The Best Kitchen Tongs

The scalloped, uncoated pincers on our longtime favorite tongs felt very precise. This model was also comfortable to use, not only because of the silicone-padded handle but also because the tension didn’t strain our hands or wrists. These tongs struggled a bit when transferring ramekins, as the uncoated pincers didn’t securely grip the ceramic, but this is a less common use, and the tongs excelled at every other task. This pair felt like a natural extension of our hands.

The shorter version of our favorite 12-inch tongs, this model easily picked up foods of all shapes and sizes—from dainty blueberries to a hefty jar of salsa—and was extremely comfortable to operate. The uncoated, scalloped stainless-steel tips allowed us a precise grip, making it especially easy to lift and arrange thinly sliced fruit, and the tongs’ locking mechanism was smooth and intuitive.

This model is similar to our winner, also made by OXO, but has coated pincers. Even with a silicone coating—an upgrade from an older model that had thicker nylon-coated pincers—these tongs still offered a precise grip most of the time, but we struggled when transferring the beef roast from stovetop to roasting rack: The coated pincers didn’t grip as well as the uncoated version. We did, however, notice that the coated pincers were advantageous when moving ramekins into and out of a Dutch oven, as the silicone held the ceramic ramekins more securely than uncoated pincers did.

These pared-down metal tongs—with uncoated heads and no silicone grip on the handle—were light and precise. Though they didn’t securely hold ramekins, their slightly more concave scalloped pincers held food with excellent precision. They were easy to squeeze, so holding them closed for up to 90 seconds when frying taco shells was no problem at all.

These tongs have many of the winning traits of our top pick. Featuring uncoated scalloped pincers, the tongs grabbed both soft foods and solid objects such as ramekins tightly and securely. The locking mechanism is so smooth that a light tap on the counter was enough to disengage it and open the tongs as we got to work. However, the tab slipped easily and accidentally closed when we held them upright. Additionally, the tips of the pincers aren’t as well aligned as those of our winning pair, making it a bit more difficult to pick up small objects (such as toothpicks). 

This model was identical to our winner except for its silicone-coated pincers, which gave us a good grip most of the time but were slightly more slippery when we tried to portion pasta and lift hot dogs from boiling water. However, this pair handled all other foods with ease and was very comfortable to use, including its smooth locking mechanism. If you frequently use nonstick cookware, we recommend investing in a pair of these silicone-tipped tongs (in addition to our winner) to prolong the life of your pans' coatings.

These tongs have an interesting pincer design, with one side of the pincer scalloped and the other side featuring tines that resemble those on a pasta fork. The tongs themselves are lightweight and did well at picking up large roasts and pasta. The tines were a cleaning nightmare, as it was hard to reach between the tines and clean out the gunk that built up there. The tongs also wobbled a little while picking up ramekins because the differently shaped pincer sides prevented them from getting a good grip. The locking mechanism, located at the end of the handle, is a bit stiff, making opening the tongs with one hand a little more difficult. Our last quibble: They’re a bit long, forcing us to choke up on them to get control when picking up and twirling slippery pasta. As a result, the back of the tongs hit our wrists uncomfortably.

These glossy, good-looking tongs were practically useless. Their scalloped heads are not as concave as our favorites’, so they failed to securely pick up both ramekins and pasta. Their locking mechanism is located in between the tongs’ arms and requires both hands to open and close it. The locking mechanism was also extremely stiff and hard to open. This pair is the heaviest in our lineup and also required the most force to close, so our arms and hands got tired pretty quickly while using them.

When we were making chicken-fried steak with these silicone-coated tongs, our steak fell mid-dredge and batter got stuck in the holes on the tong heads (which appeared to be for design only and didn’t add any obvious benefit); we wound up with a lot of batter on our tongs instead of our steak. We also had issues trying to transport ramekins—two slipped—and meat slid around between the pincers, as there was virtually no grip. This model featured an “integrated tool rest” meant to keep dirty tong heads off the counter, but oil and water still dripped onto the counter. Finally, these tongs frequently locked when we didn’t want them to because the plug that we pushed to open them gradually worked its way back to the locked position during use.

These tongs were stiff and tiring to use. The bulky locking mechanism cut down on handle grip space; plus, we had to pull it to open the tongs, which inconveniently required two hands. This model was designed to stand on end to prevent a dirty counter, but peanut oil dripped down the handle when we made chicken-fried steak, giving us a greasy handle instead. Finally, the heads’ wavy edges—not quite teeth and not quite scallops—were ineffective: We dropped pasta twice, and picking up meat was similarly challenging.

We found that this no-frills, all–stainless steel model offered a precise grip and that its scalloped, uncoated pincers picked up most foods with ease. However, its all-metal locking mechanism proved problematic. It was flimsy and not at all fluid, so it took longer to lock and unlock and gave us that “nails on a chalkboard” shudder from pieces of grinding metal.

These tongs didn't grip well; potatoes swung precariously between the tong heads during transport. We also disliked the locking mechanism, which was a stilted slider that forced us to toggle between three settings (closed, slightly open, and fully open), a feature testers deemed silly and unnecessary. This model felt uncomfortable and clunky; its handles were wider and flatter than those of our top-rated models, and it didn't feel like a natural extension of our hands.

These tongs had noticeably stronger tension than other models, making them uncomfortable and painful to use. They also didn't grip well—we dropped pasta, a baked potato, and fruit—and they had a narrower opening that barely fit around a jar of salsa. As if that weren't bad enough, these tongs were designed to be used one-handed—so we had to position the tongs with pincers facing downward to unlock them and then hold them upward to lock. This feature made the tongs unintuitive and difficult to use, as we sometimes accidentally locked them during use.

These tongs had the second‑highest tension in the lineup, and we felt it, as they took more strength to hold closed. The half-coated, half-uncoated pincers confused users and didn’t impart any clear advantage. Though this model’s pincers had very shallow scallops along one side and something resembling rounded teeth on the other side, they didn’t grip well, so we couldn’t get any leverage on the beef roast and it slipped en route to the roasting rack.

These tongs were the shortest and heaviest in the lineup, which made them feel clunky and made them tiring to use. The thicker, silicone-coated rectangular pincers weren’t very precise, which was especially evident when we tried—and failed—to pick up a single strand of stray pasta. These tongs also slid up the sides of the roast, never really getting a good grip on it. Finally, the metal handle got noticeably warm when we used these tongs to stir angel hair pasta.