We all know the pain of using oven mitts that are more decorative than practical. Even worse are the mitts that start off promisingly protective but are rendered almost useless as soon as a spin through the washing machine leaves clumps of stuffing in odd places. When you slot your unsuspecting, vulnerable hand into a flimsy mitt then grab for a pan of cookies straight out of the oven, the betrayal makes itself known.

After researching the best oven mitts on the market and seeking the advice of chefs of different expertise, the Five Two Silicone Oven Mitts stood out to us as a hands-down excellent choice. Read on for our full list of the best oven mitts and gloves for handling even the hottest dishes.

Pros: They're extra long and protect your forearms, and they come with magnets to stick to the refrigerator.

Cons: You may not gloves that are as long as these, which measure 15 inches.

These are thoughtful oven mitts. Food52 has identified many a problem, and these oven mitts offer features that solve them. The mitts and potholder come with magnets that stick to your fridge for easy access. They're one of the longest on this list and will protect most of your forearm. They're made of high-grade silicone, and they're easy to take on and off with a flapped wrist design.

Pros: The mitt is plush and thick, and it has a durable brass grommet hanging loop.

Cons: It's pricy, and it doesn't come in a variety of colors or patterns.

These thick, quilted oven mitts hang from a loop threaded through a durable metal grommet and come in an appealing checkered pattern. They're surprisingly durable and would look at home in nearly any kitchen.

When Marti Lieberman, owner of Mac Mart Mac'n Cheesery, got married a few years ago, she received a set of these oven mitts. "They're very thick and comfy on the hand and very cute. We got them as part of someone's engagement gift. At first, I didn't think I would use or need them because in the past I've just used a kitchen towel," she says. "They've become very handy. They're comfy, they're easy to clean, hang really nicely, and quilted so they feel puffy, but they're not bulky. You can still feel your hand while handling the food."

Also available at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

The All-Clad Silicone Oven Mitt sets the standard for an affordable, mixed-material oven mitt. Primarily made of cotton twill, it's stain-resistant, non-slip, and heat resistant up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Complete with a hanging loop sewn in for easy storage, the mitt comes in a rainbow of colors, so you're sure to find one you'll want to display.

Alex Crossman, a pastry assistant at Bloomsday Café, constantly churns out lemon tarts, croissants, and biscotti from both her workplace's convection ovens and her home kitchen. "At Bloomsday we use towels, but at home, I use the ones from All Clad. They're great – I've never felt heat through them," she says. "I put on the oven mitt before opening the oven so it is open for as little time as possible and retains heat. Then I grab the lip of the pan wearing my mitts, which are cotton and very fleecy inside. I've been using my All-Clad ones since 2018. They're so easy to care for. I put them in the washing machine but I tend not to use a dryer."

Pros: They're thick but soft, and linen is a sustainable fabric.

Cons: You'll likely want to buy a second mitt, and the manufacturer doesn't specify how heat resistant the mitts are

These lovely linen mitts are sold individually and come in many muted, pastel shades. They are sturdy, quilted, and heat insulated, but they still feel flexible, as stone-washing the linen develops its softness. 

"My favorite oven mitt is probably the Magic Linen mitt, says Julia Skinner, a food writer, fermenter, and founder of Root. "When I need to replace housewares, I try to go with sustainable options, and this fits the bill with natural fiber-based mitts that are sourced and manufactured in the same region, rather than shipping materials back and forth across the globe. They're also machine washable and attractive."

Pros: These gloves are longer than most and protect against steam and water. 

Cons:You may not need their extra length for simple tasks close to the stove, and they're not made from a sustainable fabric.

This pair of textured, non-slip silicone gloves comes in candy colors and is both heat resistant up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and padded with polyester fill for extra protection. The gloves will protect your arms and are even longer than the grill gloves on this list. And unlike fabric mitts, these are also resistant to steam and water.

