Electric kettle?

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AClaire11 said:
People in the States are more likely to have coffee machines, I think. Neither of us cares for coffee and I only recently started drinking tea a few years ago.
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I actually managed to make a ‘pot’ of tea in one of those when I forgot to bring my kettle to the US on holiday.
 
I drink a lot of tea. I mean, a LOT.

In the past I thought, how silly, I can boil water on the stovetop, this would just be another thing cluttering up the kitchen counter. The Husband, who rarely drinks tea and has no regular use for large amounts of freshly boiled water, convinced me to try it.

Sold.

I was amazed at how fast the water boils! The fact that it can’t boil dry was also a benefit.

We now have two: a two-liter model with a thermostat and a 750ml model without. Both see regular use for various reasons.

For durability and ease of cleaning I highly recommend getting a stainless steel kettle rather than a plastic one, with thermostat if you find it useful to have access to water heated to a precise temperature as I do. (It’s handy when starching altar linens, but I realize the vast majority of people don’t have this job on their to-do list. :D) I also prefer the type where the heating element is hidden in the bottom of the kettle, as it tends to generate fewer hard water deposits (water here is chewable even after I filter it) than an exposed coil. They generally cost more, however.

The electric kettle is to the British and Irish what the automatic rice cooker is to Asians. I can’t imagine a household without a rice cooker (I’m Asian). Rice isn’t difficult to cook on the stove, but the task is much easier in a contraption I can fill, shut and press a button to start up :cool:
 
UpUpAndAway said:
I drink a lot of tea. I mean, a LOT.

In the past I thought, how silly, I can boil water on the stovetop, this would just be another thing cluttering up the kitchen counter. The Husband, who rarely drinks tea and has no regular use for large amounts of freshly boiled water, convinced me to try it.

Sold.

I was amazed at how fast the water boils! The fact that it can’t boil dry was also a benefit.

We now have two: a two-liter model with a thermostat and a 750ml model without. Both see regular use for various reasons.

For durability and ease of cleaning I highly recommend getting a stainless steel kettle rather than a plastic one, with thermostat if you find it useful to have access to water heated to a precise temperature as I do. (It’s handy when starching altar linens, but I realize the vast majority of people don’t have this job on their to-do list. :D) I also prefer the type where the heating element is hidden in the bottom of the kettle, as it tends to generate fewer hard water deposits (water here is chewable even after I filter it) than an exposed coil. They generally cost more, however.

The electric kettle is to the British and Irish what the automatic rice cooker is to Asians. I can’t imagine a household without a rice cooker (I’m Asian). Rice isn’t difficult to cook on the stove, but the task is much easier in a contraption I can fill, shut and press a button to start up :cool:
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Shut.the.front.door.
You’re Asian???

I pictured you a blonde bombshell American living large in Paris!!! LOL
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Well, I suppose you could be blonde…
Isn’t it funny how we all have a mental picture about what folks look like?
That’s funny. I would have ne ver guessed Asian, but I don’t really know why. I also picture you, dear friend, as really tall.
😉

Love ya.

Looks like the OP is getting a kettle for Christmas! I think it’s unanimous! 👍
 
pianistclare said:
Shut.the.front.door.
You’re Asian???

I pictured you a blonde bombshell American living large in Paris!!! LOL
: rotfl : : rotfl : : rotfl :
Well, I suppose you could be blonde…
Isn’t it funny how we all have a mental picture about what folks look like?
That’s funny. I would have ne ver guessed Asian, but I don’t really know why. I also picture you, dear friend, as really tall.
; )

Love ya.

Looks like the OP is getting a kettle for Christmas! I think it’s unanimous! 👍
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:rotfl: No sweetie, I’m 100% Asian. Though I grew up in the US I was born in Asia, of Asian parents. Barefoot, I’m five feet tall. The Husband and Monsieur le curé both tower over me (they are 6’ and 6’1" respectively, unusually tall for French men). 👋

We don’t live in Paris either - we did at one point and were married there, but it’s not the right place for me. :whistle:

And I’m not a blonde :eek: My long straight hair is very dark brown with red highlights.

Love ya too :hug3:

OP, get the electric kettle. You won’t regret it.
 
Electric kettles rock!

Open mouthed at the thought of not using one…

Mine cost under E10 and has been in daily use for years… You can boil , in the modern ones, even a single cup of water, yes auto shut off.

Cordless too; you plug the base in and the kettle sits atop and is separate from the flex part,

I use it first thing for coffee and hot water bottle, then through the in summer; less in winter as i have the range .

