Equipment Expert Reveals Top Pick for the Best Pot Holders

[@mordeys]

what i have learned from the many equipment test is that if your going after kitchen ware, for yourself or as a gift you can't seem to go real wrong with oxo stuff. even if they aren't the winner they are the budget winner or 2nd place.

[@RosyRosie42]

It’s almost a game now: “Will OXO win?” 😁

[@OriginalEric]

Exactly what I was going to comment. Personally I can say I've never been disappointed with their stuff so it's not too surprising

[@SonicBoomC98]

Yeah

[@joanwood9480]

I have a bunch of the old cotton jersey potholders made on a loom. I like them and they work. It's funny that they are testing pot holders when they usually use a doubled over kitchen towel.

[@martaaberg3330]

The findings explain why I still love the old fashioned magic fold crocheted potholders; it really is all about the density and flexibility.

[@suzannedepadro9265]

Grandma’s crocheted potholders60 years old still work the best

[@Becausing]

Washing potholders in the dishwasher- what a revelation!

[@Nicolas-zb9uw]

You can also wash your fan grills , over the stove , in your dishwasher . No mess for you and they get clean all right .

[@Globalfoodbook1]

Happy to watch. Wishing everyone a happy weekend

[@sandrakeen4000]

Years ago you recommended a thicker terrycloth pot holder that I have four of and I love them. You never really test those anymore it seems. It stains but the heat resistance is wonderful.

[@slugbiker]

I still prefer the Ritz cotton potholders (that green one on the end they didn't like) - because it is thick enough and flexible enough to use on anything. The stiffer ones may give better heat protection, but if you have to use two hands to bend the potholder to shape (as you see them do with the neoprene), it's not worth it. You can double-up on the Ritz cotton potholders to get more heat protection without sacrificing control (e.g., when lifting a heavy cast iron pan). Plus, they go into the washing machine and last forever.

[@lorraineeasydoesit8448]

I have short stubby fingers and little hands. Ritz have been my go-to for 20 years and I am not going to change now. They last forever.

[@SonicBoomC98]

In my personal use I had the same problem they had if you have to hold on to something more than a couple seconds. I start to feel the heat

[@lmsmuffin]

I love my Oxo Good Grips. They work great! I was at my Moms tonight and used her pot holders and they were terrible. I will be getting her some of her own Good Grips.

[@OscarM.94]

👍🏻 same

[@maremacd]

Thanks. I’ll stick with my long oven mitts. I’ve had too many wrist/lower arm burns from oven doors and racks.

[@BrazenSpirituality]

I am with you on this! 😃

[@emjones55343]

Yes, they missed the mark not including mitts in the test. I much prefer them.

[@JohnLight1]

My Grandmother had several burn scars on her forearms from pulling cookies out of the oven.

[@smtpgirl]

The OXO silicone potholders and the oven mitt ARE great.

[@stevethea5250]

which ovenmitt ?

[@consod]

Ikea has (or used to have -- If you shop at Ikea you know what I mean) a charcoal grey tacky silicon hot pad holder that is terrific. The tacky surface means a very firm grip on the pan or pan. Mess wipes off in the sink right away. They can be doubled up for carrying hot things for long distances. I can't find it on Ikea on-line, but if you have an Ikea store nearby, check them out. I have several in my kitchen and I love them.

[@jayferguson9968]

My Mom quilts potholders from extra scraps of material, and she goes out of her way to make them unpretty. Soooo many times, people have potholders that are too pretty to be used for messy pies, or anything that'd mess them up. Quilted cotton fabrics seem to do the job efficiantly, and cheaply. :)

[@MissMolly75]

Mine melted when I put a hot cookie sheet on them to protect my counter. I laid two of them out, and let my hot cookie sheet cool on the counter since my stovetop was in use. I've done this my whole life and so did my parents (I'm 50 now). I had to peel these off the back, and they had stringy gooey lines as I peeled them off. They left a gooey imprint on the cookie sheet, which is expensive. It'll probably smell and burn in the next oven use. I had baked drop biscuits at 425 degrees F, something I've always done. Whatever the fabric side is made of, it's not heat/melt resistant. I've never had a fabric pot holder melt before. The silicone side is great. I'd love for you to retest these OXO ones for melting of the fabric side in this type of use, which is one of the main functions/uses of a pot holder.

