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[Moogie]

Do you like the overly dramatic title?

This topic is a bit... well, it's embarassing. And I'm not sure exactly what sort of advice or help I'm looking for, here.

The issue is simple: I am terrified of handling hot casserole dishes. The intense heat of an oven-hot glass permeates a padded mitt or teatowel in a matter of seconds, and I burn easily due to very thin and sensitive skin. So the instant I start feeling that heat come through, I panic.

They're also damn slippery. I've had two 'major' accidents so far: the first, I accidentally tipped the dish slightly while removing it from the oven. The lid slipped off slightly, and its boiling hot liquid content drenched the pads of both of my hands through the oven mitts. The mitts, THEY DID NOTHING TO PROTECT ME. Those burns were not fun. Thankfully I didn't drop the dish, though.

The second incident was when I was replacing the lid onto a dish, both still hot. It slipped with malicious intent out of my gloved hands, and after a brief comedic moment where I ended up juggling the thing and momentarily losing complete sight of it, it threw itself to the floor. Or, I guess, I allowed it to slip onto the floor with a very loud smash, sending hot shards of glass in all directions. I was barefoot that day, btw. Also not fun.

It just feels like an adventure in risk-taking every time I handle a meal cooked in a dish. I know I only have these accidents because I'm so nervous handling them, but I don't really know what to do about it. I can't just stop using dishes... can I? Maybe? Is there anything else that might be suitable, except a pot on the stove? What about relatively 'dry' meals? I can't cook those in a pot, or they'd burn/dry out.

Anyway. I've tried various different oven mitts (trying to find ones thick enough to handle the heat, but slim enough that I can pick up the dish lid without feeling like I'm wearing boxing gloves). I just try to hurry it too much when handling them. I'm ashamed to admit I usually ask someone else to dish out the food for me, if anyone else is there. :/

What can I do about this fear of a) getting burned if I hold a hot dish for more than a few seconds, and b) dropping slippery dishes/lids? If anything? I suppose the obvious answer is to just grow some proverbial balls and deal with it, but if anyone has an alternative, I'd love to hear it.

[Blargityblarg]

Have you considered silicone oven mitts? There's a pair in my kitchen, the interior gets a bit weird and funky, but they're grippy as all fuck.

[Pnx]

Take a metal tray, put the tray on the floor then transfer from oven to tray on floor?

[Lectorog]

Sew rubber grips onto some oven mitts. Increases thickness and grippiness.

[Mephansteras]

Have you considered silicone oven mitts? There's a pair in my kitchen, the interior gets a bit weird and funky, but they're grippy as all fuck.

I have some oven mitts with silicone grippers on them. They block the heat quite well and grip things quite nicely without feeling all weird inside.

[nenjin]

Could put the casserole on a baking tray. Smaller surface area to hold on to, much firmer grip. Won't affect the cooking of the casserole. It'll slide around a touch but at least if it still it's not immediately going on your arm or your feet.

What you say reminds me of my Corning Glass Casserole Pan. I worked in kitchens for years and fire doesn't scare me, but handling that shit with mitts on still makes me nervous every time.

[LordBucket]

What can I do

When the casserole is finished, open the oven and turn it off. Wait for it to cool before removing.

[Imp]

The issue is simple: I am terrified of handling hot casserole dishes. The intense heat of an oven-hot glass permeates a padded mitt or teatowel in a matter of seconds, and I burn easily due to very thin and sensitive skin. So the instant I start feeling that heat come through, I panic.

They're also damn slippery. I've had two 'major' accidents so far: the first, I accidentally tipped the dish slightly while removing it from the oven. The lid slipped off slightly, and its boiling hot liquid content drenched the pads of both of my hands through the oven mitts. The mitts, THEY DID NOTHING TO PROTECT ME. Those burns were not fun. Thankfully I didn't drop the dish, though.

What can I do about this fear of a) getting burned if I hold a hot dish for more than a few seconds, and b) dropping slippery dishes/lids? If anything? I suppose the obvious answer is to just grow some proverbial balls and deal with it, but if anyone has an alternative, I'd love to hear it.

Practice.  Literally.  Work the same cookware you intend to use to cook, but start with it at room temperature.  Pick it up and put it down while it's empty, move it in and out of the oven, put it on the cooling rack or whatever you use, just carry the thing around and put it down and pick it back up until that seems boring because it's not at all hard or scary anymore.

Now fill the thing part way with cold water, and do it again.  Make sure you're not sloshing enough to spill - cloth gloves will do nothing to prevent heat transfer if they are wet.  Heck, labratory quality hot gloves wont protect you if they get soaked with dangerously hot liquids either.  So handle this so much that you get used to what you have to do to handle it comfortable and safely, under safe conditions.

When this all seems like it's getting easy, consider adding more cold water to the cookware, until it's darn hard to move it around without spilling.  Fill it totally full if you want, that would give most anyone a real challenge.  Consider filling it with water that's hot to you, but not quite hot enough to burn, and move it around then.

Somewhere along all this practice, your fear of the cookware and mishandling it is likely to fade into boredom or amusement.  Eventually (fast if you spend a lot of time on it quickly) you just won't have the problems anymore, because you will have conditioned yourself past them.  This isn't unlike how new servers in a restaurant learn how to handle picking up, carrying, and setting down dishes without spilling them or being awqward.  Practice and safe conditions to learn under for the win.

[Solifuge]

Silicone oven mitts

This. Silicone is crazy heat-resistant, completely waterproof, and has all the gripping power of rubber. Heck, I've even baked in flexible Silicone trays.

It is wonder-material for to makings foodstuff from oven-fire.

[Moogie]

Oh, that is a really good idea! I don't think I've ever seen silicone mitts, but I'll look out for them next time I'm in town.

Imp, thank you so much. That makes a lot of sense to just practice handling it. I don't use them very often at all, and when I do, they're heavy with food and hot, so, naturally I feel uneasy handling them. It never occurred to me to just... fill it with water and practice without worrying about burning myself. The confidence and muscle memory I'd build just doing that would make me less clumsy and more efficient, with the bonus effect being that I don't end up touching the damn thing long enough for the heat to even pass through the mitts.

I don't know what replies I expected when I posted this, but I'm glad that I did it now. As embarassing/wimpy as I feel admitting such a silly problem, you've actually given some great advice here. I'm definitely not fond of cooking, overall, but I can handle most aspects of it without worry. Except this. This has just been a thorn in my side since forever.

Thanks for your help, my fellow dwarves! <3

[penguinofhonor]

My roommate got a heat-resistant oven mitt recently and everything is so much easier. All kitchen problems are easily solved by acquiring more kitchen tools.