Not All Kitchen Tongs Are Created Equal—We Tested Popular Pairs to Find the Very Best
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/the-best-kitchen-tongs-alr-tout-b49d123bc771438a9a1d142a3ecd0988.jpg)
It’s hands-down one of our most-used kitchen tools.
Allrecipes / Alli Waataja
While some kitchen tools, like lemon squeezers or garlic presses, are nice to have, others are daily necessities. Take kitchen tongs, for example. These workhorses are great for grilling, browning meat, lifting corn out of boiling water, blanching veggies, tossing salads or pasta, and even destemming kale. We can hardly live without our favorite kitchen tongs. But you can come across bad tong designs that are uncomfortable to use, warp, or worse, don’t securely grip food. To find the best one, we sent top models to the Allrecipes Allstars—our dedicated team of trusted experts—to test how they handle all of your cooking tasks, while still being comfortable to hold. And we had a clear winner.Gorilla Grip Stainless Steel Kitchen Tongs
Buy at Amazon.com
If you’re on the hunt for something you can use on any cookware including nonstick and enameled, Allstar Brenda Venable overwhelmingly recommends the Gorilla Grip tongs. These were the only tested tongs that were well-balanced and remained comfortable and easy to use while cooking dinner. They also performed their essential function—picking up food—without fail. This is thanks to the scalloped design on the tip of the tongs as that helps you get a better grip, even though silicone can be slippier than a fully stainless steel design. “Both tongs are precise at the tip, allowing for picking up small pieces of food, when necessary,” Brenda says. “I also like the ergonomics of the silicone hand grips, with a comfortable indentation for my thumb and forefinger.”After testing, our Allstars felt two overlooked aspects of kitchen tongs are the ergonomics and the tension needed during use. But Brenda didn’t experience any achy thumbs or cramping palms with the Gorilla Grips. “They were comfortable to use for a full 30 minutes of cooking time, with no fatigue,” she says. She also admired the locking mechanism, another overlooked part of tong design. “The locking mechanism is easy to use and does not become dislodged and open, inadvertently, in the storage drawer,” Brenda says.The tongs are still made from heavy-duty stainless steel and can hold larger items within the silicone tips, which are gentle on your cookware, and have silicone grips that offer heat protection for your hands. The silicone on this pair is heat-resistant up to a whopping 484° Fahrenheit. “They are even okay for grilling, but I would be careful about having them come into direct contact with a hot grill grate,” Brenda says. We love these kitchen tongs not just for how well they handle and their impressive design, but also for the great overall value. The tongs come in pairs—one smaller size and one larger size—so you’ll have all of the bases covered. The smallest set is great for plating or serving up appetizers, while the largest is more ideal for cooking tasks like lifting corn from boiling water, browning meat, or grilling. The tongs are also dishwasher-safe and rust-resistant. And, as a nice bonus, they come in a variety of colors. Other Kitchen Tongs to ConsiderCuisinart 12” Stainless Steel Tongs
Buy at Amazon.com
These are an excellent pair of stainless steel tongs by a reputable name in kitchen gear. The 12-inch design combined with the sturdy material makes the tongs suitable for any number of cooking tasks. “It was very easy to pick up vegetables from steaming cooking liquid, move steaks and chops around on a hot grill, and toss and serve salads,” Brenda says. “Though they feel substantial, they are great for precision tasks, like picking up shrimp, or placing spaghetti on a plate.” To her, these just felt like an extension of her hand. We also appreciate the silicone grips on this pair, which can resist temperatures up to 425° Fahrenheit. “I really like the silicone grips on the arms, because sometimes my hands got greasy or moist from cooking, and the grips helped keep my hands in a good spot to operate the tongs,” Brenda says. Just be careful on nonstick and enamel cookware, since they don’t have silicone-wrapped tips. Like other great kitchen tongs, these feature an easy-to-use locking pull tab to keep them closed and didn’t come open in Brenda’s drawer. They’re also dishwasher-safe for convenience. And although they don’t come in a wide range of sizes, you can opt for a smaller 9-inch pair if the 12-inch size feels too large for you.
Allrecipes / Brenda Venable
OXO Good Grips 12-Inch Tongs
Buy at Amazon.com
Buy at Walmart.com
A few of our contributors have these kitchen tongs and swear by them. The stainless steel tongs are sturdy enough to lift heavier items, like bone-in meat, Allstar LaDonna Langwell notes. “They absolutely handled steak and sausage with no problem,” LaDonna says. “I would not think to use these for more delicate food.”The design features nonslip grips and thumb rests to keep you more comfortable while working. This feature is also helpful when browning meat or working with other hot food, since it helps keep the grip cool to the touch—no bulky and hard-to-wield oven mitt required. We love that the scalloped edges on the tip also contribute to stability since they help hold food in place.We particularly like the standard 12-inch size, as they are the most versatile but appreciate that these come in other sizes, too: 7, 9, and 16 inches. LaDonna did find a few issues. First, she feels the tongs could pop open in a drawer if the locking mechanism isn't fully latched. Also, these aren’t the most attractive tongs for serving. “If we were eating outside, then I would use these to serve with,” she says. “Otherwise, they are bigger and bulkier and not really tableside attractive.” Lastly, the tips don’t have any silicone coating, so they shouldn’t be used on nonstick or enameled cookware, otherwise, you risk scratching them.KitchenAid Stainless Steel Utility Tongs, 12 Inch
Buy at Amazon.com
Buy at Target.com
Like the Oxo kitchen tongs, these kitchen tongs are available in four different sizes—7, 9, 12, and 14 inches—but we still gravitate toward the standard 12-inch size. The stainless steel construction is easy to work with and hefty enough to pick up heavier items, like corn and even a roast chicken, without trouble. “Since they have a metal tip, they work well for moving food around during food prep, and I like them best for stirring salad ingredients and placing salad into serving bowls,” Brenda says.Brenda found the tongs well-balanced, but the lack of silicone grips or tips means you do have to exercise some caution, depending on the task. The tongs may become a bit hot to the touch when working over the stove or grill, and you shouldn’t use them on nonstick or enamel cookware. “Though they would be perfectly fine with grilled food, however, I would like a longer pair, to more easily reach the back of the grill grate,” she says.At least one drawback came up in testing, the tongs spring is very tight and strong. “I was surprised by how much pressure I needed to hold the tongs closed,” Brenda says. “My thumb got a bit achy, after a few minutes of use.” On the plus side, the locking mechanism felt very secure and there were no worries about them popping open in a kitchen drawer.
