Can a Kitchen Gadget be Too Cool?

Le Creuset Silicone Cool Tool, 8-Inch

The Problem

Hot pots and pans just don't play well with countertops, which is the mother behind the necessity of inventing trivets. In our many decades as cooks, trivets, potholders and folded dish towels have been pressed into service to protect our counters, but a Silicone Cool Tool from le Creuset quickly put all of them back in their respective drawers. 

The Solution

This thin, floppy silicone pad can withstand temperatures up to 800 degrees F (you could melt lead at that temperature!) yet it’s so flexible you could roll it into a two-inch tube. The 8” diameter pad is less than a ¼” thick, formed into a pattern of raised concentric circles. The circles have occasional gaps to let liquid flow from one trough to the next. The Cool Tool is reversible, since one side is just the negative of the other. It comes with a hole near one edge so you could hang it on a hook. We also have a larger square version of the Cool Tool, a bilious green one that's about 12” on a side. They also make mini versions 4” in diameter.

Living with a Cool Tool The Cool Tool functions as more than a trivet: we also lay one on a cooktop burner that’s still warm, or put it on 'fridge shelf to protect the glass from pots that haven't completely cooled, not to mention that it's softer than a cast-iron dutch oven. If the tool gets dirty, it’s no big deal since the silicone is dishwasher-safe, and doesn't give a rip whether there’s room on the top or bottom rack. Le Creuset says you can use it for a potholder or garlic peeler, though it may be a tad stiff for either job. I'll hold onto my classic hotpads for glass lids, thank you. Another suggested use is as a non-skid mat under a cutting board or platter.

The sole disadvantage we’ve noticed with our Cool Tool is that the low profile doesn't allow air circulation underneath a pot, so it doesn’t cool as quickly. When I have large pots of stock or soup to cool before they go in the 'fridge, I usually fall back on my trusty metal trivet, which stands an inch or so off the counter. Other than that, a Cool Tool does just about everything.  Summary PLUS: well made, versatile and simple to use MINUS: nothing at all What They're Saying: le Creuset's Cool Tool Silicone trivets and hot pads have a permanent home in our kitchen.