[@berighteous]

I use a folded kitchen towel. Works perfectly fine.

[@VanInhalin]

Grandma's crocheted pot holders are the best. Everyone knows this.

[@kat1984]

I'm currently making crocheted pot holders. They work great and last decades

[@mahumike7531]

anything that can get wet and fry you is NOT a contender in my book

[@OmegaGamingNetwork]

Best at staining, unraveling and generally offering no more protection than a dishrag.

[@VanInhalin]

I think maybe some of y'alls grandma's ain't very good at crocheting.

[@OmegaGamingNetwork]

@@VanInhalin I think you overestimate the actual physical abilities of yarn. Yarn doesn't stand up to 500 degree heat. No matter how good grandma is.

[@BrazenSpirituality]

Can you test the mitten style pot holders?

[@carsongbaker]

They already have! OXO good grips won, same product as shown here but in mitten format

[@bdh70]

I got the pocket-style ones as a gift and I really don't like them. The pocket it awkward and I don't feel like I have a good grip. I have the sage green ones like on the right and I love those, and that's what I use.

[@Joan-qh8lw]

Thank you Adam - always on the look out for good pot holders. Love your hair cut, Julia!

[@deborahadeen7582]

I've melted the neoprene ones and scorched many of the others. I've tried silicone and it just is clumsy. I have the wells lamont leather one and use them most, but they are not great when I have to hold the cast iron for any length of time and really hurt if they are wet.

[@cshubs]

Is there anything OXO can't do well??

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

Nope... 👍

[@seikibrian8641]

"Is there anything OXO can't do well??" ATK doesn't like the OXO mandolines they've tested recently, although I have two that I find perfectly functional.

[@OscarM.94]

Just a great brand plus look nicer

[@francinecorry633]

What about the silicone OXO if it gets wet? Such as say chicken stock or sauce.Seems like the neoprene would be better suited for gripping when wet and less slippery than silicone.

[@williamjones7163]

My Mom has thick cotton potholders with silicone lines on both sides for gripping. They are the best. I just checked, they are made by All-Clad.

[@patd6370]

What company makes neoprene potholder (the second place winner)?

[@comet969]

I love the pocket with silicone but I like the wider ones so my hand is free moving the skinny ones you can’t move your hands wide and I find it hard to grab some things

[@barcham]

I have a pair of Nomex gloves that were off-white when I got them. Now the ends of the fingers are burnt and black, as are the thumbs, but they still protect my hands from heat extremely well. As for washing them... if I happen to spill something on them, I wash them in soapy dishwater in the sink. Other than that, after 10 years or so, while they may look terrible, they are still going strong. I also have a brand-new pair of mitts with silicon texture on them that are hanging from my range hood that look beautiful but have never been used. I find the gloves give me a much better grip than anything else does.

[@ThatsAwesomeAndStuff]

Love the oxo but mine had the fabric sewn onto the silicone come loose in a corner after a few months

[@trickvro]

Many OXO products come in Good Grips versions and SoftWorks versions. A lot of stores, like Target, only seem to sell OXO SoftWorks. I'm not sure what the difference is, if there is any. Have you looked into this? When you specify OXO Good Grips like you did in this review, should I interpret that as meaning OXO SoftWorks is not a good choice?

[@seikibrian8641]

"When you specify OXO Good Grips like you did in this review, should I interpret that as meaning OXO SoftWorks is not a good choice?" Only if the SoftWorks version was included in the test and scored poorly. In this case they were not tested, so no conclusion can be drawn.

