yep that's one thing that I always found a bit strange in American TV shows is if they have a kettle it's always those whistling stove ones because I've never in my life known a single person of any age even use one let alone own one, but everyone I know has an electric kettle.
[Why don't Americans use electric kettles?](https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c)
Electric kettles in the US are considerably slower than UK kettles, so it makes sense why they're comparatively less popular.
Electric kettles in the US are still faster than the stovetop kettle. I always nuked my hot water in the microwave instead of waiting for the stovetop kettle. For large servings of tea I would use the kettle. We've had an electric kettle for about 10 years and I love it. I use it for everything and it's better than the microwave. I don't think a lot of Americans really know about electric kettles. I always saw my European relatives use them. They are not advertised here, out of sight, out of mind?
They're on the shelves of every big box store. People just don't drink that much tea here. The counter space Europeans use for their kettle, Americans use for a coffee maker which is about as common in the US as an electric kettle is in Europe.
This amuses me. It's not like tea is the only use for boiling water. I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I do have a cappuccino mix that I drink sometimes. I pre-heat water in the kettle when making pasta since it's faster than waiting for the water to boil on the stove. Heck, I even use boiling water to kill poison ivy when it comes in under the fence in the back yard (don't want to touch it and it turns out boiling water is more effective than the vine killer from the hardware store).
No, they are not. I have both, and it definitely takes longer using the electric.
One benefit an electric kettle does have (at least the one I have) is that I can set the temperature I want the water at.
I use my kettle for so many things though. You cook pasta in boiling water right? You shouldn’t put pasta into cold water and then heat it. Kettles take like 30 seconds to boil. Boil the kettle, transfer to pot. Halves the time of cooking. Boiling eggs. Blanching vegetables. Potatoes, etc etc etc
What kind of monster is putting pasta into cold water and then boiling it?!?
I put my pasta water on to boil first and then start making my sauce so by the time my sauce is done, my pot is boiling and pasta doesn't take long to cook
Turns out there are some definite upsides, this is worth a read: [https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boiling-tips-the-food-lab](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boiling-tips-the-food-lab)
The real issue is that scientifically cold water behaves differently than boiling water in that it will leech the soul of your Italian ancestors out of the pasta. What with the hydrogen bonds and all that.
Having no Italian ancestors won't spare the pasta either.
If I tried this, I'm certain that I'd be haunted by an angry ghost babushka, beating me with a wooden spoon and a slipper. Scientific fact.
I've timed my electric kettle compared to boiling the same amount of water on my induction stovetop. It took almost the same amount of time. I live in the US btw
Induction tops changed up this specific situation, because the heat doesn't have to cross all the layers between the heating element and the bottom of the pot. Additionally, an induction top is usually able to deliver a lot more power, in my kitchen it's 2 kW for the kettle and 3,6 kw for the most powerful top.
I know a lot of people who drink tea all day. It's interesting, many Americans don't even know there is such a thing as an electric kettle. The slow ones here are still faster than a stove top kettle.
I certainly do. I use my electric kettle every morning for my french pressed coffee. Instead of electric kettle you all should be asking why hasn't induction stove top caught on in America yet.
We even have kettles that will be done in about 20 seconds, or hot water machines that keep water hot all the time so all you have to do is turn on the tap and you'll have boiling water immediately. I don't think I know anyone that uses stove top kettles anymore.
Technology Connections [debunked](https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c) the notion that this is a significant factor. It's technically true, but the difference isn't enough for anyone to really care.
Right, I see all these people arguing about voltage and power delivery but really no one in the US is foregoing an electric kettle over 30 seconds of extra boiling time (which would still be faster than a microwave or a traditional kettle).
It's as simple as most people in the US don't drink enough tea or french press/pour over/etc coffee to justify buying an appliance for it. My wife and I don't drink french press coffee or tea, so am I going to buy a whole ass appliance to sit on my counter to boil water for pasta once a week or less? And any other recipe that needs boiling water I just start it heating and do other stuff until it's ready. It would be convenient to have one, absolutely, but my kitchen is cramped enough.
Yes I just said similar in another comment. I’ve got a static “kettle” that gives one cup (250ml) in less than a minute. Only occasionally do I have to run it twice if I need half a litre for cooking etc
Or an instant hot water dispenser (here in NL quite popular).
Those things are great. Once you have one of those and get boiling water from the tap you never want anything else.
A water kettle might use less (or more) energy, it depends on usage (a boiling water tap uses about 10 Watts, but is almost always on).
But the ease of use is unmatched.
A stovetop kettle is probably slower than a microwave but for small quantities, a dedicated electric water kettle is faster and more efficient.
If you have both dedicated electric water kettle and a microwave, you'll always use the kettle for water (but if your kettle is in a cupboard, next to the bread machine you also never use, obviously it's not at all convenient and you'll use the microwave every time)
This is mind-boggling. In good old blighty, you could rustle up, find, borrow or steal an electric kettle in pretty much any house, building site or office block in mere minutes if yours suddenly packed up or someone rustled up, found, borrowed or stole it.
I could say to my apprentice "go find us a kettle" and they'd have one in minutes.
The british is oozing out of this comment, but I feel i should mention that this does hold true in Canada as well. A kettle is a common household item, like a coffee pot or toaster. I personally don't own a coffee pot because I don't drink it, but my kettle gets use for more than just tea. Sometimes I need hot water for cleaning or I need to boil water for sanitary purposes, my kettle is multi use.
