The Best Oven Mitts

Buying Guide for Oven Mitts

Why should you buy a pair of oven mitts?

If you don’t already, you should consider the oven mitt your kitchen-based best friend. Unless you’re prepping salads for every meal of the day, you’re likely coming into contact with various heating devices, all of which can deliver a serious injury if you aren’t careful. A decent pair of mitts can pull a hot bowl of soup out of the microwave or act as a buffer between the bottom of a toasty tray and your granite countertop. Oven mitts exist to keep you safe, so why shouldn’t you invest?

What should you look for in oven mitts?

• Heat Resistance: First and foremost, a pair of oven mitts are supposed to protect your hands from intense heat levels. Many options can accomplish this either through thick layers of cotton, a silicone layer of protection, or a combination of the two. Your best bet for finding the most durable oven mitt is to look into the maximum heat it can withstand before burning or melting; the higher the burn resistance, the better the mitt.
• Comfort: Comfort is an essential function you want out of your mitts; you don’t want a fit that’s too tight or loose when moving hot cookware around. The standard that most oven mitts uphold to bring you said comfort is with an inner lining made of cotton. How thick or thin that cotton lining can vary, and you must consider this because it can directly impede how you move around in your kitchen.
• Control: A slip is the last thing you want to experience while carrying hot items. Whenever you pick up a heated instrument, your grip must be secure enough to get it from point A to B. To ensure the highest level of safety possible, most oven mitts utilize nonskid textures throughout the underside of the glove to keep whatever you’re carrying firmly in place.

Silicone mitts are tough, but can they still melt?

Very few oven mitts on the market are totally impervious to an open flame, so while a silicone choice is among the most resistant, it still has a breaking point. When a mitt made entirely from silicone surpasses its maximum heat resistance level, it won’t just burn but begin to melt. That’s another danger entirely, as the once-rigid material can begin to fall apart and ruin the surfaces of cooking equipment. Of course, it takes high and focused heat to run into this problem, whereas cotton mitts can burn and spread the danger much easier. A fire extinguisher for your kitchen can keep these concerns at bay should you ever experience a small fire.

Our Picks for the Best Oven Mitts

Pros: These oven mitts protect you up to 450 F with a quilted cotton lining for comfort, extending across 13.7 inches of your hands and arms. They’re steam-resistant and waterproof with a silicone outing, so the outside won’t absorb liquids even if submerged. They’re also plenty breathable with a soft polyester-cotton lining to provide an extra layer of protection and comfort. Additionally, these mitts are stain-resistant but still easy to clean with a bit of warm water.

Cons: These mitts sit on the lower end of heat resistance for silicone. Their 450-degree temperature rating is just below a handful of premium options, despite costing nearly as much. While there’s a cotton lining inside each mitt, getting in and out of the gloves while cooking can require more wiggling than expected.

Bottom Line: For messy cooks and moderate heat, these HOMWE Professional Silicone Oven Mitts are ideal, as they’re built to take on frequent use. They provide comfortable protection and look good while doing it.

 

Pros: With a 500-degree F level of protection, this pair of oven mitts ensure total safety when cooking dinner. Within each glove are a thick cotton lining and two layers of waterproof silicone that provide a durable barrier between your hands and piping hot cookware. These insulating gloves fit large and small hands and provide extra dexterity in your cooking movements. The built-in hanging loops and included clips allow storage after baking or cooking.

Cons: While these mitts promote some of the best heat resistance on the market, they also run surprisingly shorter than others. Additionally, even when on sale, these mitts can ask for a lump sum of cash that you might do a double-take over.

Bottom Line: Here’s another solid silicone option that trades a few inches of protective length for 50 degrees more impenetrable construction. These KITCHEN PERFECTION Silicone Smoker Oven Gloves are hard-wearing and worth the investment.

 

Pros: This six-piece set from KEGOUU features two oven mitts that measure 7 by 13 inches, two 7 by 7-inch pot holders, and two 12 by 12-inch kitchen towels. The mitts and pot holders are enhanced with a silicone outer design to provide a nonslip grip that offers extra security when handling scorching hot items. They include a quilted cotton lining for maximum comfort and resist heat up to 500 F for protection from even the hottest cooking temperatures.

Cons: The oven mitts featured in this set seem to run a bit small, so they might not be ideal for those with large hands.

Bottom Line: Consider this all-in-one set if you’d like to save time from shopping separately for mitts, pot holders, and kitchen towels. The pieces are not only functional, but since they are available in 11 vibrant colors, they can also beautifully match your kitchen decor.

 

Pros: Here’s another conveniently inexpensive choice. Its ratio of silicone to cotton is familiar but welcome, as the ribbed silicone stripping stitched between the cotton inlay provides excellent gripping power. It’s paired with thick cotton to resist heat up to 480 F. Each of the available eight color options covers just over a foot (12.5 inches), so you’re granted good protection from severe burns.

Cons: While this option is machine washable, the balance between the two prominent materials makes the mitts harder to keep clean, as there is more exposed cotton in an area prone to getting messy. Moreover, the overall washing process for these mitts can be time-consuming, as it’s advised that you wash these in cold water in a gentle cycle before laying them out to air-dry.

Bottom Line: Plenty spacious and available at a meager price, these Big Red House Oven Mitts offer you an above-average degree of heat resistance and good arm coverage. Its ribbed construction will make it more secure and easy with its remarkable grip. 

 

Pros: Here’s a great option if you’re looking for a more traditional oven mitt set. The mitts are 100% cotton, quilted, and padded for added heat resistance and comfort. This two-piece set is machine washable, durable, and long-lasting for daily use. Each mitt measures 7 by 13 inches for excellent protection up to 400 F. The color options seem almost endless, so you can coordinate them with your kitchen accessories and decor.

Cons: We’ve considered mitts with heat resistance levels up to 500 F, so the 400-degree level here is a bit limited. You should be able to take a scorching item out of the oven with no problem, but you’ll likely want to get it out of your hands quickly.

Bottom Line: Consider this classic cotton oven mitt set if you have a specific color you want to choose. With 26 bright shades, you’ll likely not be disappointed.

Final Thoughts

A decent pair of oven mitts is essential to the cooking process, similar to the sheets you use to bake, the spatula you flip with, and the paper towels you need to clean up the after-meal mess. They’re functional in more ways than one and can provide safety without asking you to pay much.