[@trickvro]

@@seikibrian8641 Do they ever test OXO SoftWorks? I have no way of checking, because their equipment review articles are behind a paywall. In every video I've watched where they recommend OXO, they either say "OXO Good Grips" or just "OXO".

[@seikibrian8641]

@@trickvro I don't remember seeing any SoftWorks tests. Mostly OXO Good Grips and a couple of OXO Steel products, from what I recall.

[@Penn_chill]

@@trickvro Yep, the paywall thing is aggravating. I’m a long time PBS subscriber/sponsor and maybe I’m expecting too much but between that and the many sites that use paywalls, it’s an issue. Really wish ATK would reconsider.

[@lisamolinar4224]

That's so funny that you're doing a segment on the pot holders because lo and behold I am so tired of burning and I'm not feeding right and not being able to grasp really well so this is good let me see show me what you got so I know what I need to go out and buy.

[@JaneeelV]

Can you guys please do a "best counter dish rack" for the home? PLEASE!!!

[@OscarM.94]

Oxo or Simple Human are good I have oxo stainless steel large and it's easy to clean and looks really nice. It folds too

[@therealnancycarol]

Or learn to crochet and make your own! Cotton yarn, any size you want and less expensive. I'm making some now that are double thick, user friendly, and fast to make. 😉

[@kat1984]

Same

[@sugarsugar475]

I’ll stick with my thick red silicone gloves sold by As Seen on TV. They are easy to wash, and easy to maneuver with the five finger glove style. No heat goes through these unless I hold a cast iron skillet a little to long.

[@OmegaGamingNetwork]

Yep, I have black ones but same thing. Basically anything too hot for the towel I already have on my shoulder gets those. Just the best things ever, especially for maneuvering meat around on a smoker.

[@wackywankavator]

Silicon is awesome. But slippery. And heat will still get through. Just ask my kitchen tile.

[@salavalos]

What about the good ol’ fashioned kitchen towel? You’re typically not going that far with your cookware 🙂

[@kathrynhenry2836]

Why do you usually use kitchen towels to remove pans from the oven?

[@bs-vo1ii]

I have one with silicone on the under side. I use them all the time. It helps with grip and heat. I wont use anything else except an ove glove on occasion

[@AyngeMackay]

Wow, they are all too expensive for me! I got my pot holders from Rite Aid's dollar bin for $1 each. Not the latest or greatest, but they work okay for me.

[@connieholley1124]

Oh my, my 20+ year old cotton terry hot pad came in at the bottom 😟

[@akuro6470]

What does it matter if it stains? Would rather my potholder stain than my hand suffer a burn. That said, I much prefer oven mitts for most uses (and the oxo potholder is practically halfway there already)

[@tomtiernan8134]

You know you live in the first world when you hook up digital testing equipment to potholders.

[@judyd.8338]

lol yeps

[@hln573]

I was today years old when I realized that people put cloth potholders in the dishwasher and not the clothes washer okay, false alarm... the one they put in the dishwasher looked like cloth but it was the Neoprene one. Carry on... 🙂

[@filonin2]

"today years old" So you were 4?

[@caramella26]

Only the neoprene and silicone ones go in the dishwasher. The cloth ones go into the laundry.

[@hln573]

@@filonin2 it's humor... don't overthink it

[@hln573]

@@caramella26 i thought the one they put in the dishwasher was cloth... i went back and watched again 😁

[@filonin2]

@@hln573 Don't quit your day job. You need to think about your "humor" more if you want others to recognize it as such. If you had to tell someone it was a joke you aren't funny.

[@cshubs]

Please do fondue pots.

[@caiwj22]

Its been long!! Miss Adam!!!

[@JohnLight1]

The Dollar Tree pot holders work well.

[@shanleyshoupe7873]

better than some 'nicer' ones ive had that barely handle 350 degrees, and are basically useless for 425, but the dollar store mitts never fail me

[@Pocketsnuggies]

What about the gloves with silicone? I love those.