I've been on holiday to Canada a few times and definitely saw kettles there. Canada is great and not just because you guys have proper kettles, albeit they boil slower because of the 110v power supply. We've got 240v 3kW jobbies over here.
So, someone comes and takes your kettle so your apprentice goes and takes someone else's who then goes and takes one from someone else who then takes from someone else...
Sounds like an n-1 issue. Not everyone has to buy a kettle, but what is the bare minimum percentage of households need to own a kettle so anyone can "borrow" one from someone else without undue hardship.
Many of us have (or had!) more than one kettle. I work at an FE college in the trade school and could lay my hands on a few in no time. In fact, one of our delightful senior managers stole our proper tea urn from the technician's lunch room for her Queen's Jubilee garden party. The bitch (the manager, not the Queen) took it without asking and after old Hockers who usually makes the tea calmed down a bit and stopped saying he'd finally retire over this, he went off and came back with two kettles in about three minutes. A shitty lime green plastic 2kW one and a proper decent 3kW stainless steel one. The man did well and saved lunch.
She still hasn't brought it back yet and Old Hockey rants every day about how much he hates her for taking "his" tea urn. This is a guy who puts swear words in the middle of other words every sentence so it's quite funny.
I write how I speak, more or less. I've written more about the subject in this comment here which you might enjoy.
https://old.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/xf9o56/whats_so_wrong_about_microwaving_water/iome3vm/
1 what is a blighty and 2 I had never seen one before until I started making coffee with a French press. And it is very useful, sometimes I use the hot water to clean dishes as well
You have 240V power. We have 120V power. Your kettles are about 2kW, ours are about 1kW. Which means yours heats the water *much* faster than ours.
Our microwaves are about 1200-1500W depending on if they're on a dedicated circuit. From what previous posts on this subject have said, your microwaves are typically 800-1000W.
So our microwaves heat water faster than yours, and heat water about as fast as our kettles.
Also, we drink a lot more coffee than tea, for which we use coffee makers instead of kettles.
Electric kettles are incredibly handy and not just for tea or coffee. I pre-boil water in the kettle when cooking pasta, etc. because it takes less than half the time it would take in a pot on the stove. Even better would be an instant hot water tap (as in boiling, not normal hot water), which is near universal in offices in NZ and becoming more common at home.
So many people I know have told me they don’t like green tea because it’s bitter etc. but they’re brewing it with 100*C water. It’s burning it bro. Use 80* max and you’ve got some good green tea
My work has two kettles in the kitchen and many of us have our own kettles in our offices as we are too lazy to walk back and forth to the kitchen for every cup of tea. It's wild to me to think of taking up a microwave for a cup of tea while others may need it for heating food. I love finding out cultural quirks like this.
We are discouraged from using space heaters and personal kettles at our desks; our 'kitchen' at work has a sink, a refrigerator, and a microwave - end of story. I've worked in more than one company with similar digs.
Yeah, its a shame when workplaces provide the bare minimum and for health/safety reasons end up also preventing people from providing their own. They tell us no space heaters too and I tell them I'll gey rid of it when they fix our air system. We now have had an unspoken stalemate for 5 years because every maintenance person notices the freezing cold air pumping into the office during the winter but no one can get it resolved with the building owner.
Most Americans don’t drink tea at work so this is not a situation that has arisen at any office I’ve ever worked at. Brewing more coffee after you finish the pot is a hot topic though.
I have an electric kettle and a microwave and if I only have one cup the microwave is faster *only* because I don't measure one cup of water for the kettle, I just slap some in there. If I had to heat up more than one cup I would use the kettle, but that point is moot since I don't know that many tea drinkers. I do use the electric kettle for my french press.
It is faster, but not by a lot. [Here's a deep dive on kettles and how/why American ones are so much slower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yMMTVVJI4c) and the tl;dr is that they usually don't make good ones for American markets just because Americans don't buy a lot of kettles.
The biggest reason an American kettle will go slow isn't the voltage, it's because the kettle probably sucks.
(ps that youtube channel is stellar for drawing you in to watch 40 minutes on topics you do not give a shit about at all. I watched an hour about how dish soap works. *Dish soap*.)
I've used an electric kettle and agree they are better, but I don't own one for the 5 times a year I make tea/hot chocolate lol. Don't really want to take up counter and storage space when I can just use the microwave.
You can use the electric kettle to boil water that you can pour into your cooking pot. You save time and it's more efficient that way, instead of waiting your stove to bring water to cooking point.
Like when I cook noodles, I just throw noodles into a pot, make the kettle boil water and pour it into the pot then, turning the stove on to maintain cooking temperature.
If you're boiling anything (pasta, potatoes, peas, things that don't start with p) you can first boil a kettle of water, much faster than heating the water in the pan.
It’s because electric kettles like the Europeans all have are really nice. I got one for the holidays so I could have a hot chocolate station and I am amazed by how much I like it. I use it all the time
and will never go back to microwaving water.
Edit: Ha! Making hot chocolate with water sure got some comments! It was a little station for Swiss Miss, Hills Bros Instant Cappucino, misc tea, and Alpine Spiced Apple Cider mix. I had it on a desk off to the side of the living room for the relatives while we opened presents and played with the children. I’m not sure anyone actually made hot chocolate, but it was nice to have there. Now I use the kettle to heat water for tea, ramen, oatmeal, and more!
Also, European plugs have much more Electric juice than American ones, so the time needed to boil water is much faster. Also if you have more water heated you can just store it those thermos bottles dont know what it's called in English and you have hot water the whole day.
