final cooking topic: oven mitt distress (1 Viewer)

[Micah Cohen]

Okay, this will be my last cooking thread. Promise.

What kind of oven mitt do you use? What is the best kind? This kind of small detail drives me bananas, to use a food-oriented simile.

Here is a note I sent to the makers of what I thought were the niftiest cool oven mitts ever:


TO: [email protected]
FROM: Micah Cohen [[email protected]]

Dear Sirs:

I hate to send this email during the holidays, but I can not tell you how frustrated I am by your Silicone Oven Mitts!

First of all, ask any of my friends, from the moment I found out that this product existed I wanted them. My old cloth oven mitts were shredding, falling apart from years of use, burning my fingers on the toaster oven pan, and I needed new oven mitts desperately. The whole idea of silicone oven mitts was a glorious revelation: oven mitts that could pick up anything! (I first saw them written up in Wired Magazine.) They were expensive, though, averaging about $20 each. Then two weeks ago I saw them in Sam's Club, your Silicone Oven Mitts! Priced great at a pair for $12. That was amazing. I felt like I won the oven mitt lottery! So I happily bought them. Now, I regret it.

Why? Because who can pick anything up with these silicone oven mitts on their hands? Robby The Robot in "Forbidden Planet," with his chunky, awkward two-finger claw hands, had more dexterity than I have with these silicone oven mitts on my hands. I can hardly grasp cookie tins, let alone heavy pans and pasta bowls. These silicone mitts are not "easy to hold" anything in. Having these silicone oven mitts on my hands, trying to pick up something hot and dangerous, makes me feel like I'm in a space suit trying to pick up a ball point pen (although astronauts now probably have more dexterity in their space suit gloves than I have with these silicone oven mitts). Is there a user's guide showing more practical ways to use these silicone oven mitts to get better grips on things? Is there a trick to it, some way of gripping new to me that ensures a better, safer way to pick things up with these bulky, unwieldy silicone oven mitts? Can I send them back to you and have you send me a couple of "Super Gloves," which at least have fingers and seem to be able to pick stuff up from the oven without making you feel like Larry The Lobster Boy?

Super Glove: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...1&SKU=13096236

Sorry again for the complaint right here in the holiday season -- I do wish you all a great holiday, truly -- but I just had a heck of a time getting the casserole out of the oven last night with your Silicone Oven Mitts on my hands and it really, excuse the pun, burned me up.

What to do?

Micah Cohen [[email protected]]


Nothing at all from dexas.com the slackers. Anyone have anything good to say about the Kevlar gloves? I have pans that have metal handles (go right in the oven), so I really need to get my mitts on some good mitts!

I promise I'll lay off after this. I'm going to eat my eggsalad sandwich, go home and make some pasta, and watch ELF. Everyone's kitchen feedback has been incredibly informative.

MC

 

[Ron-P]

I'm sure you have some socks laying about, use those.

 

[Trey Fletcher]

Oven mitts are for pussies.

 

[Micah Cohen]

I see I have finally worn everyone's patience quite thin.



MC

 

[Eric Kahn]

there is a new one out called "the Ov-glove" you can get them at walgreens, supposed to be good

I have no experience with them, my hands are too big and they do not fit

 

[Todd_B]

Go to your local hardware/auto store and pick you up a pair of welder's gloves.

Works like a charm.

Todd B

 

[Micah Cohen]

WELDER'S GLOVES! AWESOME!

I am checking that out! Thanks!

ADDED: http://www.safetyandglove.com/items/...rs-Gloves.aspx

They look awesome! Finger flexible, so you can pick stuff up! Heat protection! How do these match up to the Kevlar gloves (also shown on this site).

MC

 

[Patrick Sun]

No glove, no love!

Oh, wait, wrong thread...

 

[MarkHastings]

I use the Ov-Glove and I like it. It's not great for every application, but it's good for some things.

I love it when I need to change a light-bulb.

and p.s. What's the difference between using the glove mit and a pot holder? Both have the same difficulty in picking up casserole dishes, so why complain about the glove when a pot holder would do the same?

 

[Micah Cohen]

I dunno. I need a glove. Flexible fingers and stuff. I just prefer to get my whole hand involved in the lifting of hot things, as opposed to just using a flat square pot holder. I am sad about wasting money on these "Larry The Lobster Boy" sillicone mittens. But I am PSYCHED to get some welder's glove-type things!

MC

 

[RichardK]

I dont use a glove,I just grab a 'kitchen' towel and use it...not the 'sexiest' way to take your food out of the oven, but alot less pretentious for sure...Those i know who use oven mits can never find one when they need one...go figure.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Micah, you are going to hate me for saying this, but the almighty Alton Brown from Good Eats on the Food Network uses welder's gloves for barbecues and really hot pans. He frequently gets a cast iron fry pan "rocket hot" in the oven at 500 deg. and lifts it out with his welder's glove.

See, Alton is a stud of studs. He once smoked a whole salmon using nothing but a cardboard box, 2 dowels, a rack, a pie tin and a hot plate.

 

[Micah Cohen]

I am totally into this welder's glove thing. It's my next project.

Forget Alton. I once slept a whole night thru with nothing but a union suit, four or five blankets, a piece of Velcro, two Albanian midgets, and a small pink pacifier. I swear it.

And now, I'm going home to get snowed in with the Director's Cut of DANCES WITH WOLVES and a bunch of hot pans I can't pick up.

Weekend!

MC

 

[Dave Poehlman]

I'd like to add that Eric is a big hit with the ladies, by the way.

 

[brentl]

"I felt like I won the oven mitt lottery!"



Brent

 

[Micah Cohen]

Hey, check it. In a moment straight out of SUMMER SCHOOL, I just now got this response to my original letter:


From: Ellis Shamoon [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 2:25 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: RE: oven mitt distress

Dear Micah
We're disappointed in the results you experienced with our mitts. Building dexterity into a mitt that fits either hand is very dificult if even possible. The goal was to provide a safe method of handling hot pots and basic heat handling chores. We also make a professional mitt, fitted to a left hand and a right hand. We will be making deliveries on this product in April. Please accept a pair of these new mitts at no cost for your use. And your comments would be appreciated. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Kind regards,
Ellis


Ah, the power of the pen.

MC

 

[MarkHastings]

I just read an article about that lobster claw thing. They were saying how it really shouldn't be used for "Every day" situations. The lack of dexterity made it unfavorable for taking casseroles out of the oven, but they said it worked best for things like - changing the oven racks.

They even tested it by wearing it and putting their hand in boiling oil and boiling water. It passed the test and only made the testers hand warm.

So while I wouldn't use it for taking a pan out of the oven, it does seem to have a use in the kitchen.

 

[Micah Cohen]

I didn't want to say it, especially since hopefully this guy will send me a pair of their new "mitts" (I love saying "mitts"!), but I got a pair of Kevlar gloves from Bed Bath & Beyond, and they work great.

I tried to find Kevlar welder's gloves, but could only find the "heat-resistant" ones (for jumping sparks, etc.) and would have had to order the Kevlar. So I just bought em at BB&B, which has a higher hot-shopping-chicks ratio than the welder's supply houses I visited.

Anyway, the Kevlar gloves rock. I can catch bullets with them on.

I am eager to see this guy's fitted silicone "mitts," tho.

MC