These oven mitts last long, as Chris Ono of Hansei in Los Angeles has had his pair for six years. "At Hansei, I'll be utilizing a variety of French techniques informed by Japanese cultural and culinary traditions and philosophy. I slow roast and sear and also have to handle hot pots and pans regularly. They're extremely durable and hold up for long periods of time. They're also easy to clean. Most cotton oven mitts get dirty and stain over many uses." Alysa Osborne, who has cooked professionally for seven years, also praises this pair: "The whole hand part is silicone, and they go pretty far up my arm, so my hand and wrist feel very protected when using them. The nice grippy part on the palm keeps stuff from slipping around."

Pros: You don't need to buy two separate gloves, and stains are essentially invisible.

Cons: If you're used to using a mitt, you may not like this design. Also, it doesn't come in a variety of colors.

This ethically made, one-piece hand protector has an excellent grip due to its textured surface. Do you find yourself reaching into the depths of your oven to spin pans around? This glove will ensure your arms are fully protected. Its hanging strap makes it easy to store. Stains don't show up on its black fabric.

Tiffany Ran of Seattle pop-up Babalio raves about the Goodee Oven Gloves. "After I started cooking professionally, I got used to using side towels. Traditional oven mitts feel restrictive. I have no access to my fingers and I feel like I have clubs for `hands. Most of them are not aesthetically pleasing either. My husband doesn't work in professional kitchens and he's more comfortable using mitts, so we had to find something we both enjoy using. I found this mitt from Goodee World that seemed like a compromise, with the versatility and ease you'll find with a towel, but with enough protection to feel safe for those who like oven mitts," she says.

"When I'm home, I use my Taitung and bamboo steamers a lot. With this mitt, I can actually use my fingers to pick up bowls and plates embedded in the steamer and the extra length wraps around part of my wrist so I don't get steam burns. Traditional Asian households would have this metal clamp they use to do this. It's pretty funny because none of my friends who have seen it could guess what it's for. I keep a few of these mitts around and treat them just like towels, once they're dirty, I just toss them in the wash," she says.

Pros: They're very durable, and they come in both mitts and pot holder styles

Cons: They're not as heat resistant as alternatives.

Yes, we're technically listing pot holders here, but these also come as oven mitts for those who insist on sheathing their whole hands. These are made of extremely durable cotton and are dotted with textured, silicone grips.

Chris Spear, host of the podcast Chefs Without Restaurants and chef-owner of Perfect Little Bites, a personal chef service, uses the KitchenAid Cotton Asteroid Pot Holders at home. "I hate any kind of mitt that I have to put my hands in. I much prefer a pot holder I can pinch with," he saays. "They hold up really well. I haven't had any issues. Though I will say if you're pulling a really hot cast iron pan out of the oven, it pushes the limit. I can feel little heat through them."

Pros: They're extremely heat-resistant. They're also multipurpose – you can grill, chop, slice, and handle fireplace coals with them.

Cons: You can't sufficiently clean these. They're for specific tasks, not daily kitchen use

These grilling gloves, sold by the pair, do not play around. In addition to standing up to high heat, they also protect against knife cuts. Though these aren't your daily oven mitts, you can feel good having this versatile, affordable pair in your arsenal for grilling, butchering game, handling fireplace coals, and moving alarmingly hot smoke trays with confidence. Plus, they're surprisingly soft.

"You need to have nimble fingers to turn the little wooden skewers, so I'd do those barehanded. But I would wear these mitts while moving charcoal around from hot spots to areas I'd want to heat up," says Christopher Sarachilli, an itinerant cook who formerly manned the big charcoal grill at Saté Kampar. "When you light the chimney starter, ashes will fly back up at you and so you have to wear leather grilling mitts. I was looking for something leather and long enough. Some people get blacksmithing gloves, which I think might be overkill, but I like these."

Pros: They're full of personality and have hooks to hang them on display.

