Oven mitts make excellent gifts for your loved ones. So without any further ado, let’s help you figure out what makes the best stand out from the rest when it comes to oven mitts.
Here’s What Makes a Great Oven Mitt
The first factor that makes an excellent oven mitt is how well it protects your hands from heat. A good quality oven mitt should have heat-resistant insulation and allow you to handle hot trays for at least half a minute. You'll be using oven mitts to handle Dutch ovens, pizza ovens, regular ovens, and more. You don’t want oven mitts that let the heat deepen as soon as you grab a hot pan. If an oven mitt allows you to handle hot dishes for a couple of seconds before setting them down, it’s good enough to buy. But there’s more than just heat resistance that makes an oven mitt good. Here are some other factors you should consider before buying oven mitts.
Factors To Consider To Help You Make a Choice
Material
There are several different materials that are used for oven mitts. Each of these materials provides protection against heat, so it’s really about preference. Cotton oven mitts are great since they are soft and have extra padding to hold hot pans with ease. These types of oven mitts usually have a layer of cotton insulation inside. Silicone oven mitts are also popular because not only are they heat-resistant but also provide a good grip! A lot of oven mitts have a mixture of cotton and silicone, which is great because you’re less likely to drop hot dishes with them. Make sure you don’t buy oven mitts made with synthetic fabrics since those ones can burn easily and let off harmful fumes. Higher-quality oven mitts are usually made of materials like kevlar, which are highly resistant to heat. But if you’re looking for oven mitts that aren’t too costly, we’d definitely recommend silicone and cotton, coupled with a thick fabric build.
Durability
You wouldn’t want to buy oven mitts that deteriorate after one baking session. When buying oven mitts for cooking, you need to make sure that you’re getting your money's worth. A good oven mitt will have strong stitching to ensure that it doesn’t come apart at the seams. Even when you throw your oven mitt into the wash, it needs to stay in one piece. Another thing to keep an eye out for is suitable materials. If you’re buying cotton oven mitts, make sure that the fabric isn’t flimsy. This will help you buy mitts that don’t tear no matter how frequently you’re using them. Lastly, you need to make sure that your baking mitts don’t burn easily. The kitchen can be a dangerous place, and if your oven mitts catch fire, they aren’t good for use. Materials like silicone don’t burn easily and are also super durable. The top insulation is usually a fabric but as long as the interior padding/layer stays intact, the mitts should be usable for a stretch.
Heat resistance
This is perhaps the most important factor to consider when buying a pair of oven mitts. The whole purpose of an oven mitt is to protect your hands from burns. So if an oven mitt isn’t resistant to high heat, it’s not worth buying. You want to make sure that your oven mitts can withstand up to at least 400°F or more. Another important thing is that your oven mitts should allow you to hold scorching hot dishes for at least a couple of seconds!
Shape
The shape of your oven mitts also plays an important role in determining whether they are worth buying. A good fit won’t feel too tight on your hand but is fitted enough so that it doesn’t slide off easily. They should also be big enough to fit most hand sizes. Good oven mitts also protect your forearms and wrists from heat. Always try them out on your hands before purchasing - to figure out whether they’d be right or not.
Flexibility
The shape and fit of your oven mitts are very important. However, high-quality oven mitts also use flexible materials to make them safer, allowing you to freely move your hands inside them. A good oven mitt shouldn’t restrict your hand movement at all. In case of emergencies, you should be able to easily and quickly slide your oven mitts off. This can be tested by trying on different oven mitts over time, helping you determine which ones fit your hands the best. If you combine and consider all the key points we’ve mentioned, you will be able to find yourself a nice pair in no time!
