by Rick Goldman
Whether you're an avid chef who cooks professionally or regularly or just a casual who looks to prepare a tasty meal now and again, having the right equipment for the cooking task at hand is a must if you mean your meal to be edible.
The thing is, while your kitchen is not a dangerous place to be in and work in per se if you're not careful, you can sustain some pretty nasty injuries as a result of mishandling the kitchen appliances or misusing some of the kitchen utensils such as knives.
Now, the most irritating thing about injuring yourself in a kitchen would certainly be that such an occurrence is entirely preventable.
For example, if you work with knives regularly and you have to cut various foods quickly because you work as a chef somewhere, you can wear one of those anti-cut gloves and so prevent any possible injuries while wielding a knife. On the other hand, working around a stove and not being careful can also cause terrible injuries due to the heat that stoves emit. For these cooking-related tasks, simply wearing a protective glove would do the trick.
Here, we're going to talk about just that.
Protective gloves are a relatively inexpensive piece of kitchen equipment that you have to have if you mean to be serious about cooking. While you can fold some towels and rags and wrap them around your hand as a means of protection, this is a risky move that can end in a disaster if you're not extra careful. ( The towel can slip and your skin will be exposed to a scorching hot stainless steel pot, for example. )
With a cooking glove on, you don't run the risk of this ever happening. Thanks to the special design of these kitchen-related pieces of the handwear, you can rest assured that your hand will be safe in them and that you can handle all sorts of hot objects with confidence.
In this article, we're going to talk about the best cooking gloves currently on the market, as well as discuss in more detail what qualities you should look for in a cooking glove as a part of our buying guide. Also, there's a section towards the end where we've answered some of the most frequently asked questions about cooking gloves.
Here's the deal.
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First things first, one of the most important requirements for an oven glove to meet would certainly be to have a decent heat resistance factor. The thing is, when you're making something in an oven, temperatures can get pretty high, and the idea of having an oven glove to rely upon is that you don't have to worry about scorching your hand on a steaming-hot pot you're taking out of it, for example.
More often than not, oven gloves can withstand the temperatures of up to 450° Fahrenheit, which is usually the highest possible temperature for cooking something in an oven. At the same time, many oven gloves are even resistant to open flame, so this can be useful in case you work with one of those open flame stoves they use in Japan. ( Of course, you cannot expose these gloves to fire for too long, or they'll get damaged. )
Since most oven gloves are made out of tough materials such as silicone or strengthened double-layered cotton with special reinforcements, one other positive characteristic these possess other than the durability would be that they're a breeze to clean.
Now, whether you prefer to clean them by hand or you fancy chucking them in the dishwasher, cleaning these is fairly easy thanks to their non-stick surfaces and textures which prevent material wear.
Also, while having a pair of oven mitts that can be washed in the washing machine does make maintenance easier, these oven gloves are often so easy to clean that you don't even have to run them through a washing machine. Just washing your hands as you'd normally do with these gloves on can be all you need to do to get rid of the dirty stuff that got stuck on them.
When it comes to working with food, chances are - there's going to be plenty of moisture involved.
Even if you're roasting a steak instead of cooking it, some juice is going to come out of it during the roasting process, so the steak is going to be wet once it's done. Not to mention the fact that there's likely going to be plenty of steam coming out of the oven at all times, which is both hot and wet.
This is why most manufacturers of oven mitts make their gloves to be both waterproof and easy to clean - because moisture is an integral part of the food process.
As far as kitchen utensils are concerned, if they're made out of plastic, it's become increasingly important to ensure they are made out of BPA-free sort of plastic.
The thing is, some studies have shown that BPA can have negative effects on one's health if it comes in contact with their food, so more and more manufacturers of bottles and kitchen utensils go out of their way to ensure their products are made without using the technology that involves the notorious aforementioned BPA.
Here's the thing about handling scorching-hot pots and pans - it's not just your hands that can get hurt.
Imagine you're carrying a pot full of hot stew and then you slip up and the pot tilts in your hands and some of the hot stew spills on you as a result. Your hands probably wouldn't suffer that much damage because they're covered, but your forearms and other parts of your body might because there's nothing to protect them.
To avoid this terrible turn of events, you may want to get yourself an oven mitt model that is a bit longer than usual gloves, so that your wrists along with a part of your forearm are also protected from high temperatures as well as your hands.
