Product Review: Curious Chef Oven Mitts

Five Little Chefs – Curious Chef Oven Mitt Review

We were not too far into this experiment when I realized my Little Chefs were not able to take pans in and out of the oven safely because they did not have oven mitts that fit. Sure they could use the adult sized ones, but their little hands were swimming in the mitts. Because of this, they did not feel comfortable pulling anything out of the oven alone. They did not have a good enough grasp of the pan.  If they were not confident in themselves then I was not going to let them do this task. I had to find and obtain some kid sized oven mitts.
I went online to do some research hoping to find some reviews from people who regularly cook with kids. Much to my dismay I did not find what I was looking for, I was quite dissapointed. I know parents let their kids cook with them. I thought there must be products out there designed for kids. I was sure there were not a lot of people like me who let the kids cook only with supervision and occasional assistance. Let’s be honest who, besides me, is crazy enough that they would volunteer to have their patience tested for hours at a time just to teach their kids to cook each night! Little Chef C said to me tonight as she was cooking and I was directing, “sometimes you cook so we don’t eat dinner late all the time.”  How true that statement is! But then I asked her if we should stop cooking and I received an emphatic “NO!”
I was looking for kid friendly knives when I discovered, the company, Curious Chef. They have a variety of products designed for Little Chefs. Surely they would have quality products if they are dedicated to this purpose alone! I read some reviews on a variety of their products on amazon. The reviews seemed to be all over the place. Some were good, a few not so great. Because my options were limited I decided to purchase their knives, oven mitts and rolling pin. (Reviews to come.)
My Little Chefs were SO excited when they came! “They fit!” I checked them out and expected them to be more bulky. I thought they would have more padding, thicker material. If you put the right and the left together they equal in thickness of ONE of my adult mitts. Now I do understand if they are too thick it is very hard to grab hold of anything. That would be unsafe. Think about the child sized snow mittens! They cannot pick up anything, let alone snow because they are so thick!
We have since used the Curious Chef Oven Mitts for putting in and pulling out cookie sheets and a variety of other sizes of casserole type pans. Little Chef A has used them the most. Perhaps that is because I trust her the most to be safe around the open oven! (She still has me hold onto her waist as she leans forward! She is very cautious.) When she sets the pan down she almost always says, “My hands are a little warm.”  Yikes! I thought maybe there is a right and a left so she switched and still had the same results. That tells me these will not last long because if they are already thin. More use and of course wash will make them even thinner. Little Chef A is smart enough to not drop the pan because she felt a little heat, but the other Little Chefs most likely WILL drop the pan out of fear. We clearly have a safety issue!
I do believe children need a glove and not a towel folded over a few times as they see their favorite Chefs on TV do. They will sooner or later touch something hot with the back side of their hand. These particular oven mitts I do NOT recommend. I am therefore on the search again for child size oven mitts. Perhaps in the meantime I will alter the gloves we have so they can use them safely, or most likely not allow them to put in or pull items out of the oven until we have found another product to try.