[@davet1081AA]

I still like terry cloth for tactile feel. Something they should have mentioned - NEVER buy polyester pot holders, they will melt (>300) to your cast iron pan (and your hand) if you preheat pan in a 500 degree oven - as ATK recommends for their steak method. Very surprised the neoprene didn't scorch - it melts at 500, broiler temperature.

[@tom_something]

As a nerd, I'm curious how they measured the "thickness", since these are soft and squishy materials. If you just measure the thickness on minimal contact, that's not applicable to when you're actually holding something. But if you measure the thickness when pressure is applied, it becomes a question of how much pressure to apply. It's a super nerdy question, but Adam gave a thickness figure with a precision of one tenth of a millimeter*, so I have to assume it's a fair question. Side note: while not everyone is into pockets, they are very nice to have if there's a risk of touching something hot with the back of your hand. This could be accidentally touching a sidewall of your oven while pulling a wide pan out of the oven (of course, if the load isn't too heavy you should always slide the rack out a bit first), or putting a boule into or pulling it out of a pre-heated Dutch oven. Breadmaking oven temps are often rocket-hot. *If he had said "4.5 millimeters," I would have said the precision was on the order of half a millimeter, as "point five" is rarely indicative of a 0.1 precision. But he said "4.4 millimeters", so our precision here might be 0.1 millimeters, but is at most 0.2 millimeters. Which is still a teeny, tiny amount of thickness.

[@thatheis]

I’m convinced that they are sponsored by oxo good grip. That company wins everything

[@NorthWoodsDiver]

America's test kitchen is self funded and buys all the products that they test. I wish they would test the professional quality products now available to the public from companies like Vollrath. The pro tools are not always more expensive anymore.

[@csbollard2698]

Love heat resistant gloves

[@UrbanHomesteadMomma]

I don’t know guys... I buy cheap pot holders for $4 a pair at Dollarama... they are flexible enough to get a great grip on even heavy pans, even when you need to double them up to get the heat protection you still done loose your grip... and they both are easy to toss in the wash between uses and cheap enough to have multiples... and when they get too stained or wear out you can just get another $4 pair!

[@HappybyChoice]

Tip...If your new potholders aren’t flexible enough for you, run them through the washer and dryer.

[@eisirm]

1:45

[@jenjoy4353]

One thing I have noticed is that the average pot holder is not big enough. I’ve made mine 9 inch square about the right size for me. They have insulated batting and four layers of cotton.

[@doglover-mb6bs]

When I was a small girl my mother would buy me potholder kits and have me make them. Then she would drive me to different neighborhoods and drop me off to sell them door to door. One for 15 cents two for 25 cents. Elderly women would always buy them. I was only 5 years old! Can you imagine a five year old going door to door in todays world! I really don't care for potholders today and use towels instead!

[@sooooooooDark]

these "good grip" guys seem to make good kitchen ware ive seen them multiple times on amazon labeled with "best seller" and "amazon choice" 🤔

[@jenjoy4353]

I notice oxy good grips are very often winners in your tests. Do you receive funding or other promotions from this company?

[@Obecny75]

No they just make great products

[@doctorx0079]

Oxo Good Grips wins again, but what can you say, they are just well-designed products.

[@jennifernelson6148]

Has anyone read the transcript?

[@filonin2]

Wow, what an important question to answer /s.

[@SharonH11100]

Hello~thanks!💕🙋🏼‍♀️

[@Losttoanyreason]

I hate the thin potholders they make these days. They suck. I just don't know how we managed with those thick square potholders we used to have in the old days. Never had any issues getting stuff out of the oven or off the stove or messed up cakes using them. That sounds like operator error to me.

[@SonicBoomC98]

It's hard to find a good one now

[@ravensbrood3544]

Adam recommends some products that are way out of the price range of many normal cooks, not everyone is a big money chef.

[@elliez.3561]

Why would I want this instead of oven mitts?

