Tongs are useful in a variety of situations, such as deep frying, stir-frying, and when serving pasta and salad.
The most popular of these tongs are those with a silicon or nylon head!
Unlike stainless steel, silicone and nylon are softer and offer the following advantages.
- Less likely to damage the pan while cooking
- Less likely to damage soft foods even if you grab them
We will use OXO tongs with silicone or nylon heads to compare materials, usability, and size, as well as to include word-of-mouth and reputation.
We hope you will find this information useful.
nylon vs silicone cooking utensils! Comparison of different materials
First, we will compare the differences between silicone and nylon.
The major differences are heat resistance temperature and texture.
<Temperature resistance>
- Nylon: 392℉
- Silicon : 536℉
If the tongs have been against the edge of the pan for a long time while cooking, the nylon will probably melt, but the silicone is likely to be safe.
<Texture>
- Nylon: Smooth and smooth. The texture is similar to plastic.
- Silicon: Grippy feel. The texture is similar to rubber.
Comparing the two grips, the silicone material is more stable and secure.
Considering heat resistance temperature and texture, we can see that the silicone material seems to be superior.
The silicone material is slightly more expensive.
OXO silicon and nylon head tongs in different sizes
Both Oxo silicone and nylon head tongs are available in two sizes: small and medium.
Size medium is 34 cm long and weighs approximately 180 g, while size small is 27 cm long and weighs approximately 140 g.
The size small is close to the length of commonly used tongs.
Looking at the reviews, we found a few comments that the medium size is too large and heavy, and that the hands get tired easily.
For continuous use, such as stir-frying, the small size seems to be better, as it is less stressful on the hands.
On the other hand, when cooking food that is prone to oil splashes, such as deep frying, the medium size, with its handle and tip separated from each other, is better for cooking without feeling hot.
You may consider purchasing according to your intended use.
- Size small: Recommended for use mainly for cooking that requires continuous use for a certain period of time, such as stir-frying.
- Size medium: Recommended for use mainly in dishes where oil tends to splash, such as deep frying.
[OXO silicon and nylon head tongs] Comparison of comfort of use
Locking function for compact storage!
OXO tongs have a locking feature for compact storage.
The tongs can be opened and closed by pushing and pulling the base of the tongs.
Cheap tongs that fasten with a loop, such as the one in the picture below, sometimes lock by themselves when the tongs are turned up, which can be frustrating, but you don’t have to worry about this with OXO’s tongs!
Hardly scratches the surface of the pan!
As mentioned at the beginning, silicon and nylon are softer than metals such as stainless steel, so they are less likely to damage the pan surface when used to mix seasonings and sauces on the pan or to fry food.
In particular, silicon material is a hard rubber-like material, so you would not be able to damage the pan even if you wanted to!
Also, as you can see in the picture below, the tong tips are not as sharp as stainless steel tongs, so they are less likely to scratch the pan.
If food sticks to the pan, don’t worry, you can use tongs to remove it with force!
Check the comfort of use!
Stir-fried food
OXO tongs allow you to mix ingredients forcefully without worrying about damaging the pan!
They are also more convenient than using a spatula because they can be manipulated with greater dexterity.
The size small tongs are less likely to tire your hands, but if you are using a large pan like the one in the picture below to damage more ingredients, the size medium tongs will mix more efficiently and you will feel less heat from the pan.
Spaghetti
We did not notice any difference in the ease of grabbing pasta between the silicone and nylon materials.
However, as shown in the picture below, the gap between the left and right grips of the tongs is large for the medium size, and spaghetti sometimes falls through the gap.
We recommend the small size tongs for those who intend to use them mainly for spaghetti.
Deep-fried food
I am sure many of you have had the experience of having deep-fried food ingredients slip and fall into the oil, causing the oil to fly out and cause a hot sensation when you take them out!
The tongs we used this time, especially the silicone ones, are very easy to grip and I didn’t feel like dropping them.
As you can see in the picture below, the tongs are very stable even when you just pinch the edges of the ingredients!
Also, with the highly heat-resistant silicone, I think you can use it without worrying about it melting.
Regarding the size, we recommend size medium for those who use the tongs mainly for deep frying.
The picture below show deep frying with size small and size medium.
What you should pay attention to is the position of the hand.
With the small size, we have to put our hand right above the oil to reach the ingredients, whereas with the medium size, we can reach the ingredients from the outside of the pan, so there is less chance of oil splashing onto our hand.
Also, in the case of deep frying, unlike stir-frying, the tongs are only used for flipping and removing ingredients, so even if you use medium-sized tongs, your hands will not get tired.
OXO Silicon and Nylon Head Tongs Reviews
Here are some reviews of the OXO silicone, nylon head tongs.
The most common positive reviews were that they were easy to use for a variety of dishes, compact, and stylish.
I used to use chopsticks for everything, but I realized that tongs are definitely easier to grab spaghetti and thick steaks!
source (e.g. quotation) – amazon.co.jp
I am very happy with the size of the tongs, which are easy to store in a kitchen drawer and dishwasher-safe.
It is perfect for taking freshly baked bread out of the oven.
source (e.g. quotation) – amazon.co.jp
It is also very convenient for boiling and dressing spaghetti, and can also be used for stir-frying.
The lock function is also helpful because of its compact size.
We eat salad every day, and I suddenly thought it would be easier to mix it with tongs than with chopsticks, and I was right!
source (e.g. quotation) – amazon.co.jp
OXO kitchen utensils are stylish and easy to use, so I buy them all the time.
On the other hand, the most common bad reviews were that it was too big and that it tired their hands.
These reviews were especially common for size medium.
Please check the size and weight in advance.
(Size medium is 34 cm long and weighs about 180 g, while size small is 27 cm long and weighs about 140 g.) )
Tongs are too wide to handle when open.
It can be pinched firmly, but the spring of the tongs is too strong and gradually becomes tired.
source (e.g. quotation) – amazon.co.jp
Finally
We have introduced OXO silicone and nylon head tongs.
The differences in material, size, and comfort of the tongs are summarized below.
<About the material of the head>
Silicon material is superior in terms of heat resistance temperature and gripping comfort, but its price is a little higher than nylon material.
If you are willing to pay more, we recommend the silicon material!
<About the size>
For cooking that takes a long time, we recommend a small size tongs to avoid hand fatigue.
For dishes that tend to splash oil, such as deep-fried food, we recommend the medium size tongs.
<About comfort of use>
| Silicon | Nylon | |||
| Medium | Small | Medium | Small | |
| Stir-fried food | Good | Very Good | Good | Very Good |
| Spaghetti | Not good | Very Good | Not good | Very Good |
| Deep-fried food | Very Good | Not good | Good | Not good |
(Comments after using the peeler)
- For stir-fried food:
Size small is recommended for those who value less hand fatigue, and size medium for those who want to fry a larger amount of ingredients efficiently.
There is little difference between silicon and nylon materials. - For spaghetti:
Size small is recommended for easy grabbing of pasta. There is little difference between silicon and nylon materials. - For deep-fried food:
Medium size is recommended for safer frying. We also recommend using silicon material, which makes it easier to grip ingredients and less likely to melt.
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