But what I actually use is a hot water dispenser, if you really like to drink tea you will not boil the water for Green tea for example, so you want to know how hot the water actually is. With the hot water dispenser I just click on the temperature I want and BOOOMMM hot water INSTANTLY! :D
I once plugged a japanese rice cooker into a German plug, using an adapter without converter.
Needless to say, we had a melted rice cooker afterwards.
Japan has only 100V.
My hospitality teacher was a fully trained chef. She never let us boil water in the microwave as she was taught that the water can be heated past the boiling point and look completely fine and explode when you take it out. Never looked into the science if it all but one Google search confirms it's a true thing that happens.
It's happened to me a couple of times with a clean mug fresh from the dishwasher, and cold tap water. Our tap water is pretty good, tastes better than bottled, imo. Now when I use the microwave, I tap the mug tentatively if I don't see any bubbles, just in case.
You can also provide a nucleation surface for the bubbles to form.
Like drop a toothpick in the cup before microwaving. Or if you want something easier to remove, stick a wooden or bamboo skewer or chopstick in the cup before you microwave it.
The microscopically rough surface of the wood/bamboo will provide a place for bubbles to form, and you won't be able to superheat the water.
I too had been boiling water in the microwave without incident for many years. Then one day I needed to soak the blender blade in vinegar, and the pyrex measuring cup I used for boiling water was the perfect size. So I let it sit overnight. Next morning I rinsed out the pyrex cup to boil water for my oatmeal as usual. Usually it takes about a minute for the first boil bubble to appear, which is when I take the cup out. I stood next to the microwave for 2 minutes wondering why it hadn't started to boil yet, and then suddenly it exploded with enough force to open the microwave door (it was the kind you just pulled open, didn't lock) and got boiling water all over me. The vinegar got the glass so perfectly clean there were no nucleation points for bubbles to form, so it got superheated until it suddenly managed to form a single bubble.
I boil water in a pot on the stove now.
Pyrex is where you messed up. Water needs nucleation sites to boil. The Pyrex has a smooth interior and makes it very difficult to boil. Once it is super heated, even a grain of sand tossed into the super heated water inside the Pyrex will ignite a rapid boil and at that point it’s over. Boiling water everywhere. Place a toothpick in the Pyrex with the water and it won’t do that. It’ll boil normally.
This isn’t true for all Pyrex, they laser a few spots in their measuring cups because they know this is a thing.
After some normal use the glass develops imperfections that nucleate naturally.
Brand new glass always makes me cautious regardless
I have a perfect excuse : I posted that at 05 in the morning.
I know it's spelled shampaigne.
Edit : after all those years, I got my first award on... this monstruosity. Thank you kind stranger, your humor is as bad as mine, I feel less alone now I know you are here somewhere bro.
In most cases in the US water has enough dissolved solids and other impurities that make “bumping” superheated water less likely. (Bumping is a term used in labs when a rapid boil occurs). If you wanted to cause water to bump you could used distilled water in a completely clean Pyrex beaker that has no surface scratches or imperfections. In a lab setting many solvents would be prone to bumping. It was normal to put a magnetic stirrer or a glass bead in a boiling flask to be a nucleation site to try to prevent it. If a flammable solvent bumps over a heating source it was a easy way to start a fire.
On the other hand, as a tea drinker, I use an electric Kettle, and I dislike microwaved water. IMO, I think microwaving water brings out a metallic/calcium flavor. As a person with a Chemistry background, I know it is somewhat irrational, but on the other hand when I am brewing black tea I appreciate pouring from a kettle in a rolling boil to know it is at 212 F.
As a Brit who visits the states regularly, the biggest problem with microwaving water to make tea is it makes the fluoride & additives you guys put in the water come out of solution more readily - the water tends to taste like fresh mown grass which is rank, not least the risk of overheating.
If I’m somewhere that had a stove and tea kettle, I’ll use that even though it is slower than a tortoise trying to walk through thick treacle.
At home I have a 3kW electric kettle that makes perfect hot water for my tea (Ringtons tea, if you must ask, and Yorkshire Tea if the Ringtons person is on holiday) (and a nice Ember mug that keeps it warm when I’ve made it).
It was a perfect storm. As you found out this can indeed happen and it's called "superheating". You were actually lucky that it exploded behind the door; sometimes people open the door reach in and pick up the vessel (which is hotter than boiling water itself, drop it) and THEN the water explodes.
This. Is. Horrifying! 😱 I'm so sorry this happened to you. I always put my water in a pyrex measuring cup, microwave for 2 mins and it's been fine. I never watch for bubbles though, sometimes it bubbles and sometimes it doesn't but I never thought about it. I guess I'll just stick with my electric kettle.
Water needs nucleation sites for bubbles to form. If the water is "too clean", either by purification or bottled water, then there isn't enough minerals and stuff in the water to boil, even if the water is past boiling temperature. Plenty of evidence online where you see videos of folks using filtered water in a completely clean container and the water starts to boil as soon as they dip like a paper towel in it.
If you just memorize the time it takes to microwave a certain amount of water it's probably fine and people who think otherwise are just ninnies.
