My tea kettle just died

My condolences Jim. Loosing a pot that you used for so long is like loosing a friend. My it rest in peace. Marlene

It did strike me that the tinny ones would ruin a ceramic glasstop or the plastic parts would melt if ever allowed to boil down for a length of time. I do that about once a year. The only problem with the never been used non-stick sauce pan so far there is a thin oily film I can't get rid of and the lip is the wrong direction for pouring. I pour from the left hand and the lip is the other direction. It's too late for me to learn to switch hands. I hope there are some good kettles still around. I guess I'll have to hit the gourmet kitchen stores or find a sauce pan for the left hand. I do like how fast water comes to a boil in the sauce pan and it fits a set of burners that don't get any use.

Jim

toci wrote:

Greetings,

Revere Ware makes tea kettles. They have a copper bottom like their pans and they come with a whistle that is removed by a lever in the handle when you pour the water out. They come in several sizes too. I use the smallest. It is still going after many years of service. I don't know where you would find one, perhaps a good department store.

Mark

Just a side comment Jim, don't let a non-stick pan boil down or it can give off some pretty toxic fumes. Best of luck looking for a kettle...I had a Le creuset but it sputtered very badly when I'd go to pour. They're expensive but not practical for me. I went to electric and have been satisfied so far.

Melinda

All my sympathy.

My mother paid a bit more for my new kettle last Xmas. I would have bought it myself if she hadn't grasped her credit card quicker than me. The reasons :

- the end of my last cheap kettle : there was a hole in the bottom. So I decided I'd gave up cheap boiling.

-the burnt by steam while I was trying to refill the big tetsubin I used briefly as a kettle. After that accident, I decided I'd refill kettles by the spout.

-Mum said that was good quality. I think I can trust a woman that got married 40 years ago and still uses all the cooking/table ware she had selected as wedding presents.

So I have that : http://66.70.211.12/store/alessi_kettle_sapper.html It looks nicer than on the photo.

I took the steel bottom for induction cooking. But you can get the copper bottom as you have a classical stove.

So far, it is perfect. And it whistles like a boat, my neighbours think I have a yatch.

Kuri

Have you considered an electric kettle? I love the traditional kettle, but haven't used mine in a while since I moved into the dorms at college. My inexpensive, electric kettle has been serving me well, and doubling as a pot. It boils fast and I can use it anywhere I can find a plug. It does sputter a bit, and doesn't whistle (I miss that the most), but it seems to serve its purpose well.

Thanks, Melinda. I was going to ask about non-stick boil down. In this case by the time I fill the pan and dump the pot and choose a tea it is almost ready to pour. There is no need to go wondering off. Cold kettles on cold mornings take forever and not much less time on warm mornings. If you want 500ml out of a round liter kettle it is hard to estimate. I've already did some good estimates using the sauce pan because it is uniform in shape and you can see the water level. I will say the sauce pan doesn't seem to get as hot as a kettle. With the kettle you get steam with the hot water as you pour plus more turbulance from the spout. If I even miss the pot with the sauce pan I'll need first aid for first degree burns. I also don't like the way it seems to splatter the leaves from the top with poured. I like a stream from a spout where I can pour under the leaves from the side of the pot. We just did a kitchen remodel and my wife wouldn't even let me put in an appliance electrical bay. Is Le Creuset the French kitchen chain I see around here? I thought their kitchenware was glazed cast iron or something like that.

Jim

Melinda wrote:

When I went to college we didn't have electrical outlets in the dorms. I learned to drink hot tea at college when I noticed no one was standing in line at the hot water dispenser with the tea and coca sachets. The coffee machine was usually more empty than not.

Jim

TeaDave wrote:

That's a feature I like about my old kettle. I could sit it in the sink and hit the broad spout with the faucet stream with little splash on the kettle except for the initial dip under the stream. Okay explain that contraption over the spout. Also is that a plastic handle?

Jim

kuri wrote:

No splash at all, you can enter the tip of the faucet, or the spout of the Brita pitcher, into the pot. The outside has not yet been wet. I weep it with glass cleaning alcohol once a month.

The spout is closed by a double whistle. I have a spare piece to replace the whistle after 2 years (they say it makes a nice sound during 2 yrs only) and then after 2 other years I can order other spare pieces. With one single hand you can hold the handle and keep the spout open with one finger.

It's that sort of thick plastic (resin ?) that doesn't melt and doesn't become hot. They make the handles of dishes that can be baked in the same material.

Kuri

A spout with a finger latch is one of my tea pet peeves. However everyone I've seen recently has the latch. I know some of the latches lock out of the way so supposedly you can fill the kettle with it sitting in the sink but the ones I've seen would still be partially in the way of a moderate faucet stream flow causing some splashback on the kettle or you have to be deadon for a clean catch. When I go hunting I'll take the old whistle and see if I can mate it with a new pot and remove the latch if I can. There are just two clips which attach the whistle to the spout. This is one of those cases where newer is not better and not even cheaper because clips are cheaper than latches. I can understand why your kettle sounds like a freight train with two whistles. Does one act like a snooze alarm? I'm not complaining because replaceable whistles are better than no replacement for mine if it ever got lost but they should last forever if made of metal. I like a smooth handle because the grip types were made for somebody's hands besides mine. Again all the handles I see have grips and they seem rough. For those who have expressed their condolences the old kettle will assume it's place in the garden next to the only other kettle I've ever had which was made of copper which also had a removeable whistle which I never lost and it never failed. I can't believe I'm going to have to pay more for that convenience if it exist at all. I've known for some time this would be more than just buy another kettle.

Jim

kuri wrote:

Kuri--I think the Sapper kettle is one of the nicest ones and it will certainly last you a good while. If you are design conscious and thinking of switching to an electric, you might want to the Bosch Porsche series electric kettle. I've had one now for a few months and it is a pleasure to use.

snip

Is Le Creuset the French

Yeah, I'm not sure if they have a chain of stores but they have a line of kitchenware. Most of their stuff is enameled cast iron (and I am happy with, for instance, their soup pot and baked bean pot and...)- though I don't think the kettle is iron underneath, it is enameled. It just sputters too much...when I called them they claimed it was because I was filling it too full, so I tried filling it less and it still did it...my best guess is it was because the water would hit the hot metal wall on the inside when I'd go to pour and it did something with the steam, somehow it didn't have anywhere to go. It didn't seem to be worth it if I had to wait for the water to cool down substantially just so I could pour it...makes it not very good for black teas.

Melinda

Jim--Sorry to hear about you losing your kettle and best of luck finding a replacement.

The Sapper Kettle mentioned above is quite nice and very high quality. If you are considering a higher quality electric kettle, I have been using the Bosch Porsche electric Water Kettle TWK9110 for a couple on months now and am quite happy with it so far.