I always get nervous when I find out that our labcoat-loving kin at Consumer Reports are about to test a product that I’ve grown to be fond of. It’s like taking one of those online IQ tests and worrying that somehow you’re going to find out you’re nowhere near as smart as your mom always said you were. Thus, I’ve been curious and anxious to find out the results of CR’s test on the Ove Glove, the Kevlar-containing oven mitt that has helped me fetch any number of piping hot items from the heart of a fire-breathing oven.

To test the glove’s claim that it could “withstand extreme heat up to 540° F,” Consumer Reports threw a big ol’ cast iron Dutch oven into a 540° oven for 90 minutes and then attempted to not only retrieve it using the Ove Glove, but also to see how long they could hold on to the hot hunk of metal.

They also held the Ove Glove over the open flame on a gas range to see how long it took to scorch or ignite. And finally they doused the mitt with various foods and then washed it.

These same tests were also performed on a variety of oven mitts and pot holders.

The results:

With all the mitts and pot holders, including the Ove Glove, we could hold the Dutch oven for 10 to 15 seconds, but the Ove Glove didn’t get scorched, as one pot holder did, or start to melt, as a mitt did. Held over a flame, the Ove Glove scorched but didn’t ignite until after a minute (a regular mitt ignited in 30 seconds). Few food stains remained after we washed it. Handling was easier with the Ove Glove than with regular mitts and pot holders. It costs about $6 more than a regular mitt but might be worth a try.

Do we love Ove Glove? [Consumer Reports]

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