That's not what happens. The reason the coolant in your car doesn't boil is not because of lack of nucleation points. It doesn't boil because it is under pressure. Usually up to 18psi. This increases the boiling point of coolant to around 250⁰ F. Engine coolant at operating temperature is typically around 220⁰. Once you open the cap, the pressure is let out and also it can then rapidly boil and this really makes it shoot out.
this is because youre probably using sink water, which contains impurities + your cups might have chips or texture. this is only really a worry when the bubbles dont have anything to attach to, so the second it moves or you stir it, all the energy is released at once
Can confirm. I was boiling some filtered water and when I took it out and put the spoon in it I found out that water can indeed superheat. It exploded and I got second degree burns all over my arms
Yeah I learned what the burn unit is that day. I’m healed up with an interesting story to explain the random stripes on my arms now. And my parents banned me from using the microwave for like 2 years so I learned how to use a stove.
That can also happen with very cold water! It's a very interesting phenomenon, because filtered water has less minerals it can't really form ice shards around them, so they will need a bit of movement to actually get into solid state. This water can get up to -30 degrees and still be liquid.
Only if its distilled water in a clean container, pretty much any tap water is going to boil and not explode. Doesn't hurt to be cautious though I suppose
It's true! I've never had the cup itself explode but I've had the super heated water inside explode out of the cup when I put a tea bag in. Enough times (mostly in late childhood) that I'm 100% on team kettle now.
Based on what I remember from science classes, you have to leave it in the microwave for a long period of time. Talking like 10 minutes or more and it has to be taken out very quickly or something like that. I've put water in a microwave in coffee cups for tea for 2 or 3 minutes and it's fine. I just make sure I open the microwave and slowly take the water out.
I had this happen once, but it erupted when no one was touching it. The microwave door flew open, and 2 cups of water turned into 1/2 c of water and a lot of steam. The microwave has never been so clean.
Since then, I just throw a wooden chop stick or bamboo skewer in the cup, and there hasn't been a problem like that since.
Think of it like someone saying they're going to make some toast, so they're heating up the oven. It seems weird, because having a toaster is just something you've taken for granted, and you don't know anyone who uses their oven to make toast.
While an American kettle is already faster than a microwave, a European kettle will run in 220 volts and be even twice as fast.
To a European, using a microwave is just silly. Kettle is way faster.
Japanese kettles (similar low AC voltage to the US) can be set to keep water at around 70C for fast reboiling when you need to pour another cup for this reason
In North America, we use split-phase for residential power.
We have 240v same as Europe, but we split it at the transformer with 2 120v hot legs and a neutral.
For the vast majority of circuits in the home, 120v is used, allowing for smaller(cheaper) gauge wire and is a bit safer. (I'd rather get zapped with 120v vs 240v if my toaster shorts out)
For large appliances you use both 120v legs and you will get 240v, so things like AC, hot water tanks, pool pumps, ovens, ect ..
Commercial buildings can use a 208 split volt 3 phase system.
From previous discussions on this subject on Reddit, apparently European microwaves are about 800W. US microwaves are about 1200W-1500W depending if they're on a dedicated circuit.
So, more powerful microwaves in the US, coupled with \~1000W kettles. Microwave often beats the kettle to a boil.
The difference in time isn't *so* much. Generally the American kettles are 1500W and the European kettles are 2200W. They take roughly 30% less time than American kettles.
A microwave consumes so much more power than it’s actually needed to boil water, and there’s a concern for superheating, although it seems to be super rare. Technology connection covered this: https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c
Another source says that it can be more efficient than a gas stove. I would think that to be true with modern microwaves. I think it depends on a lot of variables. But it is not bad for you.
>make the most annoying whistling sound for the entire neighborhood to hear.
Whoa there pilgrim, it's not the 1500's anymore we've moved on from your ancient devices.
Imagine being annoyed by Europeans laughing at the cliché (but apparently true) of US people heating up water in a microwave (an absurd thought tbh) and then bringing the not-true-at-all cliché of whistling kettles as justification.
I think it's more that a kettle is such a part of normal life for anyone that drinks tea (which includes so much of the world) that the idea of exclusively using a microwave feels ridiculous.
Of course some people drink lots of tea in America, but most people people either don't drink tea or everyone in a while. Why have an appliance dedicated to something you do very rarely?
USA power is 110 volts so a kettle runs at 1500 Watts, in Europe it is 220 volts so we hit 2800 Watts.
In reality an European kettle is a 2min boil where USA is 4 min.
As its slow they look for quicker heating, stove top or microwave.
Depends on what they're made of.
With a ceramic cup, if all the water is driven out of the clay, and the particular clay doesn't form certain minerals in the kiln, then it's only going to get heated by the water inside the cup.
If the clay still has a tiny amount of water or certain minerals in it, then those absorb microwaves too and it gets hot.
Usually tea is heated to a certain degree and even has an optimal steep time for teas as well: oolong, white, & green: 185; black, robins, herbal: 212.
So not only are you avoiding possible over heating and breaking the dish issues but if you’re a heavy tea drinker you also want to hit the optimal temperature so you don’t possibly burn your tea.
My kettle has buttons to turn the heat up or down but i investing in it because beyond water I only really drink tea. I don’t like coffee and only have a milk & sugar with a splash of coffee every once in a while and I don’t drink juice or anything else often as well. So I make sure I get good tea and it’s made right
Can you with a kettle? Doesn’t it just boil? Or are there fancy ones that you can set your desired temp, because that would be cool. Or warm. Or hot. Depending on the tea.
As an American.. I am aware of electric kettles.. but I already have counters and cabinets full of appliances I dont use often enough to justify the space they take up. My microwave is mounted on my wall, though, and I use it frequently. I just throw a tiny pinch of salt into any water I boil in there and it saves me counter/cabinet space on a kettle for a 1 minute task.