Allrecipes / Brenda Venable
Material Kitchen The Only Tongs
Buy at Amazon.com
Buy at Materialkitchen.com
When you can score plenty of great kitchen tongs for half the price (or more!), you might wonder why you’d ever splurge on something like this pair. But there are plenty of good reasons. Let’s start with the fact that these kitchen tongs just look nicer than your average pair. They’re incredibly sleek, including a hidden locking mechanism. They’re so pretty, in fact, you can use them as serving tools at an elevated dinner party. To use that hidden locking mechanism, you’ll have to think outside the regular kitchen-tongs box. “Once your brain wraps around what happens when pointed down (they open) and when you point them up (they close and lock), these are great,” LaDonna says. The problem? You might be like her and have a slight learning curve.The stainless-steel construction is exceptionally sturdy, if lightweight. “The upside of these is they are light and they get under food well to turn in the pan,” she says. But LaDonna also experienced them slipping in her hand while cooking, causing the tongs to go into food instead of under it. Once you get the hang of them, they are simple to use and handle food well. They’re also dishwasher-safe to make cleanup a breeze. How to Pick the Right Kitchen TongsMaterialThough you can find kitchen tongs in materials like bamboo and plastic, most tongs we tested were stainless steel or stainless steel with silicone grips, as we find these are most prevalent in home kitchens. In general, we found all-metal tongs to be very sturdy and great for picking up heavy items. They also tend to have better overall longevity than other tongs. However, stainless steel tongs with silicone grips and/or tips are great for at-home cooks, because they are heat-resistant and safe for a wider range of cookware, including nonstick and enamel. Design“Length of handle is something important to consider when dealing with a great amount of heat,” says Aleka Shunk, founder and recipe developer at Aleka’s Get-Together. “Cooking foods on the grill or flipping items in the oven will require tongs with longer, more sturdy handles.”For these tasks, we recommend tongs at least 12 inches long, sometimes even longer like 14 or even 16 inches. The design of the tips is also important to ensure precision and grip. “Look for tongs with teeth on the end if you're frying in hot oil or want to prevent food from slipping off,” says Shunk. A locking feature is also helpful, since this will keep your tongs from jamming up your drawers. About Our TestsAllstars Brenda Venable and LaDonna Langwell put several kitchen tongs to the test in their home kitchens. They used each for tossing, stirring, and turning over the course of several recipes. They tested the tongs for picking up both meats like steak and chicken, and tossing more delicate dishes like spaghetti and shrimp. They analyzed multiple aspects of the tongs including:Design: Are the tongs comfortable to hold? Do they store easily when not in use? Is the locking mechanism easy or difficult to use? Are they attractive enough to use for serving at the table? Performance: Do the tongs feel solidly built and sturdy? Are they versatile enough to use for different types of cooking tasks, including grilling? Do they grip food precisely? Ease of Use: Are the kitchen tongs easy to open and close? Is the locking mechanism easy to use? Would someone with limited wrist mobility be able to use them?Cleanup: Are the tongs easy to clean? Are there any hard-to-reach nooks and crannies where food got stuck? Are they dishwasher-safe?Common QuestionsAre there different types of kitchen tongs?There are a few different types of kitchen tongs, but silicone-tipped stainless steel tends to be the most popular for at-home cooks, Shunk says. “These are ideal since they will not scratch nonstick pans like stainless steel will do,” she explains. “They are also heat-resistant making them useful for almost all types of cooking methods.” Stainless steel tongs are more commonly used in commercial settings, but are also great for grilling, since they are able to grab food with more precision. Bamboo tongs are another option for scratch-free cooking and typically have finer, more precise tips that are ideal for plating food. Some tongs are made of plastic, but they can melt when cooking, says Shunk, noting these tools are better for cold food prep. Should you clean your tongs after they touch raw meat?Cleaning tongs after handling raw meat is food safety 101. “Bacteria can easily transfer from the uncooked meat to your cooked meat without even knowing it, so if you're planning on using the same tongs to remove cooked food, clean them thoroughly,” says Shunk. According to FoodSafety.gov, you should use hot, soapy water to thoroughly wash any plates, utensils, and cutting boards that touch raw meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or flour.Can you use silicone-tipped tongs on a grill?“Most silicone tipped tongs can withstand heat up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit—some even hotter,” says Shunk. “Make sure to check the labels for exact temperatures before purchasing if that is your goal.” Why Take Our Word For It? Brigitt Earley is a freelance writer with nearly 15 years of experience writing about consumer products, including cleaning essentials and kitchen accessories like kitchen tongs. To curate this list, Brigitt thoroughly vetted each product based on her own experience in the category.Want to know more about the Allrecipes Allstars? Learn about their favorite recipes, kitchen hacks, and product picks.
Related: These Spice Racks Are My Secret for an Organized Kitchen
Read the original article on All Recipes.We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings