Cookware Set
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How it’s made
Misen makes its pots and pans using 5-ply stainless steel construction, utilizing a triple-layered aluminum core surrounded by stainless steel sheets, much like Made In. Thus, it also comes with cooking benefits, such as a cooking surface can heat evenly and reach high temperatures faster.
Design
Misen is designed to be aesthetically pleasing in its style, utilizing a polished stainless steel exterior for its pans and stock pots, and handles. Misen pans also have a steeper design for their interior, which is fantastic for keeping ingredients in. This makes it highly suitable for cooking tasks such as braising beef, boiling pasta, and roasting meat.
Made In Knives
How it’s made
Typically, Made In makes its knives with a single bar of steel heated and pounded into shape. Known as the forging process, this crafting style increases the blade’s resistance to rust and corrosion. In addition, it increases its strength, hardness, and durability.
Design
Made In’s knife handles come with a smooth design intended to ease the pressure on the user’s hand. They provide a comfortable grip that is secure enough to get the job done. In addition, the blade is significantly wider than Misen’s, so you can scoop up your chopped ingredients more effortlessly and effectively.
It also has a more prominent curve than Misen’s straight edge, meaning you can perform a better rocking motion for chopping vegetables, similar to a cleaver knife.
Misen Knives
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How it’s made
Misen’s blades are made by cutting out a shape from a large sheet of steel, honing it, and heat-treating it for strength and durability. Known as the stamping method, this crafting style aims to promote all areas of a blade’s features. This includes hardness, sharpness, and edge retention for a well-rounded and balanced finished product.
Design
Misen designs its knives with a square-edged handle with a finger guard for a more ergonomic grip. The handle is also significantly longer than Made In, making it more suitable for those with larger hands. Additionally, the blade seeps through the handle via a full-tang construction, aiming to reduce the possibility of the blade snapping under pressure.
Misen vs Made In: Similarities and Differences
How are they similar?
Cookware
As I’ve mentioned, at first glance, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Made In and Misen. The majority of their products if not for the logo or color differences. Both brands offer a vast range of non-stick and stainless steel cookware. Many of their product offerings are similar too, offering starter cookware sets, stainless clad sets, and nonstick sets.
Both brands offer single-item pots and pans as part of the cookware collection regarding individual cookware items. Made In’s pans feature 18/10 steel for its stainless cookware, offering a solid surface that is high in corrosion and rust resistance.
Misen features the same 18/10 steel for its stainless steel cookware range. However, it is still relatively new in developing its carbon steel cookware compared to Made In.
Knives
Unlike the cookware products, Made In and Misen knives have more differences than similarities, but there are still plenty of shared features. For instance, both brands offer many of the same styles of knives. This includes the 8-inch chef’s knife, the santoku knife, paring knife, and serrated knife.
In terms of design, both knives come with a sleek, modern aesthetic look that appears to be quite similar to each other at face value. In addition, both Misen and Made In make their knives with bolstered handles and full-tang construction. This eliminates the blade’s risk of snapping under pressure.
Additionally, the two knives sport their logos at the blade’s spine on both sides and in the corner where the edge meets the handle.
How are they different?
Cookware
The main differences between Misen and Made In lie in the individual materials used, which ultimately determine their respective product offerings. For example, all of Misen’s pans are made of stainless clad, while Made In offers carbon steel pans and pots in its product lines.
Additionally, Made In sources its materials from suppliers across the USA, France, and Italy. Meanwhile, Misen manufactures all its cookware sets and knives in a region near Shanghai, China.
Getting into the nitty-gritty details, you may find value in knowing that Misen pans are slightly thicker than Made In pans, making them a little more durable and heavier.
Made In uses a brushed stainless steel finish for its handles, while Misen uses a shiny polished stainless steel finish. Another slight difference is that Made In’s rims are more flared than Misen cookware. This makes it easier to pour liquids or slide food off from pan to plate.
Knives
The most apparent difference between Misen and Made In’s knife products is that Misen offers a greater range of options than Made In. Offering six styles of knives that come in complete sets or as individual items, Misen provides more variety for its customers than Made In. However, Made In offers more unique knives such as champagne sabers, oyster shuckers, and fishing knives.
In addition, Made In also allow its customers to engrave a message or name into their knives’ blades, making them a perfect gift idea for a loved one or even for yourself. As far as the blades themselves go, the basic difference between these two brands is that Misen is made from Japanese steel while Made In crafts its knives with German-style craftsmanship.
Misen uses AICHI AUS-10 steel for most knives, while Made In uses X50CrMoV15 steel.
Buying considerations: Important features to consider
Perhaps their affordability is the most important consideration for Misen and Made In cookware and knives. Misen is the ideal brand for the home cook. Particularly those on an average salary or who don’t hold high value for premium-level cookware.
On the other hand, Made In costs quite a bit extra but offers more features and more enriching sets and bundle packages.
When it comes to the knife collections of these brands, I would advise seriously thinking about your preference of handles. This is because it can significantly affect your level of satisfaction. Often, even more than the blade’s performance.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how high-performing a knife’s blade is if you can’t correctly apply its cutting prowess due to discomfort or hand exhaustion. So, take extra care to consider your options carefully. On that note, choose the pans and pots from their cookware ranges that are most comfortable for you. As I said, user experience goes further than performance in most cases.
Misen vs Made In Cookware and Knives FAQ
Is Misen made in the USA?
No, Misen manufactures its products in a region just outside of Shangai in China. However, the steel materials for its kitchen knives are sourced from Japan, making the quality high enough to rival high-end brands such as Made In.
Is Made In made in China?
No. Made In prides itself on high-end materials and craftsmanship that focuses more on quality and less on affordability. They manufacture their products in regions across the USA and Europe, including France and Italy.
What are Misen pans made of?
Misen makes pans out of 5-ply stainless steel construction surrounding a triple-layered aluminum core. Some of their pans also come with a layer of PFOA-free non-stick coating. They also may come with a tempered glass lid or a magnetized aluminum base for induction cooking.
Sources
(1) – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickstarter
(2) – https://ice.edu/blog/michelin-stars