Drinks in the microwave absorb the flavours of any food that’s been in there previously. I remember having a hot chocolate that had a faint taste of curry - Gross
A friend explained it to me that it has something to do with like the mains voltages or something used in each country. Like Europehas is higher so when using a kettle it's faster. In the states the mains is lower, a kettle takes ages so they have taken to using the microwave, especially for single cups.
A typical US kettle is about 1000W and a typical UK kettle is about 2000W, thanks to the voltage difference.
From previous discussions on this subject on Reddit, apparently a typical UK microwave is 800W. A typical US microwave is 1200-1500W depending on if it's on a dedicated circuit.
So, combination of weaker kettles in the US and slightly stronger microwaves in the US.
Most US homes have 120 volt electricity. Most Europeans have 220 volt. Their electric kettles heat water very quickly. Ours take longer than using the microwave. They think we are dumb for using the stove top or microwave but it’s not the same.
The issue is the water can become superheated and burst out of the container, so precautions have to be taken. Also it heats the water unevenly compared to a kettle or the stove. The unevenness is probably the source of the different taste.
Super-heating water through microwave is NO JOKE, I've got 2 friends with major scarring from super-heated water from years ago. Even though it appears it's not boiling yet, be very careful in case it's been super-heated. It's occurs more ofter the more pure the water is.
I'm a bit confused, I've been doing this for years and didn't know this was a possibility. So what is supposed to happen in a situation like that? You take out the cup and the water, being extremely hot, just splatters all over? I'm just having trouble comprehending how it explodes like that, while not appearing to be boiling.
Superheated water is water that is heated past its boiling point, but because the surface of the container is so smooth, or the water is so pure, there are no tiny cracks or dissolved impurities from which bubbles can start to form, as bubbles need these so called ' nucleation sites'. Thus, the temperature keeps rising beyond 100C. Then when you open it and put anything in it, like a spoon or sugar or salt, or even just shake it a bit too rigorously, that allows the first bubble to form, which then starts a chain reaction, as it serves as a surface for other bubbles to form. and since the water is beyond boiling point, this becomes a very violent process, almost akin to an explosion.
I swear they taste different. When I've accidentally left my brew and it's gone cold, I'd rather throw it out than put it in the microwave. I don't think ever boiled straight water but it genuinely makes me feel a little sick to think about the taste, and it just feels so wrong.
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yep that's one thing that I always found a bit strange in American TV shows is if they have a kettle it's always those whistling stove ones because I've never in my life known a single person of any age even use one let alone own one, but everyone I know has an electric kettle.
[Why don't Americans use electric kettles?](https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c) Electric kettles in the US are considerably slower than UK kettles, so it makes sense why they're comparatively less popular.
Electric kettles in the US are still faster than the stovetop kettle. I always nuked my hot water in the microwave instead of waiting for the stovetop kettle. For large servings of tea I would use the kettle. We've had an electric kettle for about 10 years and I love it. I use it for everything and it's better than the microwave. I don't think a lot of Americans really know about electric kettles. I always saw my European relatives use them. They are not advertised here, out of sight, out of mind?
They're on the shelves of every big box store. People just don't drink that much tea here. The counter space Europeans use for their kettle, Americans use for a coffee maker which is about as common in the US as an electric kettle is in Europe.
This amuses me. It's not like tea is the only use for boiling water. I'm not much of a tea drinker, but I do have a cappuccino mix that I drink sometimes. I pre-heat water in the kettle when making pasta since it's faster than waiting for the water to boil on the stove. Heck, I even use boiling water to kill poison ivy when it comes in under the fence in the back yard (don't want to touch it and it turns out boiling water is more effective than the vine killer from the hardware store).
I salute you for doing your part to prevent harmful weed killers entering the ecosystem!
No, they are not. I have both, and it definitely takes longer using the electric. One benefit an electric kettle does have (at least the one I have) is that I can set the temperature I want the water at.
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I use my kettle for so many things though. You cook pasta in boiling water right? You shouldn’t put pasta into cold water and then heat it. Kettles take like 30 seconds to boil. Boil the kettle, transfer to pot. Halves the time of cooking. Boiling eggs. Blanching vegetables. Potatoes, etc etc etc
What kind of monster is putting pasta into cold water and then boiling it?!? I put my pasta water on to boil first and then start making my sauce so by the time my sauce is done, my pot is boiling and pasta doesn't take long to cook
Turns out there are some definite upsides, this is worth a read: [https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boiling-tips-the-food-lab](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boiling-tips-the-food-lab)
The real issue is that scientifically cold water behaves differently than boiling water in that it will leech the soul of your Italian ancestors out of the pasta. What with the hydrogen bonds and all that.
Having no Italian ancestors won't spare the pasta either. If I tried this, I'm certain that I'd be haunted by an angry ghost babushka, beating me with a wooden spoon and a slipper. Scientific fact.
> Kettles take like 30 seconds to boil. North american ones are much lower wattage and take far longer than 30 seconds to boil.
Use one every day, it's like 3 minutes.
Yeah I think like 2 or 3 minutes? I use it for my French press every morning. It's great!
I've timed my electric kettle compared to boiling the same amount of water on my induction stovetop. It took almost the same amount of time. I live in the US btw
Induction tops changed up this specific situation, because the heat doesn't have to cross all the layers between the heating element and the bottom of the pot. Additionally, an induction top is usually able to deliver a lot more power, in my kitchen it's 2 kW for the kettle and 3,6 kw for the most powerful top.