Even if you use these HOMWE extra-long professional silicone oven mitts near an open flame, you still don't run any risk of getting them scorched or damaged. ( Of course, you should keep them exposed to open flame for extended periods because that will eventually damage them. ) The temperatures up to which these mitts will protect your hands are up to 450° Fahrenheit, meaning you won't have to worry about preparing any sort of meal in the oven with these mitts on.
Since these are made out of high-quality silicone, they won't absorb any liquids. The same goes for steam, which is often the culprit for many a destroyed kitchen glove because the hot steam molecules can damage the lining of most non-silicone mitts. Also, other than steam, these gloves won't let water in, either, so you can use them to take out pieces of food directly from the pan or the pot while preparing a meal - if you find it easier that way.
For those cooks who don't have much room to work within their kitchens, this set of four protective pieces can be an excellent solution for keeping both your hands and your tables and other surfaces protected from the heat emanating from the pots or pans freshly pulled out of an oven.
What you get in this set is a pair of heat-resistant silicone oven mitts and a pair of potholders - also made out of silicone. The silicone itself is well-known for its excellent fire repellent and retardant properties, which makes it a perfect material for making oven mitts and other protective pieces of kitchenware.
As far as the mitts themselves are concerned, they feature a patterned design, meaning that food won't just slip out of your grip that easily and also - that you can grip pieces of food with them, without fearing the mitts will get damaged by the heat.
One other amazing property of silicone is that it's fairly easy to clean. So, when you're done using your mitts in your cooking ventures, all you need to do is chuck them into the washing machine and clean them that way. ( You can also clean them by hand because they are not that tough to clean anyway. )
These curious-looking gloves have been made to deflect the heat they come in contact with while keeping your hands comfortable while wearing these. The materials with which the folks at AYL decided to go for are a sturdy silicone layer for the outer part of the glove, while the inner parts are made out of comfortable and supportive cotton.
As far as the gripping surfaces of these gloves are concerned, they are textured to ensure nothing you grip while wearing these will be able to 'wiggle out' of your hands. This is a particularly handy feature if the food you're preparing in the oven, for example, makes the pot it's in wet in addition to making it hot.
When it comes to maintenance, these gloves are fairly easy to take care of. All you need to do would be to keep them on after you've done with your cooking venture and then simply wash them as you would wash your hands - with some soap. Since these are completely waterproof, you won't need to worry about water getting in the cotton insides and spoiling them there.
Made out of durable silicone that can survive even the highest temperatures your oven can muster, these kitchen gloves represent an excellent choice for a person who likes to protect themselves with a pair of high-quality gloves when working in the kitchen.
As with the previous glove models, these gloves have two layers to ensure the maximum comfort and protection of the wearer. The way this is achieved is through the inside layer made out of soft cotton which is there to support your hand, and then the top layer which is there to protect the hand from excess heat coming from the outside sources such as the oven you're taking the pots and pans out of, for example.
To ensure your hands don't slip from a pot you're carrying with these kitchen gloves on, for example, the folks at Comsmart organized a special texture which will improve your grip and make carrying the pots and pans around way easier than without these.
Made out of high-quality heat-resistant cotton, these gloves from Killer's Instinct Outdoors are two-layered to ensure that your hands can get both maximum protection and maximum comfort from the inside layer.
One other thing to take into consideration would certainly be the elastic knitting the folks at Killer's Instinct used, which is useful for ensuring a good fit and a tight grip, as well as comfortable wear while still retaining the movability of ordinary gloves or no gloves at all. ( Remember, many heat-resistant gloves have the problem of not feeling natural enough when you have them on because they're too bulky. )
When it comes to washing these, the procedure is fairly straightforward as you don't need to do much to restore these to their former glory after using them for a while. A simple rinse with a bar of soap and some water will typically do the trick.
Ans : When it comes to most cooking tasks, professional chefs typically don't use any gloves while preparing food.
Sometimes they may use disposable latex or vinyl gloves for certain cooking tasks, but other than that most professional cooks prefer to handle their food with their bare hands. As far as getting stuff out of the oven is concerned, then it's usually silicone-based mitts because these mitts seem to work best for tackling scorching hot foods.
Ans : There is not a pair of heat-resistant gloves out there that can be described as the best of them all, but many models do come close to that status, so to speak.
