I was first introduced to the wonders of food safe disposable gloves back in high school. I took Biology and we dissected a crayfish. I liked "Cecil". He was pretty cool. Literally. I didn't mind working with him too much. But I discovered that formaldehyde and I were not a good match. I needed gloves. I was able to get a couple of pairs of surgical gloves from a friend's father who was a podiatrist but I didn't want to keep bothering him, especially once our fetal pig, "Pirkey" was introduced to us. I needed another solution and was able to purchase some food safe disposable gloves. Problem solved. Pig dissected.

Once I set up my own kitchen, jobs that I used to make my brother do, like hand form hamburger patties became my responsibility. I love a good burger but I do not love mixing the meat and the spices and sauce together with my bare hands. Wilton All Purpose Decorating Gloves became a staple in my house after that.

You see, I could use the regular kitchen gloves that I keep by my sink but that would be nasty. I use those to protect my hands when I clean the kitchen so they are covered with chemicals and nasty germs and all. No way am I sticking those into my hamburger! If I bought a second pair, I'd probably mix them up with the first pair. And, I definitely don't want to re-use gloves when we're talking about raw meat. E-coli, salmonella, the list goes on...

Not only do I use these gloves with meat, but I use them when working with hot and spicy nasties like serrano and jalapeño peppers. Sometimes I roast them, often I slice them and I have a horrific habit of rubbing my eyes afterward if I don't have the gloves on. If you haven't carefully washed your hands, even hours after handling these peppers, you'll be crying. It hurts. Trust me. Wear gloves.

My instructor for the Wilton Course 3 Decorating Class suggested using these gloves when working with fondant, particularly if you were planning to tint it with icing colors. I did not have a problem with any staining without the gloves but I also was very careful to fold the fondant over itself so the icing color was inside the fondant until incorporated. Icing color stains so you may not want it on your hands.

You could also use these to protect a new manicure, to keep paint off your hands when doing crafts with the kiddies or even when working with papier maché. Personally, I don't usually have a manicure because long nails get in the way so acrylics are out. Just keeping my nails clean and short is usually sufficient. I don't mind messing about with paint and glue because that's fun, unlike dealing with raw ground meat.

I have somewhat small hands for an adult and usually buy junior sized ski gloves. I can wear a small sized surgical glove but generally go with a medium because of the width of the back of my hand which makes it more comfortable although the fingers are much too long. I find that the Wilton All Purpose Decorating Gloves are sized a little bit more generously than the medium surgical gloves but a person with extremely large hands such as my husband's would not find these gloves comfortable. He's unable to get these on his hands at all but he does buy his gloves at the Big & Tall store since he cannot wear regular men's gloves at all.

I have no problems either putting on or taking off these transparent gloves. The plastic is a little thinner than a disposable decorating bag, but not too much.

At $2.99 for a set of 20 gloves, these are affordable, especially if you only need to use one at a time as I often do. You don't have to have a matched pair of these gloves as they work on either hand. You won't be as dexterous as you normally are but your hands will thank you when you have finished whatever your project might be.

Recommended: Yes