When I was on the island I used a stove top kettle and if it works out will do so again but always an electric kettle … Cannot imagine life without it,
 
UpUpAndAway said:
:rotfl: No sweetie, I’m 100% Asian. Though I grew up in the US I was born in Asia, of Asian parents. Barefoot, I’m five feet tall. The Husband and Monsieur le curé both tower over me (they are 6’ and 6’1" respectively, unusually tall for French men). 👋

We don’t live in Paris either - we did at one point and were married there, but it’s not the right place for me. :whistle:

And I’m not a blonde :eek: My long straight hair is very dark brown with red highlights.

Love ya too :hug3:

OP, get the electric kettle. You won’t regret it.
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Ok haha, I’m planning to get the Cuisinart perfect temp kettle. I definitely didn’t regret buying a rice cooker! Cooking rice on the stove is awful. My mom thinks practical gifts are weird :rolleyes: so she’s giving me an Amazon gift card instead. :confused: I’ll just use that towards the purchase.
 
AClaire11 said:
Ok haha, I’m planning to get the Cuisinart perfect temp kettle. I definitely didn’t regret buying a rice cooker! Cooking rice on the stove is awful. My mom thinks practical gifts are weird :rolleyes: so she’s giving me an Amazon gift card instead. :confused: I’ll just use that towards the purchase.
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Ah yes, that one also has a “keep warm” function. My large kettle does as well. Very useful for me; not everyone needs it, though.
 
AClaire11 said:
People in the States are more likely to have coffee machines, I think. Neither of us cares for coffee and I only recently started drinking tea a few years ago.
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I used to looooooove coffee, but now it makes me ill. Sensitive tummy. I do drink tea now and this is perfect for hot or iced tea brewing. To make iced tea for those interested, simply fill kettle with water to the max fill line (usually close to two quarts) and boil water. Pour boiling water evenly into two one-quart sized Pyrex pitchers. Placed one iced tea bag (or 3-4 regular sized tea bags) in each pitcher and steep. I like strong tea so I just leave bag in until it cools then poor the room temp tea over ice and enjoy! 🙂
 
I have one, DH makes tea for sweet tea with it. We also use it for instant potatos and stuff.

It is not as fast in the US as the Europe, the whole outlet differences, but still handy.

I bought a ceramic model with minimal plastic, I have had it for years.
 
AClaire11 said:
One relative told me I need to boil only cold water for tea and only use a stove top kettle. Craziness! I do use cold water, but only because we keep the filter pitcher in the fridge.
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Here is the deal. Cold water typically has more dissolved air in it than warmer water. (That’s why cold water fish don’t do so well if they can’t find cold water.) If you just bring cold water to the simmer and then use it right away, the water will act differently with the tea and taste different than if you’d boiled the daylights out of it, because it will have a different amount of air dissolved in it. (The air comes out of solution first, before the steam.)

My background is in chemistry, and I can’t imagine why a stove top kettle would be any different than an enclosed electric kettle. Maybe a kettle will heat up faster without driving off the dissolved gases than heating water in a saucepan, but the heat source shouldn’t matter.

I’m too insensitive to really know the difference, but if I’m ever making tea for someone who might notice, I try to make it the “proper” way that my English co-worker taught me, way back when. (The instant hot water dispenser is nice for filling the tea pot to it warm up while the water for making the tea itself gets hot.)
 
You are supposed to use cold water because hot water sits in your hot water tank and picks up mineral deposits, or at least thats what I was told! It just might taste a bit off.
 
misspriss said:
You are supposed to use cold water because hot water sits in your hot water tank and picks up mineral deposits, or at least thats what I was told! It just might taste a bit off.
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This. Cold water is fresher and is contact with the pipes for shorter amount of time. Always cook with cold water .
 
Mary_Gail_36 said:
This. Cold water is fresher and is contact with the pipes for shorter amount of time. Always cook with cold water .
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Or get an on demand, tankless hot water heater 😃 we are putting one in our new house.

Can you then use hot water to cook?
 
I can’t imagine life without our electric kettle, it’s super convenient. I use it every morning to heat water to make coffee in my French press, and it’s much faster than a stovetop kettle. Buy one, you won’t regret it. Incidentally ours is very old (my wife bought it in Canada in the mid 1990’s) but it shows no signs of falling apart. It seems like these are less common in American kitchens, I’m not sure why.
 
Oh yeah! Its essential for hot water bottles! There’s nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with miserable cramps and having to wait on water in the microwave or stovetop.
 
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