Cons: You don't have the extra protection of silicone and other heat-resistant materials.

Not every novelty mitt needs to be scrutinized and taken seriously, as evidenced by Blue Q's selection of mitts with colorful, retro-inspired designs and cheeky phrases that will probably win some laughs. Insulated, thick, and made of cotton, they're reasonably priced. And because they're sold individually, you can stock up on your favorite phrases.  

"We sell a ton of Blue Q oven mitts from our shop, Open House," says Valerie Safran, co-owner of Safran Turney Hospitality. "They are retro, funny and inexpensive. People love to give them as gifts!"

Pros: It's very heat resistant and promotes dexterity.

Cons: As a glove, so it's not as easy to put on and take off as ttraditional mitts. Also, you should really hand wash it, which requires an extra bit of effort.

If you're in need of dexterity when jostling hot pans in an oven you're trying to keep open for the shortest amount of time, consider an oven glove like the classic Ove Glove. It can withstand temperatures of up to 540 degrees Fahrenheit, fits on either hand with flexibility, and offers protection over an open grill.

"My true passion is the Ove Glove," says Katy Rose Glickman, an avid home cook who runs the Instagram account Cooking Through Grief. "I just bought a pair for someone as a wedding gift." Belinda Wei, chef and co-founder of Dear Bella Creamery, agrees, and has used hers for 12 years, she says. Wei loves "being able to move my fingers around, which gives me a better grip on hot pans, handles, and oven racks. The rubbery strips on it also adds extra security when maneuvering hot pots and pans."

And she's found more uses for the Ove Glove than grilling. "I use it for anything that comes out of the oven or needs to get pulled out and rotated in the oven. I wear it while holding handles on pots to pour out hot food and liquids and anytime my hand might be exposed to steam for a long period of time. I also use it to flip over hot cake pans and when I'm slicing on a mandolin," she says.

Pros: They come in so many colors that you're bound to find one you love. They're easy to clean.

Cons: They wrinkle a bit after washing and need to be pressed down to look somewhat new again. They don't provide much arm protection.

This is the classic oven mitt. It's sold individually and by the pair. It comes in an array of appealing colors, resists temperatures of up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, has a loop for hanging, and is easy to clean.

These are my oven mitts. A professional chef of the last decade or so, I make dinner at home every night and bake every now and then. I've had my Williams Sonoma mitts as long as I've been cooking professionally, though I would never bring them into a professional kitchen where they'd get destroyed and coated in fryer grease. Cooking at home, my trusty gray pair has been through a lot. I use them every day to handle hot pans coming out of the oven, sauce pans, and sauté pans on the stovetop.

These mitts have gone through the washer and dryer twice a month (again, for a decade!), and being a rebel, I don't follow the care instructions. I use hot water and keep my dryer on high and these mitts have gone the distance. No, they're not the flat, perfectly shaped mitts I originally purchased, but they have continually protected my hands, and their quilting has never shifted to reveal thinned spots that would make my skin vulnerable to heat.

Pros: It's a vibrant but functional design with cotton padding and a hanging loop, and you won't find these unique oven mitts (or even lookalikes) at retail chains.

Cons:It's unclear how heat resistant they are

This oven mitts is uniquely "frog" designed, with the thumb opening up like the jaw of a frog. Made in India, it features a delightful contrast of bright colors – red and blue stripes on top and lime and green stripes on the bottom – that will bring a bit of fun to the tasks of baking and handling hot pans.

"I love these mitts because they are so bright and colorful. Not only do they spark joy when I use them, but they're also easy to spot a mile away," says Abi Balingit, the baking blogger behind the Dusky Kitchen. While developing her upcoming cookbook, MAYUMU: Filipino American Desserts Remixed, Balingit reached for her mitts often: "They're super helpful whenever I feel like I'm in a hurry to find my mitts once I have to pull a cake out of the oven."