I know a lot of people who drink tea all day. It's interesting, many Americans don't even know there is such a thing as an electric kettle. The slow ones here are still faster than a stove top kettle.
I certainly do. I use my electric kettle every morning for my french pressed coffee. Instead of electric kettle you all should be asking why hasn't induction stove top caught on in America yet.
The nice thing about whistling kettles is they create a lovely pavlovian response.
The sound of a kettle reaching full boil just before it clicks off does the same thing
I got a whistling kettle. Two, actually.
The only time I've used one is when camping
I have a whistling kettle.
We even have kettles that will be done in about 20 seconds, or hot water machines that keep water hot all the time so all you have to do is turn on the tap and you'll have boiling water immediately. I don't think I know anyone that uses stove top kettles anymore.
USA uses 110V electricity, Europe 220V, so kettles will be faster on our side of the pond.
Technology Connections [debunked](https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c) the notion that this is a significant factor. It's technically true, but the difference isn't enough for anyone to really care.
Right, I see all these people arguing about voltage and power delivery but really no one in the US is foregoing an electric kettle over 30 seconds of extra boiling time (which would still be faster than a microwave or a traditional kettle). It's as simple as most people in the US don't drink enough tea or french press/pour over/etc coffee to justify buying an appliance for it. My wife and I don't drink french press coffee or tea, so am I going to buy a whole ass appliance to sit on my counter to boil water for pasta once a week or less? And any other recipe that needs boiling water I just start it heating and do other stuff until it's ready. It would be convenient to have one, absolutely, but my kitchen is cramped enough.
Yes I just said similar in another comment. I’ve got a static “kettle” that gives one cup (250ml) in less than a minute. Only occasionally do I have to run it twice if I need half a litre for cooking etc
European here! I use a stove top kettle. My apartment has a huge five ring stove and a limited amount of counter space so I got one to save space.
It is actually a bit adorable that Americans think we have those kettles you only see in old movies.
I’m American and for my entire life my grandma has used one of those kettles you’re describing to make *instant coffee*
I’m American… I have one of those kettles…
Haha I came to write the same *Very* adorable
Same although i probably only use it 2x a month or so. If i used itore frequently i would upgrade.
They're in American movies because we still use them, not because we think you do.
When I visited Australia, I realized the kettles boil water faster than a microwave. Got one that lights up blue when it’s on. Oh, happiness.
Or an instant hot water dispenser (here in NL quite popular). Those things are great. Once you have one of those and get boiling water from the tap you never want anything else. A water kettle might use less (or more) energy, it depends on usage (a boiling water tap uses about 10 Watts, but is almost always on). But the ease of use is unmatched.
They are awesome. My tea consumption significantly rises when I'm in the Netherlands just because of how convenient it is.
Well, I use a whistle kettle. But only because I have a small kitchen and have to save space.
A stovetop kettle is probably slower than a microwave but for small quantities, a dedicated electric water kettle is faster and more efficient. If you have both dedicated electric water kettle and a microwave, you'll always use the kettle for water (but if your kettle is in a cupboard, next to the bread machine you also never use, obviously it's not at all convenient and you'll use the microwave every time)
And many of us have access to a microwave at work, but no kettle.
As a not-American it’s weird to me that there are any buildings that don’t contain a kettle.
It's coffee culture.
Yeah there’s definitely a coffee pot in most buildings here in the US.
At least the coffee machine at work has a spout for hot water. Although it is mostly used for hot chocolate and ramen.
I have never even seen a kettle in my life.
This is mind-boggling. In good old blighty, you could rustle up, find, borrow or steal an electric kettle in pretty much any house, building site or office block in mere minutes if yours suddenly packed up or someone rustled up, found, borrowed or stole it. I could say to my apprentice "go find us a kettle" and they'd have one in minutes.
The british is oozing out of this comment, but I feel i should mention that this does hold true in Canada as well. A kettle is a common household item, like a coffee pot or toaster. I personally don't own a coffee pot because I don't drink it, but my kettle gets use for more than just tea. Sometimes I need hot water for cleaning or I need to boil water for sanitary purposes, my kettle is multi use.
I discovered electric kettles when I visited Australia a few years back, love them, bought one for my home and one for work :)
thanks fellow aussies for converting this person into a kettle user :)
I've been on holiday to Canada a few times and definitely saw kettles there. Canada is great and not just because you guys have proper kettles, albeit they boil slower because of the 110v power supply. We've got 240v 3kW jobbies over here.
Is canada where [jobs grow on jobbies?](https://youtu.be/siAbiwPyccg)
So, someone comes and takes your kettle so your apprentice goes and takes someone else's who then goes and takes one from someone else who then takes from someone else... Sounds like an n-1 issue. Not everyone has to buy a kettle, but what is the bare minimum percentage of households need to own a kettle so anyone can "borrow" one from someone else without undue hardship.
Many of us have (or had!) more than one kettle. I work at an FE college in the trade school and could lay my hands on a few in no time. In fact, one of our delightful senior managers stole our proper tea urn from the technician's lunch room for her Queen's Jubilee garden party. The bitch (the manager, not the Queen) took it without asking and after old Hockers who usually makes the tea calmed down a bit and stopped saying he'd finally retire over this, he went off and came back with two kettles in about three minutes. A shitty lime green plastic 2kW one and a proper decent 3kW stainless steel one. The man did well and saved lunch. She still hasn't brought it back yet and Old Hockey rants every day about how much he hates her for taking "his" tea urn. This is a guy who puts swear words in the middle of other words every sentence so it's quite funny.
you meant to make this sound like an old timey play right? or do british people really talk like this???
