Compared to those other gloves, Sur La Table’s 500º tolerance kept the heat at bay about 10 seconds longer than they did too. Though, as great as the promise of oven-safe gloves seems to be, only Sur La Table’s glove gave me anything above 20 seconds of threshold before the 450º skillet hand’s heat was too much.
What I’d leave: Overall, while I think oven gloves are perhaps the best option for nearly every home cook use, they aren’t necessarily quick to throw on like a looser cloth or silicone mitt. Gloves, in general, were more cumbersome in those “Hey, do you smell burning?” moments when I needed a mitt on my hand in a flash. Because Sur La Table’s gloves were a better snugger fit, they were also a bit trickier to put on than even the larger Ove Glove and Pit Mitt. Stretch the material far enough in front of a sunny window and you can see light, so it’s possible these could get soaked through, but it was much drier inside after similar exposure compared to the others, though they must be hand-washed.
If you’re prepared in advance and in need of the dexterity of all your digits, then Sur La Table’s gloves were the best bet. If you just need to grab that pan of over-broiled salmon in a snap, you might find yourself reaching for something else.
How I tested oven mitts
There’s more than one way to use an oven mitt (keep any jokes to yourself), but with so many different styles, materials, and intended applications, I decided that the most important factor should be how easy they are to cook with on a day-to-day basis. With that in mind, I graded them on a few key factors:
I put a cast-iron skillet in the oven and cranked up the heat to 450º, representing the higher end of home cooking temperatures. Then I lifted and held the hot skillet handle for as long as possible while using a stopwatch to measure the point (in seconds) at which the heat felt just shy of unbearable. I also noted whether the mitt material showed any sign of scorching, melting, or other damage due to this direct and prolonged exposure.
I used each mitt or glove to lift a heavy cast-iron Dutch oven off the stove, picking it up by both the handle and by one of the straight sides, noting any slippage as well as how forgiving the mitt material was to getting a finger or two in the handle. I also held the bare metal handle of a steel skillet and shook it back and forth (mimicking tossing ingredients in the pan) and noted any slippage, as well as if the layers of mitt fabric or silicone allowed the pan too much give.
Each mitt or glove has different care instructions, so this category is a bit subjective. For any fabric or fabric-silicone hybrid product, I wet the exterior with water and noted how long it took to dry and whether it soaked through to the interior. Machine washability was generally given preference (but surprisingly hard to come by). Silicone mitts were washed with a sponge and soapy water and I noted the ease to do so given their patterned textures.
I have medium-size hands, so I noted whether mitts felt roomy enough for larger hands (or too roomy for anyone) or too snug and might pose a problem for too many users. The internal material, while not a deal-breaker, varied from mitt to mitt, so anything that was especially comfortable or uncomfortable to wear was called out too. Also, oven mitts are one of those fun and quirky ways a cook can show their personality or color-match their kitchen accessories, so a really good mitt with many color options might get some bonus points compared to a great mitt with only one or two colors.
Other oven mitts I liked:
Williams Sonoma Ultimate Oven Mitt
Williams Sonoma generally won’t put its name on anything that isn’t decent quality, and the Ultimate Oven Mitt is a good example. It’s got a silicone mitten portion with an embossed pattern and thick lining for extremely long heat protection (I clocked it at 45 seconds of direct contact). It’s long, too (15 inches), but with a split down one side of the cloth cuff to aid in wrist flexibility. The reason it wasn’t my favorite is that its thick layers reduced the tactile quality of my grip so I didn’t feel as in control of the pan I was holding compared to the more forgiving Oxo and Gorilla Grip.