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Is there a specific name for the thick glove worn (or may be any cloth used) to touch hot dishes in the oven?

For example, we wear a glove and take the dish containing baked food from the oven.

It's use is to save our hand from being burnt by touching the hot dish.

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    Which country do you live in?
    – Max Williams
    Oct 1, 2015 at 8:49
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    @MaxWilliams I live in Pakistan. Why do you ask?
    – Solace
    Oct 1, 2015 at 8:53
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    The common name for this varies from country to country, that's all. Some people (eg UK) call it an oven glove, some (eg USA, Australia) an oven mitt. When using english phrases, does Pakistan tend to favour american or british english?
    – Max Williams
    Oct 1, 2015 at 9:22
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    @MaxWilliams, Having done some research for a localised app, I found that Pakistan is closer to British English since it was once under the rule of the British Raj. However, since Pakistani English is a dialect in it's own right, there may have been an answer specific to the dialect.
    – James Webster
    Oct 1, 2015 at 11:14
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    @MaxWilliams We were taught British English in school which was a few years ago. These days, I, as well as most of the people around me, are more inclined towards American English.
    – Solace
    Oct 1, 2015 at 14:24

4 Answers 4

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In order to identify the object the OP is describing, I posted this answer with the term I use. At first I didn't think about alternative expressions based on geographical location. Other users did that after mine. I think the OP can enjoy a lively and useful discussion on the theme.

Oven glove:

BRITISH ENGLISH - a ​thick ​covering for the ​hand, used for taking ​hot things out of an ​oven

(Cambridge Dictionary)

enter image description here

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132

We call them Oven Mitts.

At least online shopping seems to confirm!

It's interesting to see that 'oven glove' is used too, it's obvious, but around here (NZ and Australia, and apparently the States) they are 'mitts'.

However, looking up the definition of mitt:

a glove leaving the fingers and thumb-tip exposed.

Well, that's the last thing you want isn't it!

Regardless, that is what we call them :)

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    But "mitt" is short for "mitten", and the sense of "mitt" as a fingerless glove is only used in sports.
    – Hot Licks
    Oct 1, 2015 at 12:02
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    Oven mitt is certainly what I am most familiar with, in the US.
    – Paul Draper
    Oct 1, 2015 at 12:15
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    The first definition in your link is "a mitten". Which is defined as "A glove with two sections, one for the thumb and the other for all four fingers." Exactly what we're looking for.
    – EldritchWarlord
    Oct 1, 2015 at 13:11
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    In Canada, too, this is an oven mitt. And here in the Great White North, a mitt(en) is first and foremost a glove with only two sections, usually worn to keep one's hands warm in winter. This extension to the oven is natural. The sporting sense of the word is a distant third. (Before this question, I had never heard of an oven glove.)
    – Who is Dave
    Oct 1, 2015 at 16:43
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    @HotLicks I'm not sure that 'mitten' isn't a diminutive of 'mitt"', used to denote diminished mitts, i.e. without complete fingers. I'm Australain and I've never heard 'oven glove' in my long life.
    – user207421
    Oct 3, 2015 at 0:41
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While oven mitts work, my family usually used rectangular pieces of cloth that were often also purposed as placemats to stop the tablecloth from melting/catching on fire. These are called Pot holders, though the single word "potholders" is also used on shopping sites.

enter image description here

They also come in silicone!

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    These are sometimes also designed to (and any can in principle) serve double duty as a trivet [the object you put under a hot pan to protect the table from the heat] - EDIT: I see you've mentioned this but using the term 'placemat'. Cloth pot holders also sometimes have a pocket to slip your fingers into, making it a sort of half oven mitt.
    – Random832
    Oct 1, 2015 at 16:10
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    I have encountered devoted trivets, particularly metal (or non-cloth) ones, so rarely I didn't even know the word. Neat!
    – Exal
    Oct 1, 2015 at 21:07
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    Many silicone ones seem to be designed as trivets first, having a shape and texture (e.g. hexagonal or round with honeycomb cells) that makes them somewhat awkward to use as potholders.
    – Random832
    Oct 2, 2015 at 3:15
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As an alternative to Oven Mitts, Oven Glove and Pot Holders, I often hear them referred to as Hot Mitts.

Hot Mitts

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    kitchenkapers.com/7645.html
    – Mari-Lou A
    Oct 2, 2015 at 18:45
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    After a little research, the term seems to describe flameproof cooking gloves/mitts. Hence the name of this particular article is *Flameguard".
    – Mari-Lou A
    Oct 4, 2015 at 12:45

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