Many interesting choices of best oven mitts at Amazon. Some vendors even include a bonus such as sauce brush, cookbook or meat shredder. If you think that all oven mitts are alike, think again. Some aren’t even mitts. One way that oven mitts differ is according to their intended function, or purpose. Some mitts are designed to protect users from the heat of an oven, which is what they are most commonly used for.
Cooks at home and at restaurants use best oven mitts for taking hot casseroles out of the oven or a hot platter of fajitas to the table, even handling frozen items is no problems. Outdoor chefs use oven mitts to protect their hands and wrists from being barbecued along with the food when turning the shish kebobs or removing food from the grill. Camping families may use mitts to grab a red-hot iron kettle from an open fire. The mitts could be handy even for opening jars or giving pets a bath.
Over the years, different types of oven mitts have evolved for specialized purposes. All are designed to be more protective than using a potholder or kitchen towel for those purposes. Oven mitts come in different shapes, lengths and materials, all of which you may wish to consider before buying. No matter what type you buy, you’ll probably want to get a pair of oven mitts so you can lift heavier items with both hands safely.
Let’s take a look at some of the mitts differences:
Choice of Shapes
A common shape for oven mitts is similar to snow mittens with a separate area for the thumb and a larger area for the fingers. A less common type is designed like gloves with five separate spaces for fingers and thumb.
At the other end of the design spectrum are pocket mitts that have just one opening with no separations for fingers or thumb. There are even some novelty gloves in special shapes, such as one that mimics a lobster’s claw in shape and color or a kitten’s face. Any of these shapes can work depending upon your purpose.
Length Matters
In addition to the shape, be aware that oven mitts come in different lengths, from shorter ones 10 inches long to 16 inch lengths. Novelty mitts sometimes are even shorter, and thus less protective.
At a minimum, oven mitts should extend beyond your wrists for adequate protection, but whether they need to be longer than that is up to your personal preference, which you may determine by how you’ll be using them. The material oven mitts are made of is perhaps even more important than the shape and length of your mitts.
Selecting Materials
Mitt materials largely determine their comfort and safe uses. Cotton is a common, comfortable, and usually lower priced material. Quilted cotton mitts are easy to care for by tossing them into the clothes washer. Cotton mitts are fine to take items out of the microwave. If you need something for higher temperatures from the BBQ or campfire, silicone oven mitts could be a good solution.
Best oven mitts at Amazon are usually safe up to 425 degrees F, are non-slip, waterproof, stain and odor resistant and may be dishwasher washable. Food grade silicone mitts can be used to pick up hot or frozen meat. If you need a high heat resistant product, you may wish to consider an oven mitt made of meta aramid, a material that’s certified for 932 degrees F.