There's something I use every day in my kitchen that I sort of just stumbled upon: this dependable, old, blue terry cloth oven mitt. I didn't pick it out in a store, choose it carefully to match my kitchen decor, or research the very best one to purchase. No, I simply moved into one of my apartments and found it left behind by a previous tenant. Yeah, that's pretty gross. But at the time, I just had bare-bones kitchen things and I reasoned that it was in good condition and that a good laundering would have it ready for more use — at least until I got something "better." Little did I know it would stick around and remain my favorite years later:
A wedding (and coinciding gift registry) has come and gone. Perky, cute, even "cool" oven mitts wait patiently in the drawer to be the chosen ones. But this dependable old guy stays in heaviest rotation, always within arm's reach when I'm working in the kitchen. Heck, it even even graces the table as a trivet at many a weeknight meal! By now, this once-discarded mitt is solidly mine: it is stained and snagged and soft from use, much more worn than when I found it. Other oven mitts may come and go, but this one (even though nothing else in my kitchen is blue) is shaping up to look like it will last a lifetime.
A quick inspection of the tag (I never even thought to look at the tag until writing this post) tells me this is a 100% cotton mitt by Cannon, made in the USA, NYC 10018.
Do you have an accidental favorite in your kitchen that chose you more than you chose it?
Related: My Uncool Kitchen Tool: My Kitchen Stool
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My husband and I had our wedding reception at our house. The caterer left a paring knife that was well-worn, but super sharp. Now 11 years later...it's our favorite go-to knife in the kitchen.
I've got an old spatula that I got at a yard sale for a quarter because it reminded me of my mother, and I also have a shiny new All-Clad spatula. Guess which one is NEVER used? If the old one is dirty, I'll wash it instead of using the new one - I think the old one is just thinner, so it's more pliable and easier to use.
awwww, I love seeing this! Reminds me of all the Mennonite grannies in my area. I have oven mitts and I always bypass them to grab a hotpad. I think the kind you have is probably faster to slip on then a hand-shaped oven mitt. Maybe I will sew one up for myself and finally find an oven mitt I love.
My uncool tool: a plastic Yogourmet yogurt maker I got at a thrift store years ago. It's ugly, but it incubates my jars of yogurt so much more easily than setting up any kind of makeshift warm corner that I keep it around.
My mom has a set of these, they're the best potholders EVER.
I have a penguin pot holder my mother got me as part of a Christmas kitchen set, and while I almost never use the towels (they get brought out in the holiday rotation, but are far from my favorites), the penguin stays out all year round. I've tried to buy other pot holders and fancy oven mitts, but there's something about the way the penguin one bends and folds that's just perfect for my hands.
Part of me feels silly for keeping it out all year round, but so far I haven't found anything generic to replace it. Long live the penguin!
I have the YELLOW cousins to the blue terry cloth pot holder. Three of them, and they are disgustingly stained, and have burn marks on them. I am horrified to let anyone see them, even though I launder them once a week with the other kitchen linens.
I have two pairs of oven mits: one in the style of that blue one, and one mitten style. I've always preferred the mitten style -- I think it's because I never have to contort my hands or angle them up to make sure the mitts stay on. I have fairly small hands, though, and I imagine it might work the other way around for people with hands too large to fit the mittens comfortably.
The blue-style ones (mine are green) do great double duty as hot pads, too.
I have the exact same one! I have absolutely no idea how I ended up with it, I definitely didn't buy it, but I use it every day. It's so much sturdier than all of the fancier, newer ones.
My dad has the best potholder ever--my sisters and I made it probably 20 years ago on one of those plastic forms with the big fabric rubber band things (anyone have a clue what I'm talking about?). It's still holding up and going strong, better than some of the new potholders we've bought him.
yep, have those. Got them when I moved out from my parents (new set). Just like theirs.