WASHINGTON (THE WASHINGTON POST) – When I’m asked about essential kitchen tools, I tend to jump straight into the big-ticket items used to actually prepare the food – a Dutch oven, blender, instant-read thermometer, scale, food processor, skillets of various types and sizes, and so on. It’s easy to gloss over those often inexpensive essentials that we take for granted, and without which our cooking would be a lot messier or more difficult.
I’ve shared my appreciation of cheap dish towels and aprons, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to come around to another, arguably more important staple: oven mitts.
Anyone who’s cooked with me knows I’m a stickler for kitchen safety, whether that’s the best way to pit an avocado, how knives are washed or stored, the two-hour rule for leaving food at room temperature, or flames (yes, fire). Maybe I do I police our Food Lab like the mom that I am. And I certainly think that using oven mitts, good oven mitts, is one of the easiest ways to prevent injuries.
Why oven mitts and not, say, towels, like you see so many people doing on TV or online? First and foremost, dish towels are thin! They are not designed to insulate. Especially with something hot and heavy, you’re going to feel that heat very quickly. And if you happen to pick up a damp dish towel, you’re in for a steam burn when that water immediately vaporizes thanks to the heat of the pot or pan. I’ve done this, not fun.
And let’s talk about coverage. You’re lucky if a dish towel protects your entire palm and part of your fingers. But your wrist or forearm? Not a chance. Neither are dish towels meant to grip. It’s easy to have the rim of a sheet pan slip out of your hands. (How about pot holders or those awkward long mitts with slots for both hands? No thank you!)
Now I suspect there are dish towel fans or oven mitt detractors ready to tell me why I’m wrong – hey, you do you. Still, to many of those counterpoints, I’d say this is where the “good” part of “good oven mitts” comes into play.
The best oven mitts are resistant enough to heat that you won’t feel much, if anything, through them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve literally been burned by grabbing whatever seemingly more decorative than functional mitts I have found at vacation rentals or grandparents’ houses. (I swear, grandmothers have Teflon hands.) These types of mitts are usually short and thin, with a fabric exterior.
Instead I prefer mitts made of silicone with a soft, thick lining. Silicone is heat resistant to higher temperatures than fabric alone and it helps you get a much better grip, especially on heavy items, such as the weighty Dutch ovens I haul in and out of the stove when baking bread.
As to arguments that oven mitts limit your range of motion? Well, they should be flexible enough to let you move fairly naturally and not so thick that you can’t wrap your hand around the handles of something like those Dutch ovens.
Look for mitts that cover most of your forearm, or else you’re prone to burning yourself on an oven rack, sheet pan rim or even the steam when straining a pot of just-boiled pasta.
Which oven mitts have I found that meet all these requirements? For years I’ve been using the extra-long HOMWE silicone oven mitts, which I’ve also given as gifts to multiple family members and stocked in our Food Lab. You can find them from retailers such as Walmart and Amazon.
These mitts are easy to use and clean and cover most of my forearms. They stand up to the heat and don’t impede my movement. They received the “recommended with reservations” rating from America’s Test Kitchen, which commended their flexibility while pointing out that sometimes a hint of warmth could be felt through them and that the liner sometimes bunched up. I have not had issues with these points.
As far as other options, ATK’s Kate Shannon says the team’s top pick was the Oxo silicone oven mitts followed by the Big Red House oven mitts, which are made of fabric stripped with silicone.
Of course, the right oven mitt is certainly a matter of personal preference. The most important thing is to find what works for you and actually use it. Your hands will thank you. – BECKY KRYSTAL
