Last year just a few days before Thanksgiving I bought a pair of these hot pink silicone Gator Gloves. I thought they would come in handy working with the hot Thanksgiving turkey and that was my main reason for buying them. Little did I know how handy they would become in my kitchen tools arsenal.
Cons
I'll start with the cons first, and I only have a couple. These do get really slippery when you've handled something greasy, but the upside is you can clean them quickly with soap and water and they're back in use.
They might not fit you if you have really big hands. My husband and son have to struggle to get these onto their hands.
You might not like hot pink in your kitchen, but they do have neon orange if that matches your decor better. (snicker)*
Handle Burning Hot Foods Easily
So the first time I used them was for the Thanksgiving turkey. It was pretty awesome being able to move the big bird around with my hands while it was burning hot. Typically I would use my cloth mitts and they would get pretty grungy with grease and broth, and once they were wet or even just damp I'd be burning my fingers.
Aside from getting really slippery from the turkey grease, the Gator Gloves worked out perfect for the task. They are super easy to clean, so that's not a problem.
I make a lot of meat stock and bone broth and the Gator Gloves come in handy when I need to pull a hot chicken carcass from the broth so that I can pull off the meat. You can't continuously handle the burning hot meat as eventually you will begin to feel the heat inside the gloves but you'll get miles farther than using your bare fingers to pull the hot meat from the bones. Of course you can just let the carcass sit for a couple hours and cool down, but if you're like me sometimes you have to get things moving along and don't want to take the time to wait.
I've boiled eggs [affiliate link] and removed the eggs from the boiling hot water using these gloves, no problem.
Okay, so corn isn't allowed on GAPS but I started to try out some new foods last year and this past July I bought some corn on the cob. We put the corn on the cob (in the husk and with the silky threads intact) into aluminum foil in the oven and baked until it was done and it was super awesome to be able to remove the hot ears, pull away the husk and threads using the Gator Gloves. My husband was super impressed with my hot handling abilities. He has numerous callouses on his hands and can withstand a lot of heat, but I was able to surpass even his heat tolerance!
Handle Hot Utensils
I use the Gator Gloves as much as I use my cloth mitts to remove cake pans or casserole-type dishes from the oven. As long as the Gator Gloves are clean and haven't been used recently for a messy job, they allow me to grasp the pan solidly and remove it without getting burned.
These work great with handling cast iron skillet handles, too.
Makes Grilling Easier
Okay, so I haven't grilled in a few months. I tend to stop grilling during the summer as it is just too much to stand anywhere near a hot grill when it's 118°F outside. However, in the first months of the year when the weather was cooler I did find that these came in handy with moving the grate if I forgot to adjust it. Also, flipping burgers by hand is a lot simpler than using a spatula.
Fingers vs. Mittens
I do prefer the fingers over mittens, but if you have large hands you may have trouble getting these on. My husband and son have to pull them on like surgical gloves whereas for me they are pretty loose. Also, since these are pink the guys don't really like touching them, let alone using them. 😉 If you are buying a pair for a big tough guy you might want to get the orange version.
Easy to Clean
The icing on the cake is when the Gator Gloves get greasy or dirty in any way, all you have to do is wash them in the sink with soap and hot water, rinse and dry and they are back in use. Compare this with your typical cloth oven mitts which when they get wet are now prone to burning your fingers and have to go through the washer and dryer in order to use again. Plus the cloth ones can get really grungy if you don't make a point to throw them in the wash every week or so (depending on how messy they get).
Perfect Gift
I bought my boss a pair of these last year because she loves kitchen gadgets. If you're looking for something to buy a person who loves to cook and putter around in the kitchen, consider getting them a set of the Gator Gloves.
What is your favorite kitchen tool?
*I can't imagine there are many kitchens in the world that are beautifully decorated in hot pink or neon orange, hence my snickering.