I love a good pair of kitchen tongs. For serious cooks, a sturdy pair of tongs are like an extension of our own hands. And a heat-proof extension of the hands, at that. I have had an old pair of stainless steel tongs for almost twenty years, and they are an indispensable part of my kitchen arsenal. But they have a couple of significant drawbacks. I can't use them with my non-stick skillet without ruining the surface. Also, my trusty tongs are old school, and therefore do not lock. They're always open unless I'm gripping them. This means they don't play nicely in a kitchen drawer, nor even in a tall jar of wooden spoons and spatulas.

So I finally gave in and got a pair of 12" tongs to work with my one non-stick saute pan. They have the same well made, sturdy feel as my old tongs, but the gripping heads are made of nylon, so I can use them when I'm working with any pan in my kitchen. The real test of kitchen tongs is how easy it is to grasp and manipulate the food you are cooking. The Oxo tongs pass the test. I cook all sorts of foods in my non-stick skillet. I have had no trouble gently gripping and turning salmon steaks, strips of bacon, various sorts of vegetables and even potato peels, which I fry and add back to my potato soups. Thin foods that stick together, like the potato peelings, are about the most difficult items to manipulate with tongs, and this pair handles the job perfectly. Like my old tongs, the gripping heads on the Oxo tongs are gently scalloped, with concave gripping surfaces. This is useful to allow liquid to drain off the food, if necessary.

The 12" length is a good size for my hands. If they were shorter, they'd be less useful because my hands would have to get closer to the heat. If they were longer, I would have to exert more force to hold them closed. I think it would also be more awkward to manipulate things with a longer reach. When fully opened, the tongs have a span of 6", which is plenty wide enough to grasp most any food.

Half of the handles are coated with the typical Good Grips rubber coating, to make them more comfortable in the hand. I never had any particular trouble gripping my all metal tongs, but the Good Grips coating is comfortable under my hand.

The small tag that came with tongs told me that the nylon heads are safe up to a temperature of 400F. That's a pretty high temperature for most kitchen purposes. In fact, I could even use them on the rare occasions that I deep fry. The temperature of food sauteeing in a skillet definitely stays below 400 degrees for any normal situation. So this material is perfect for what I need it to do.

Though the gripping heads are made of a kind of plastic, they are quite rigid, with very little give. They are not like the soft rubber coated tongs I have sometimes seen used for salads and other delicate foods. These are meant for getting a firm grip to turn and move solid items.

The Oxo Good Grips tongs are dishwasher safe, which I appreciate. But I've also hand washed them just to compare them with my metal tongs, which are a little difficult to clean by hand when they need hand washing. The shape of the interior part of the gripping heads, as well as the nylon itself makes cleaning these by hand very easy. So if they get coated with gooey cheese or some other sticky substance, they are easier to wash by hand than the all metal pair.

The locking mechanism for these tongs is simple. Just close the tongs and pull out a little latch attached to the joint, and the tongs stay closed. The latch also has a hole in it so that the tongs can be hung up for storage if you like to hang your kitchen tools around the kitchen. I find that because they close well there is just enough room in my drawer to store them.

I would recommend these Oxo Good Grips Tongs to anyone who is equipping a kitchen. If these tongs had been available back when I purchased my first set of tongs, I probably would have purchased this nylon-headed pair and no other. I don't really see the need for two pairs. I ended up with two only because this sort came along more recently. Unless you dislike non-stick pans and never plan to use them, it makes sense to buy tools that can be used with them. Even if you only have cast iron or metal cooking pans now, you may get a non-stick skillet later on. Having a tool that gets along with all types of cooking surfaces makes my kitchen work better for me.

Some of my other favorite kitchen tools:

• Oxo Good Grips Offset Bread Knife - does its job well and safely
• Swing Away Can Opener - the one I kept after trying all the others
• Taylor Instant Read Pocket Thermometer - indispensable tool for cooking roasts of any kind
• KitchenAid Professional Standing Mixer - versatile, high-performing, & durable cornerstone of my kitchen
• KitchenAid Santoku knife - a nice intersection of a chef's knife and a utility knife
• Cuisinart Mini-Mate Food Processor - grind those spices or make pesto in a trice
• Endurance Precision Pierced Colander - drains like a dream, and made of stainless steel
• Black & Decker Rice & Vegetable Steamer - takes a licking, keeps on ticking
• Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven - ideal for stews and no knead bread
• Bron Mandoline Slicer - the Cadillac of the Kitchen
• Magnabar Knife Holder - extra storage space for my best kitchen tools




Recommended: Yes