metal handles on pans in pro kitchens

I always assumed it was for ruggedness and longevity. And if you're a pro you're smart enough to know to use a pot holder.

and why not make the handle out of a material that can be put in the oven but takes longer to heat up than the actual metal of the pan?

Because whether it heats up 50% more slowly or 10% more slowly, it's still eventually going to get hot.

Calphalon and AllClad and those sorts make silicone slide on covers for the pan handles that do exactly what you describe.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/math/6/0/0/6005f98a67a816e9a168c32d9156c0a4.png

For some reason silicone pot holders et. al TERRIFY me altho they work a trick.

I really don't like the way they feel. I have some that are some sort of rubberized stuff on one side and cotton on the other.

Wood is a lot harder to clean, and brittle. Those silicon things work, but a dry towel does too. And they can be tossed in the laundry, and when the time comes, replaced for pennies.

Make sure the towel is DRY though. I learned that Canadian-PSA-style hard way as a prepubescent lass.

Really? You put a towel in the oven?

Wouldn't it catch fire?

aye Abbs, the even-slightly-damp towel will burn you like nobody's business pronto. I made this mistake not too long ago, snagging a cast iron pan off the stovetop.

You just use it to grab the pan, G00blar, not to cook with.

Ah, I see.

because your hands are freakin rugged