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See why.Oven Mitts for Kids
Cooking is all fun and games—until someone gets burnt.
Published Sept. 1, 2018. Appears in America's Test Kitchen TV Season 19: Pork Chops and Oven Fries
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See Everything We TestedWhat You Need To Know
Heat is an essential part of cooking and one of the biggest safety considerations when kids are in the kitchen. Standard oven mitts are too big for most children, and an ill-fitting mitt can make many kitchen tasks dangerous. While we prefer to leave really hot jobs—such as pulling pans from a blazing oven—to the adults, kids still require protection for moderate-heat tasks such as removing a lid to stir a pot of food, putting baking sheets in the oven, and holding on to a warm pan while transferring food onto a platter or cooling rack.
We wanted a pair of mitts that would be comfortable, durable, and above all, safe, so we surveyed the options and found four products specifically designed for children. (We also considered adult gloves that come in an extra-small size, but even those were far too large for kids.) The products in our lineup were made of cotton or neoprene and priced from about $8.00 to about $40.00 per pair (some are sold individually).
Adults Do a Preliminary Safety Check
Before we let the kids into the kitchen, we performed a variety of tests to make sure the mitts were indeed safe for children. We rigged wire thermometers to the inside of each mitt, at the thumb and middle finger, and squeezed our hands inside. We then used the mitts to carry metal baking sheets and glass baking dishes that we heated to a surface temperature of 350 degrees. We timed how long it took for our hands to get unbearably hot, which we've found in previous tests to be when the interior of the mitt reaches about 190 degrees (this may differ for children; see “A Note About Safety” below). Then we repeated the test with sheets at 400 degrees. We also used each set of mitts to grip a hot saucepan while draining boiled pasta, again timing how long our hands stayed comfortably cool. Finally, we stained the mitts with 2 tablespoons of tomato soup, washed and dried each mitt five times according to manufacturer instructions, and repeated the heating tests to make sure washing didn't affect fit or performance.
With the exception of one cotton mitt, which failed to keep our hands cool for more than 14 seconds, all the products were comfortable for at least 30 seconds when we held a 350-degree baking sheet—long enough to move the sheet from the oven to a cooling rack or to drain pasta from a pot into a colander. The mitts didn't perform as well when we repeated the test with 400-degree sheets—most averaged only about 12 seconds until they were too hot—but since we'd never ask a child to handle anything that hot alone, we gave much less weight to that test.
The neoprene mitts provided a bit more protection when we held the 400-degree sheet, bu...
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Fit: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Heat Protection: 3 stars out of 3.
The less expensive of two products by Williams Sonoma, these cotton mitts were long enough to reach down to kids' forearms for increased coverage and safety. Their slim shape hugged testers' hands for good control and dexterity. Best of all, they kept our hands cool for 35 seconds when we held hot pans—long enough to carry a baking sheet from the oven to a cooling rack with time to spare. Kids also loved the “cozy,” “fuzzy” interior, and the black color helped hide stains.
Recommended
- Fit: 3 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Heat Protection: 2 stars out of 3.
While these short, colorful mitts didn't provide the same forearm coverage as our favorite pair, all our kid testers found them comfortable and maneuverable. Though the company does not recommend that kids use the oven or stove while wearing the mitts, this pair stayed cool for more than 30 seconds when we put them to work with a 350-degree baking sheet. They were also perfectly safe for moderately hot tasks such as putting cookie sheets into the oven or holding on to a warm pan while transferring food to a platter or cooling rack.
Recommended with reservations
- Fit: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Cleanup: 3 stars out of 3.
- Heat Protection: 3 stars out of 3.
Adults loved this premium option, which had the highest heat rating in the lineup, a grippy textured surface for a sturdier hold, and a cuff that could be unfurled to cover a child's entire forearm. However, they were so tight that most of our kid testers struggled to get their hands inside. We had to pull the gloves onto the children's hands, and most testers could hardly wiggle their fingers once they had the mitts on. Only the youngest tester in the group fit her hands inside comfortably. While she found the mitts secure and grippy, this product is an option only for small children. Note: This product has the same name as our winning mitt from Williams Sonoma, so be sure to check the model numbers when purchasing.
Not Recommended
- Cleanup: 2 stars out of 3.
- Heat Protection: 1 stars out of 3.
These mitts were so inadequate that we couldn't give them to the kids to try. It took barely 15 seconds of holding a 350-degree baking sheet before our hands were burning hot, and just 7 seconds when we cranked up the heat to 400 degrees. Their short length (which barely covered our wrists) shrunk even further when we washed and dried them. It also took five washes to get tomato stains out of the fabric, though they did eventually fade completely.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
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