Oven mitts are not one-size-fits-all. Yes, they may technically fit most hands, but the hands that use them for protection are doing an array of tasks in the kitchen that require varying degrees of mitt flexibility and are suited for different materials. Think about what it is you most commonly need heat protection from and how much of your arm needs to be covered in addition to your hand. Think about how much dexterity you require when wearing one of our top picks. Do you need all five fingers? The Ove Glove is for you! Moving hot coals and taming a wild beast in your house? Grab the leather trimmed, bite-proof model from G + F Products. Looking for a sustainable option? Go linen with Magic Linen. Or do you just want something that will check most the boxes and be the easiest to store? Then go with our top pick, Five Two.

Silicone oven mitts are generally more sanitary and definitely more heatproof with better grip than cotton oven mitts. They also have a secret function as jar-opener. Does that make them better? It can, depending on your task, but fabric mitts can provide more dexterity – one of the most important qualities an oven mitt should possess. Many mitts on the list offer the best of both worlds, combining thick, quilted cotton with silicone embellishments to enhance grip. Straight up cotton or linen mitts are going to give you the most dexterity with the greatest ease putting them on and taking them off. 

Most of the fabric mitts on this list are machine washable, but they'll often do better hung to dry, as the dryer can distort their intended shape. Silicone mitts are easier to wipe clean, but even if they claim to be machine washable, they may benefit from more gentle cleaning and last longer because of it. Chris Ono handwashes his silicone-polyester HOMWE oven mitts, which he's used for the last six years, "I always hand wash them as the washer will break down the materials." 

What are you doing that requires you to use oven mitts, and to what skill level? Bear in mind that most professional chefs insist upon using dish towels folded very specifically, so you may not need an oven mitt that has all the bells and whistles, but most importantly, you need to protect your hands with something that you can trust. 

For mitts that are fabric or a blend of fabric and silicone, machine wash on cold is usually the answer. I'll spray tough stains down first with stain remover (I use the one from the Laundress) but I also know that my kitchen implements are first and foremost items that are useful. Useful things in my kitchen get thoroughly used. What's most important to me in an oven mitt is that I don't burn myself! I trust specific dish towels and my Williams-Sonoma mitts to do that job. 

Michal Shelkowitz, pastry chef at Vetri Cucina never uses oven mitts. She rattles off her daily tasks: "Bread baking, mise en place for all the plated desserts like a pistachio cake, strawberry shortcake, panna cotta. I use mostly a convection oven but the bread is baked in a conventional oven. We have sourdough made with spelt and a classic focaccia which is a really simple dough topped with olive oil." And how does she handle this multitude of items coming out of the oven? With a typical bar mop. "I have two methods of folding. For the bread, I do the quarter fold, which gives me four layers and covers my entire hand and wrist. So when I'm taking breads out, I'm not getting scorched on my wrists. If I'm taking anything bulky like bread out of the oven, I always go for the quarter fold. If I'm handling a saute pan, which I do one-handed, I'll do three folds then fold it in half. That way the towel is narrow, compact and not dangling into the flame." Shelkowitz also cautions that one must use a dry towel. "Wet towels will turn into steam and burn you real fast! Faster than you think!"

Yes! They are generally stronger and more protective against heat than say, cotton oven mitts. I find them most effective when blended or lined with another material like cotton to comfortably insulate your hands and ensure the most grippy grip. Be wary that silicone-embellished mitts can also break down in a washing machine, so may not be able to withstand the same frequent laundering that a cotton mitt can. That said, silicone doesn't harbor bacteria the way that cloth oven mitts are prone to.

Kiki Aranita is a food writer, chef, recipe developer and sauce entrepreneur who is constantly moving large stock pots filled with Chili Peppah Water and Katsu Sauce for sauce development purposes. She's a sometime baker who specializes in butter mochi and bibingka and has handled many a hot pan. She mostly has managed to not burn herself in her years as a food truck operator and tester of products for Food & Wine and USA Today.