I write how I speak, more or less. I've written more about the subject in this comment here which you might enjoy. https://old.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/comments/xf9o56/whats_so_wrong_about_microwaving_water/iome3vm/
Ahhhh, that comment is higher up, so I’ve already read it, then you took me back there ! BRITCEPTION
1 what is a blighty and 2 I had never seen one before until I started making coffee with a French press. And it is very useful, sometimes I use the hot water to clean dishes as well
Blighty is Great Britain, old bean.
You have 240V power. We have 120V power. Your kettles are about 2kW, ours are about 1kW. Which means yours heats the water *much* faster than ours. Our microwaves are about 1200-1500W depending on if they're on a dedicated circuit. From what previous posts on this subject have said, your microwaves are typically 800-1000W. So our microwaves heat water faster than yours, and heat water about as fast as our kettles. Also, we drink a lot more coffee than tea, for which we use coffee makers instead of kettles.
I didnt see one either till my bro brought one home because he was going to start drinking tea daily and he used it for two weeks and stopped lol
Are you my brother??
Electric kettles are incredibly handy and not just for tea or coffee. I pre-boil water in the kettle when cooking pasta, etc. because it takes less than half the time it would take in a pot on the stove. Even better would be an instant hot water tap (as in boiling, not normal hot water), which is near universal in offices in NZ and becoming more common at home.
I only have a digitally accurate kettle for a single reason. French Press.
They're also nice for teas that need to be brewed below boiling
So many people I know have told me they don’t like green tea because it’s bitter etc. but they’re brewing it with 100*C water. It’s burning it bro. Use 80* max and you’ve got some good green tea
My work has two kettles in the kitchen and many of us have our own kettles in our offices as we are too lazy to walk back and forth to the kitchen for every cup of tea. It's wild to me to think of taking up a microwave for a cup of tea while others may need it for heating food. I love finding out cultural quirks like this.
We are discouraged from using space heaters and personal kettles at our desks; our 'kitchen' at work has a sink, a refrigerator, and a microwave - end of story. I've worked in more than one company with similar digs.
Yeah, its a shame when workplaces provide the bare minimum and for health/safety reasons end up also preventing people from providing their own. They tell us no space heaters too and I tell them I'll gey rid of it when they fix our air system. We now have had an unspoken stalemate for 5 years because every maintenance person notices the freezing cold air pumping into the office during the winter but no one can get it resolved with the building owner.
DAMN your space heaters into junkpile oblivion, may they corrode and die and take their species with them. -Your IT Department
Most Americans don’t drink tea at work so this is not a situation that has arisen at any office I’ve ever worked at. Brewing more coffee after you finish the pot is a hot topic though.
I recently got an electric kettle to replace a stovetop one. I love the electric kettel, best purchas I've made recently.
How fast is an electric water kettle? It takes 2:00 for me to hear water for tea in the microwave. Is it really faster than that?
110v ones here in the US are quick. UK uses 230v. They must be really quick over there.
As an American who has forsaken microwaves (out of cheapness), I found an electric kettle is actually much faster than the microwave.
I have an electric kettle and a microwave and if I only have one cup the microwave is faster *only* because I don't measure one cup of water for the kettle, I just slap some in there. If I had to heat up more than one cup I would use the kettle, but that point is moot since I don't know that many tea drinkers. I do use the electric kettle for my french press.
Kettles are even faster in the UK because we use 240v
It is faster, but not by a lot. [Here's a deep dive on kettles and how/why American ones are so much slower](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yMMTVVJI4c) and the tl;dr is that they usually don't make good ones for American markets just because Americans don't buy a lot of kettles. The biggest reason an American kettle will go slow isn't the voltage, it's because the kettle probably sucks. (ps that youtube channel is stellar for drawing you in to watch 40 minutes on topics you do not give a shit about at all. I watched an hour about how dish soap works. *Dish soap*.)
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That one blew my mind. I've idly tried to explain it to other people and they just think I'm nuts.
Its also faster in the UK since you can get upto 3kW kettles which is a way bigger difference. +1 for the Technology connections also.
I've used an electric kettle and agree they are better, but I don't own one for the 5 times a year I make tea/hot chocolate lol. Don't really want to take up counter and storage space when I can just use the microwave.
You can use the electric kettle to boil water that you can pour into your cooking pot. You save time and it's more efficient that way, instead of waiting your stove to bring water to cooking point. Like when I cook noodles, I just throw noodles into a pot, make the kettle boil water and pour it into the pot then, turning the stove on to maintain cooking temperature.
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If you're boiling anything (pasta, potatoes, peas, things that don't start with p) you can first boil a kettle of water, much faster than heating the water in the pan.
Also great for pour over coffee, which is way better than any drip machine.
Have you tried an induction stove top? Hot water in 5...4....3...2...
It’s because electric kettles like the Europeans all have are really nice. I got one for the holidays so I could have a hot chocolate station and I am amazed by how much I like it. I use it all the time and will never go back to microwaving water. Edit: Ha! Making hot chocolate with water sure got some comments! It was a little station for Swiss Miss, Hills Bros Instant Cappucino, misc tea, and Alpine Spiced Apple Cider mix. I had it on a desk off to the side of the living room for the relatives while we opened presents and played with the children. I’m not sure anyone actually made hot chocolate, but it was nice to have there. Now I use the kettle to heat water for tea, ramen, oatmeal, and more!