[@robertkinkhorst5697]

Do we really need “advise” on our pot holders 😝 just use whatever you’re comfortable with and it doesn’t burn your table and your good to go 😉😉😉😉😉

[@flightattendantsteven]

Go figure! OXO for the win! I'd like to trust ATK, but somehow mist winning gadgets and such are OXO...I live in Vegas, and I'll tell you the odds of that one product line winning, while gambling, that often would draw some attention by casino security.

[@Penn_chill]

Ha! Vegas questioning the odds on ATK winners was definitely not what I was expecting to stumble onto. Or in this case, definitely not on my Bingo card! 😅🥂

[@Weezulguy]

Um, wouldn't you prefer a pair of oven mitts for all that 'oven' work?

[@alexandramiles-lasseter8263]

Meh, we use welding gloves. My husband has large hands and I am short. Welding gloves are big enough for him but long enough to protect my forearms when reaching.

[@Obecny75]

2 for $18?! I can't find them for anything less than $11-25 EACH

[@damionfragoso2655]

They should just call it the oxo recommendations

[@danelle4290]

Why no gloves in the mix? I love my ove gloves

[@cocacola7845]

Contraband pot... holders 😄

[@CreachterZ]

The problem is if they get wet. You can steam yourself to a huge burn.

[@RictorIAG]

Why buy potholders? I've never seen a professional kitchen use them. Just a lot of kitchen/tea towels. Kitchens don't need a lot of unitaskers outside of a fire extinguisher.

[@elizabethshaw734]

I have diminished feeling in my hands so I have a pair of ove gloves. :-)

[@agoogleaccount2861]

Hmm ..i just keep a spare welding glove around for that

[@AuntDuddie]

I just use Mama Mias moppines.

[@joedillon159]

We going to watch them eat for 30 minutes?

[@SonicBoomC98]

Honestly I getting tired of using a dish towel to move things I'm cooking

[@stevenreichertart]

All of those are way too small!!! Oven mitts are the way to go.

[@kalijasin]

Chefs don’t use these. They use tea towels.

[@innernouter]

Pot holders? Really?

[@jesusislord2457]

Remember the good old days when potholders had asbestos in the middle? You could get them in a set for less than $1.00 and they lasted for years.

[@DGFishRfine1]

Well, yeah, but there are pretty good reasons we don't use them anymore 🤣

[@malcolmxxx86]

If pot holders are no necessary, then why aren't they used in restaurant kitchens?...I know the answer...expensive, not efficient and dangerous...side towels all the way

[@Dicyroller]

Wait you know a lot of cooks who won't use potholders... I don't think so. You only need 2nd and 3rd degree burns once to know it is not macho it is stupid. That was a bad intro. Unless those cooks never handle hot things.

[@gunkyzip]

No coincidence that OxO has been a sponsor of the show for years.

[@axeavier]

proof showing they sponsored them?

[@gunkyzip]

@@axeavier If you've ever watched the full shows, they're listed as a sponsor at the end of the show credits.

[@axeavier]

@@gunkyzip isn't the show on this channel too? They show full episodes. The sponsors are even listed here at the end. And they're here too www.americastestkitchen.com/sponsors

[@gunkyzip]

@@axeavier Fair question. The show's been on the air for 20 years, and they may not currently be a sponsor. However, they were in the past.

[@axeavier]

@@gunkyzip Apparently they were but according to this user, www.reddit.com/r/Cooking/comments/3zqoit/americas_test_kitchen_tests_stand_mixers/cyoyrez?context=3 They did put their items on the don't buy list. I highly doubt that oxo ruined ATK's integrity.

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

POST AND RE-POST WERE WALKING ACROSS A BRIDGE. POST FELL OFF. WHO WAS LEFT? RE-POST. 😴

[@micsierra806]

Pot holders? Kitchen towel. Boom. I just saved you $ and drawer space. Go to a professional kitchen. You will not find pot holders.

[@ajaiiz]

First

[@majoroldladyakamom6948]

No one cares. If that is your claim to fame, Google: "How to Get A Life", rofl. 🤣⚘