There’s a “professional tip" I've seen floating around out there on the socials—real chefs handle hot pans and handles with kitchen towels, not oven mitts, idiot. God, why are you such an amateur? Maybe not that last part, but it sure feels like that’s the sentiment sometimes. While it’s true in some kitchens, towels as mitts are not used across the board. When it comes to handling hot metal, oven mitts are the best thing to use.
Using folded up kitchen towels (always this type) to handle hot sheet pans has actually never been the norm in my experience. I’d say there was maybe a 3% chance that the cooking scenario would be so urgent that my colleagues or myself would have to grab a towel instead of mitts. (Usually it was because all the mitts were missing for some reason.) Besides comfort, this is due to one critical reason: Towels can be dangerous.
Why towels make terrible oven mitts
The biggest issue with towels is that they are towels. They’re for drying off wet stuff, usually hands or freshly washed tools, at which point the towel becomes, naturally, wet or damp. If you have a bunch of damp towels scattered around a busy kitchen, someone is bound to grab one in a rush and use it to take that pan of roasted pork out of the 400°F oven. You know what “thanks” they get? A nasty steam burn. The water in a wet towel pressed into a hot hunk of metal evaporates into steam, and fast. What’s worse is the surprised chef is then holding a pan full of hot food, so they can either drop it on the floor, or endure the injury to put the food down safely. Towels are for drying. Let’s let the big kids do the dangerous work.
The best oven mitts for your kitchen
Oven mitts are made for this job—they’re thick and heat resistant or flame retardant—and you would never think to use them for drying your dishes. Here are some of the ones I like.
Protect more than your hands. I never got into potholders. I feel too exposed in them. I prefer the kind with thumbs, and some wrist and forearm coverage. While the stubby, short ones that only cover your immediate hand are okay, you don’t really get the protection on your arms. Accidentally touching the edge of the oven or upper grate is always a possibility, so opt for the longer ones to eliminate the risk.
Grill mitts. Grill mitts should also have arm protection up to the elbow. The reason they get a special shout-out is because the temperatures of a grill or brick oven soar well above the conventional oven’s capabilities. Your home oven might regularly see 350°F, but a grill could be sitting at a scorching 600°F. Furthermore, there are open flames to consider. Get oven mitts that can withstand higher temperatures.
Try gloves. I get it, mitts are clumsy and folded towels give you the impression of dexterity. Well how about gloves instead? These oven gloves are a heat resistant glove with silicone grips and a bit of wrist protection. They offer safety and more mobility than the typical oven mitt.