If you are a baker, or someone who works religiously in the kitchen, oven mitts can be considered as one of the most essential kitchen tools in your arsenal. You need to know the different materials that oven mitts are made out of so you can choose the best oven mitts for cast iron. These kitchen tools are practically life savers especially when you work in the kitchen all day, everyday. By definition, the main purpose of your oven mitts are to protect you from burns which you might get from continuously handling hot surfaces or objects. It’s also good to know where to hand your oven mitts. These tools can come in different forms and materials, but all of which have been proven as effective protection gear when being used in the kitchen. Materials vary from depending on the level of heat that you are willing to handle, from your lowest heat resistant one, each material increasing in its heat resistance. These materials are, cloth, leather, and silicone.

Cloth

Perhaps one of the most common material used when making your oven mitts, Some of these types of oven mitts help you handle heat levels at the lower end of the spectrum, but they still serve their purpose nonetheless. These can be characterized as probably the most flexible amongst the three materials, due to the nature of the cloth, but they can also be considered as the on that can handle the least heat levels. Usually, oven mitts that use these type of material tend to be more comfortable and natural to wear.

Leather

These are considered the more durable material for oven mitts. The leather material is expected to be able to protect you more from splashes and burns, mainly due to the tendency of the material to be oil resistant, as well as it has a higher heat resistance level as well. Overall, leather is expectantly tougher than your cloth, so the mitts created from these tend to last longer than your usual cloth ones. Cleaning it is a breeze as well since leather is water-repellent, the grime coming from whatever you’re cooking will have a hard time sticking on to the material. If ever they do stick, cleaning with a wet cloth or damp towel is enough to remove the stains from your gloves. One word to describe leather oven mitts would be it’s virtually maintenance-free, just use them, wipe them, keep them.

Silicone

A fairly new entrant into the oven mitt market, silicone perhaps allows the most heat resistance among all the materials mentioned. These types of oven mitts are your usual wear them and forget ones, where once you’ve worn them, you need not worry about the amount of heat that you are handling. You just have that overall feeling that you can do touch and move around anything when you have these on, not surprising because most of these holders can withstand heat levels of up to 500 degrees fahrenheit. It does come at a bit higher price, but surely the value of usage that it offers you will offset it.

Those were your 3 basic materials for oven mitts, some people like to believe that there is something that you can use for a specific occassion, and that belief is the truth when choosing your oven mitts. Whether you want the simpler cloth ones or the advanced looking silicone mitts, there is surely one that will fit your requirement.