Generally speaking, heat-resistant gloves that are double-layered and have a layer of silicone and a layer of a comfortable material such as cotton would fall into the category of the best models out there.
Ans : When it comes to using in kitchens and cooking, silicone gloves are safe.
The important thing to remember about these gloves is that they're not indestructible, so you shouldn't expose them to open flame for too long. That said, if used responsibly, silicone gloves are fairly safe to use.
Ans : All of these gloves offer a certain amount of protection to the wearer, but the degree to which this protection is efficient varies.
For example, nitrile gloves work is the best of the three because they are the strongest and can't get punctured that easily. On the other hand, the latex gloves are a less expensive option, while the vinyl gloves would be the least expensive version - and also a version of these protective gloves that tends to break first under pressure.
Ans : Yes, you can.
Latex gloves tend to be an excellent choice for cooking, as they give you plenty of heat-resistance and are tough enough to withstand all sorts of pressure you subject them to. Of course, you can push them too far or cut through them, but they work like a charm for all the other cooking purposes.
WZQH 16 Inches,932℉,Leather Forge Welding Gloves, Heat/Fire Resistant,Mitts for - Walmart Link
Artisan Griller BBQ Gloves Extreme Heat Resistant Grill Smoker Fryer Oven Kitchen Cooking - Walmart Link
Grill Armor Oven Gloves - Extreme Heat Resistant EN407 Certified 932℉ - Oven Mitts/Pot - Walmart Link
BlueFire Gloves BBQ Grill Firepit Oven Mitts Heat Resistant 932 Degrees F Lab Certified - Walmart Link
WEEDABEST Hot BBQ Gloves Heat Resistant Kitchen Oven Mitts Professional Long Heat - Walmart Link
Jolly Green Products Ekogrips Premium Heat-Resistant BBQ Gloves for Cooking and Meat - Walmart Link
YUXIER Oven Gloves, Hot BBQ Grill Gloves,1472°F Oven Mitts for Cooking, Grilling, - Walmart Link
Kiloline Professional Heat Resistant Glove for Hair Styling Heat Blocking for Curling, - Walmart Link
Gülife BBQ Glove Withstands Heat Up to 932F-EN407 Standard Level3, Oven Glove (Gift - Walmart Link
Heat Resistant Gloves, 932°F EN407 Certified. Thick but Light-Weight, Flexible for Oven - Walmart Link
WZQH 16 Inches,932℉,Leather Forge Welding Gloves, Heat/Fire Resistant,Mitts for - eBay Link
Artisan Griller BBQ Gloves Extreme Heat Resistant Grill Smoker Fryer Oven Kitchen Cooking - eBay Link
Grill Armor Oven Gloves - Extreme Heat Resistant EN407 Certified 932℉ - Oven Mitts/Pot - eBay Link
BlueFire Gloves BBQ Grill Firepit Oven Mitts Heat Resistant 932 Degrees F Lab Certified - eBay Link
WEEDABEST Hot BBQ Gloves Heat Resistant Kitchen Oven Mitts Professional Long Heat - eBay Link
Jolly Green Products Ekogrips Premium Heat-Resistant BBQ Gloves for Cooking and Meat - eBay Link
YUXIER Oven Gloves, Hot BBQ Grill Gloves,1472°F Oven Mitts for Cooking, Grilling, - eBay Link
Kiloline Professional Heat Resistant Glove for Hair Styling Heat Blocking for Curling, - eBay Link
Gülife BBQ Glove Withstands Heat Up to 932F-EN407 Standard Level3, Oven Glove (Gift - eBay Link
Heat Resistant Gloves, 932°F EN407 Certified. Thick but Light-Weight, Flexible for Oven - eBay Link
All in all, cooking gloves are an essential part of any cooking arsenal. Without them, taking your pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils out of the oven becomes virtually impossible and can even be dangerous if you try to utilize rags or towels for this purpose. We hope you found this article helpful for understanding why cooking gloves are an important part of kitchen utensils and we hope you will be able to find a pair of these gloves you find acceptable in the list we've provided above. Also, we wish you a merry and hassle-free purchase.
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About Rick Goldman
Rick Goldman's grandpa was a captain of a California coast cruise. This afforded Rick the luxury of traveling to exciting places along the Pacific Coast as a young boy. He got to try different, exotic foods on these journeys - something he really enjoys blogging about from his grandpa's beautiful garden home today.
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