Handles in cookware are usually designed with some non-reactive or neutral kind of material to prevent the transfer of heat to the handles. Wood, plastic, rubber, silicon, etc are widely used materials for handles. Some materials can be oven safe and some can not be no matter what is the material of your utensil if handles are not oven-safe then you should avoid putting that utensil in the oven.
Can pans or pots with wooden handles go in the oven?
No, they can’t. Wooden material is very favorable in kitchenware. It is cheap and it has great temperature-preventing characteristics but wooden handles can be risky to put in the oven.
Wooden handles will not catch flames directly in the oven until it reaches around 800 F temperature. But in a hot environment wood can release some hazardous gas and you can find your oven covered in the smoke released from that handle.
This can be very dangerous for your food and for your oven as well. So in order to avoid some disaster if your manufacturer has provided a guideline that says handles are not oven safe which means you should not put that utensil in the oven with the handles.
Some people unscrew the handles if it is possible and then they use that pan or pot in the oven. This is a safe and manmade way to use a wooden handle utensil in the oven.
How to protect wooden handles in the oven?
There are several ways by which you can protect your wooden handles in the oven up to certain temperatures. These are just some home remedies used by many people around the world.
So in order to buy some minutes before your wooden handle reaches the heating limits, you can cover it with some other material that is oven safe and which can protect the wood as well e.g. you can cover the handles with aluminum foil but, you need to use multiple layers to provide enough protection to your handles.
Another way is you can cover your handles with some wet paper towels and above all, you can again add some layers of aluminum foil. This can protect your wooden handles for a longer time and you may be able to finish your cooking with a wooden handle utensil at the required time.