Oven gloves from Lakeland

For at least ten years past I've been using an oven glove bought at Wilkinson, who now of course style themselves Wilko. It's made of cotton, with really thick, heat-resistant cotton padding inside, and really does protect my right hand from the searing heat of an oven pan. 

Originally this Wilko glove had an identical partner, so that I could wear a glove on each hand. But after a few years, the cotton padding inside that other glove began to break up, making it impossible to put it on in a hurry. Eventually I binned it, and relied on just the one glove. Fortunately on only one occasion thereafter was it necessary to improvise heat-protection for my left hand, as well as my right. But I knew that sooner or later I'd need a matching new pair.

I looked around in various cookshops, department stores, and such places as National Trust shops. There were plenty of oven gloves on offer, some of them way too pretty to be practical, for in time all oven gloves suffer fat splashes, staining and scorching. I bought one or two, nevertheless. But all had a basic problem: they didn't have enough cotton padding inside to shield my hand from the heat - at least not so that I could hold the pan for more than two or three seconds. So I stuck with the cheap, no-nonsense, but eminently fit-for-purpose Wilko gloves. But as I say, one had to be binned, and the other has gradually became rather too tatty, though still fine for everyday use. Here's a shot of it, taken tonight:

It has served me well, but its time is almost up. It's now going the same way as its partner. The thick cotton lining is breaking up, making it harder and harder to slip it on quickly. So today, while in Chichester, I visited Lakeland to see if I could find something better. And not too expensive. Most oven gloves - at least most of those made for female cooks - feature attractive designs, but at a price. I'd had enough of flowery gloves that looked nice but didn't do their job properly.

Well, Lakeland had just what I needed. Not indeed quite what I was first looking for. And these gloves were £9.99 each, or £19.98 for two, which was expensive by Wilko standards. But they looked the business. I hardly hesitated.

Here they are at home, gloriously lit by the afternoon sunshine:

They are not quite so orange in real life! Nor are they fluorescent. Lakeland call them 'mitts' but I prefer to call them 'gloves'. The ribbed orange section is silicone, which I know from long experience with silicone spoons and spatulas does not transmit heat to the fingers. It's naturally grippy, but the ribbing will make my hold on hot pans and pyrex glass bowls doubly secure. The cotton lining isn't quite as thick as the Wilko glove, but then it doesn't need to be. 

So here is my updated oven glove line-up:

The two gloves in the background are hardly ever used, and therefore still pristine. They are the ones I bought and found wanting. Right foreground, the one remaining Wilko glove, still fully functional, but looking tired. The two new Lakeland gloves, left foreground, will now take over. I tried one of them out tonight, taking a pan with a salmon fillet and tomatoes in it from the oven. The glove I wore worked perfectly: my hand didn't even get warm. Lakeland claim that they will protect a hand from 250 degrees C for up to 15 seconds, which is more performance than I'm ever likely to need in my kitchen, or in the caravan.

A successful purchase, then. 

I shan't throw any of the other gloves away. Like most things, they aren't cheap to buy nowadays, and would be OK for pots and pans that are merely very warm, as opposed to painfully hot. 

No doubt the orange colour of my new oven gloves won't be to everyone's taste. My Mum would certainly have liked them - she was always one for bright colours. Me, I don't mind; they are definitely gloves that put function first and appearance second, and for safety's sake that's getting the priorities right. And if my new gloves prove long-lasting as well as superbly protective, then I'll be very happy with them. Those silicone spoons and spatulas I mentioned - coloured red and yellow - have been used daily for over five years, and still look good. That suggests these new oven gloves will have a long and useful life.