Hot Hot Heatpad

October 11, 2010 10:35 AM

What are the best oven mitts out there?

I got another painful burn on my hand last night, handling a hot cast iron dutch oven through a single oven mitt. I frequently have to double up (hotpad plus mitt) to avoid this. My current oven mitts are just some standard-issue heavy cloth models that came with my wife.

I still have a scar on a thumb from a burn I got through a silicon hotpad over a year ago, so I'm really not convinced those are a good choice. I have moderately large hands. I want to be able to handle cast iron in a 500F oven, work on the grill and not worry about steam from my pressure cooker.

Cheaper is better.

posted by These Premises Are Alarmed to home & garden (17 answers total)

Cooks Illustrated says 110 degrees is the threshold for pain, but silicone mitts can withstand that the longest (heavy silicone (90 seconds); heavy quilted cotton (65); padded Nomex/Kevlar and thin quilted cotton (40); rubber, treated cotton, and quilted terry (30); nonpadded Nomex/Kevlar (the "Ove" Glove) (20); suede (15); and leather (4).) -- and that 15" is the ideal length. There are more results, but I'm not registered to see them (there's a 14-day free trial if you want to bite the bullet, or maybe another

Consumer Reports looked at the Ove Glove and said that it could hold a cast-iron dutch oven that had been heated in a 540 degree oven for 90 minutes for 10-15 seconds, and it didn't get scorched.

Honestly, I would just poke around in amazon reviews and see what people say.
posted by brainmouse at 10:44 AM on October 11, 2010

As stupid as they look (and it doesn't help that it's got a big AS SEEN ON TV sticker on the packaging), the Ove Glove is awesome. Awesome. I think I could stick my hand into an open fire and come out just fine. Might even be bulletproof.

Get two, one for each hand.
posted by phunniemee at 10:44 AM on October 11, 2010 [1 favorite]

Ack... that first paragraph was supposed to end "or maybe another mefite has access and can see what they said."
posted by brainmouse at 10:45 AM on October 11, 2010

For barbque, I've use welding gloves. They are not that expensive, and you can find bigger sizes. Most I've seen are leather, so avoid moist heat.
posted by Marky at 10:47 AM on October 11, 2010

This is tricky because ovens that are good with steam are not necessarily good with open flame. Here is an option. I have been debating getting this one, but am not sure if 15" is enough (what an odd sentence) Anyway, I look forward to seeing other people's suggestions.

Overall, get gloves that go to the elbows. I have been saved more than once with that.
posted by jadepearl at 10:50 AM on October 11, 2010

Those rubbery gloves give me the willies. I have a friend who's a quilter, who gave me a pair of homemade gloves. They are super awesome!

There's a TON of handmade pot holders for sale on Etsy. My friend makes oval-shaped potholders like these, which I have come to prefer. (Not affiliated with those sellers - just pointing out the style I like.)
posted by ErikaB at 10:55 AM on October 11, 2010

As stupid as they look (and it doesn't help that it's got a big AS SEEN ON TV sticker on the packaging), the Ove Glove is awesome.

Yep, awesome. In fact, the Ove Glove is exactly the same as the woven-kevlar gloves we had for cleaning ovens when I worked in a kitchen -- the Ove Glove folks just took standard industrial kitchen gloves and slapped their logo on 'em. You can get gloves like these for less, sans AS-SEEN-ON-TV, at any restaurant supply store -- I have yet to find anything that's a better combination of heat protection and dexterity (you can easily get hurt trying to move hot pans around in clumsy mitts). I even use mine to season cast iron pans: I heat them to smoking on the stove, put on the glove, pour in a bit of oil, grab a folded paper towel, and run it over the pan. Can't do that with cloth pads!

This pair has long cuffs for extra safety...
posted by vorfeed at 11:13 AM on October 11, 2010

elbow-length oven mitts from a restaurant supply store will run you about $25/pr. mine have lasted about 5 yrs so far. Best i've ever owned. they can be washed, and i've done it, but i don't recommend doing it until you absolutely must.
posted by ChefJoAnna at 11:29 AM on October 11, 2010

As far as cleaning the Ove Glove goes, if that's an issue, I usually just put a dollop of detergent inside it and squish it around in a bowl of warm water for a while. Then rinse and let dry. Works like a charm.
posted by phunniemee at 11:32 AM on October 11, 2010

ove glove is indeed awesome. i wish i had 2.

also, there are such things as cheap silicone mitts which can quickly develop a hole, leaving you with a horrible burn. believe me.
posted by paradroid at 11:34 AM on October 11, 2010

Lots of options listed here. Please let us know which ones you choose.
posted by bearwife at 11:40 AM on October 11, 2010

i had two pairs of useless, too-thin quilted oven mitts, so i shoved one pair inside the other. eureka! no more burned fingers.
posted by janepanic at 12:36 PM on October 11, 2010

Get thee to a restaurant supply store. There won't really be anything other than silicone that'll protect you from steam. Can you press the pressure release with a long wooden spoon while standing back?

Speaking of steam, I don't know if this will be news to anyone here, but I've had a few clueless roommates who didn't understand the concept of steam burns from wet/damp oven mitts, or a wet towel. If your cotton oven mitt has water in it, and you apply it to a hot thing, it creates steam which can burn you, even if the inside of the mitt feels dry.

I like the rule of always hanging up oven mitts, and I've got a hook near the stove just for this. You might not realize the countertop you just put the mitt on is wet until you've already burned yourself.
posted by fontophilic at 1:14 PM on October 11, 2010

They're useless for steam but I've been really happy with the Lodge red mitts I got a week ago from Amazon. Over the weekend I was using them to pick up burning logs to put on top of a camp oven and I roasted a marshmallow in my hand for smores... They get uncomfortably warm if you hold a burning log for too long but that doesn't seem like a product flaw so much as user error.
posted by foodgeek at 1:20 PM on October 11, 2010

The Ove Glove is absolutely great. We got two to make it easy to handle large things with two hands.

I was initially suspicious about their price, but they are absolutely worth it. You can handle extremely hot things without feeling it at all.

As with most things, though, if you get them wet all bets are off.
posted by odinsdream at 1:42 PM on October 11, 2010

I have Nomex gloves from England. Can't seem to find them in the US. If you get Nomex or other fabric mitts, and you get them wet, don't hold anything hot.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:20 PM on October 11, 2010

Dump her. You deserve a wife that comes with Ove Gloves.
posted by llc at 8:00 PM on October 11, 2010