I love to cook, but there is one part of the process where I regularly drop the ball. and I have a lifetime collection of burn scars on my right hand to prove it. I can’t seem to help myself, but now I have a solution: Jaz Innovations Oven Rack Guards. No more painful wrist and hand burns for me!
I know, my right hand is scary, but the good news is that because of this new set of oven guards, I won’t be adding any more scars to my collection. Useful Things sent me a set of these oven rack guards from their online store, and I have to admit that until I saw them on their site, I had no idea that there was anything like this available.
Made of the “same fabric that protects firemen and race car drivers”, the only instructions included were that these should be machine washed (and tumble dried on low) prior to their first use, and that they should not be used under the broiler or when running the oven’s cleaning cycle.
There are two fabric strips included in the box, each is approximately 17.5″ long and 2.5″ wide. Five snaps line each side of the strip …
… and the best way to install them is to center them on each oven rack and start snapping. The oven rack guards are safe for use up to 500ºF or 260ºC, and they basically keep your hand from rubbing across a hot metal bar when putting food in or pulling food out of the oven.
Here’s the money shot: I baked bread yesterday, and the oven was set to 450ºF. You can see the electric heating element glowing in the bottom of my oven, but I have my fingers firmly placed on the fabric oven rack guard. The fabric is warm to the touch, but it is not burning hot, and there is none of that “touched it for a second, burned forever” nonsense going on any more. I can already tell that these are going to save me (and everyone else who uses our oven) from painful burns. I am going to order a set of these for my daughter, because she has already begun to collect her own burn scars. =/
It might be a little bit inconvenient to remember that these oven rack guards must come off if I’m going to run the broiler, but since I only do that once every few weeks, it’s not too big of a deal. In the meantime, I’m excited to know that I may have collected my very last burn scar. =)
If you are tired of cultivating your own burn scar collection or if you want to protect loved ones’ hands from hot metal oven bars, then these guards are the perfect solution.
The Jaz Innovations Oven Rack Guards sell for $28.95; they are available on Amazon.
Source: Manufacturer supplied review sample
What I Like: No more accidentally touching the hot metal oven bars when putting food in the oven (or pulling food out); Easy to apply and remove; Perfect gift for newer and older cooks
What Needs Improvement: Nothing — these work exactly as advertised