Silicone gloves

When I was offered a pair of silicone gloves to review, I said yes, mostly because I wanted to do this:

Which begat this:

Yes, that is a hand-shaped hunk of ice. What could you do with a hand-shaped hunk of ice? Well, Halloween is coming. So you could float it in a punch bowl, or use it as the bed of ice under seafood, or let it hold a bowl filled with a chilled dip.

Other times of the year ... you probably don't need a hand-shaped hunk of ice.

The gloves are intended as oven or BBQ mitts, because silicone is a great insulator. It withstands both high and low temperatures. And, unlike cloth or knitted gloves, silicone will protect you from wet heat or cold. So you can grab onto things that are wet or potentially splashy.

For example, when you've got something cooking in a water bath, there's always a risk the water could splash. Or you could hold onto a lobster fresh from the pot without burning yourself. Or you could hold hot vegetables to peel them.

Also great for insulating your hands from cold, like when I'm holding the ice cream maker bowl to scoop it out. Or if you need to handle a lot of cold stuff, like when you're unloading the freezer.

While these aren't quite as flexible as knitted gloves, they're about as flexible as thicker insulated cloth mitts. And the bonus is that the silicone is a little grippier than cloth, but at the same time it's nonstick, so if you spill hot sugar on it, it will just peel off. And, they rinse clean or can be washed in the dishwasher.

I've got quite a few different types of mitts, gloves and pot holders, and they've all got pros and cons. These are definitely the ones I'm going to reach for any time I'm dealing with anything that's potentially wet.

Who's it for: Everyone who cooks needs some kind of gloves or mitts.

Pros: Nonporous. You can use these to hold wet items. Oh, and the bumps on the gloves are hearts. Awwww ... cute.

Cons: Not as flexible as knitted gloves.

Wishes: It would be nice if they came in different lengths - longer ones would be good for some situations.

Source: I received this from the manufacturer for the purpose of a review.