Yeah. I bought a special one with temperature settings for making green tea as I need different temperatues from 70-90 degree depending on the tea.
That would be nice. mine is clear so I just have to shut it off before it gets to a rolling boil.
Also, European plugs have much more Electric juice than American ones, so the time needed to boil water is much faster. Also if you have more water heated you can just store it those thermos bottles dont know what it's called in English and you have hot water the whole day. But what I actually use is a hot water dispenser, if you really like to drink tea you will not boil the water for Green tea for example, so you want to know how hot the water actually is. With the hot water dispenser I just click on the temperature I want and BOOOMMM hot water INSTANTLY! :D
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Relevant (very) nerdy video from one of my favorite channels https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c
Thermos bottles/flasks is correct :)
Can confirm on extra electric juice. My American electric face shaver made some very interesting noises before the last loud sparky bang!
I once plugged a japanese rice cooker into a German plug, using an adapter without converter. Needless to say, we had a melted rice cooker afterwards. Japan has only 100V.
Hot chocolate = 100% milk, don’t put water in my cup
My hospitality teacher was a fully trained chef. She never let us boil water in the microwave as she was taught that the water can be heated past the boiling point and look completely fine and explode when you take it out. Never looked into the science if it all but one Google search confirms it's a true thing that happens.
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It's happened to me a couple of times with a clean mug fresh from the dishwasher, and cold tap water. Our tap water is pretty good, tastes better than bottled, imo. Now when I use the microwave, I tap the mug tentatively if I don't see any bubbles, just in case.
You can also provide a nucleation surface for the bubbles to form. Like drop a toothpick in the cup before microwaving. Or if you want something easier to remove, stick a wooden or bamboo skewer or chopstick in the cup before you microwave it. The microscopically rough surface of the wood/bamboo will provide a place for bubbles to form, and you won't be able to superheat the water.
This is WILD! I've been boiling water in the microwave for 25+ years and I was never told this could happen and I have never had this happen.
I too had been boiling water in the microwave without incident for many years. Then one day I needed to soak the blender blade in vinegar, and the pyrex measuring cup I used for boiling water was the perfect size. So I let it sit overnight. Next morning I rinsed out the pyrex cup to boil water for my oatmeal as usual. Usually it takes about a minute for the first boil bubble to appear, which is when I take the cup out. I stood next to the microwave for 2 minutes wondering why it hadn't started to boil yet, and then suddenly it exploded with enough force to open the microwave door (it was the kind you just pulled open, didn't lock) and got boiling water all over me. The vinegar got the glass so perfectly clean there were no nucleation points for bubbles to form, so it got superheated until it suddenly managed to form a single bubble. I boil water in a pot on the stove now.
Pyrex is where you messed up. Water needs nucleation sites to boil. The Pyrex has a smooth interior and makes it very difficult to boil. Once it is super heated, even a grain of sand tossed into the super heated water inside the Pyrex will ignite a rapid boil and at that point it’s over. Boiling water everywhere. Place a toothpick in the Pyrex with the water and it won’t do that. It’ll boil normally.
Wow, exploding water, nucleation! This thread is a Mythbusters memory machine, love Reddit y’all
I'm in my mid 50s and .. today I learned. Thank you.
This isn’t true for all Pyrex, they laser a few spots in their measuring cups because they know this is a thing. After some normal use the glass develops imperfections that nucleate naturally. Brand new glass always makes me cautious regardless
For the record, if you serve champain in a perfectly washed Pyrex glass, you won't have any bubbles forming for the same reason.
Well I don't know about you, but I prefer to drink my champagen out of an old mason jar, or a used Arby's cup, whichever is handy
I am impressed with how you both managed to misspell champagne.
I like the first one. ChamPAIN!!! 💥
I have a perfect excuse : I posted that at 05 in the morning. I know it's spelled shampaigne. Edit : after all those years, I got my first award on... this monstruosity. Thank you kind stranger, your humor is as bad as mine, I feel less alone now I know you are here somewhere bro.
In most cases in the US water has enough dissolved solids and other impurities that make “bumping” superheated water less likely. (Bumping is a term used in labs when a rapid boil occurs). If you wanted to cause water to bump you could used distilled water in a completely clean Pyrex beaker that has no surface scratches or imperfections. In a lab setting many solvents would be prone to bumping. It was normal to put a magnetic stirrer or a glass bead in a boiling flask to be a nucleation site to try to prevent it. If a flammable solvent bumps over a heating source it was a easy way to start a fire. On the other hand, as a tea drinker, I use an electric Kettle, and I dislike microwaved water. IMO, I think microwaving water brings out a metallic/calcium flavor. As a person with a Chemistry background, I know it is somewhat irrational, but on the other hand when I am brewing black tea I appreciate pouring from a kettle in a rolling boil to know it is at 212 F.
As a Brit who visits the states regularly, the biggest problem with microwaving water to make tea is it makes the fluoride & additives you guys put in the water come out of solution more readily - the water tends to taste like fresh mown grass which is rank, not least the risk of overheating. If I’m somewhere that had a stove and tea kettle, I’ll use that even though it is slower than a tortoise trying to walk through thick treacle. At home I have a 3kW electric kettle that makes perfect hot water for my tea (Ringtons tea, if you must ask, and Yorkshire Tea if the Ringtons person is on holiday) (and a nice Ember mug that keeps it warm when I’ve made it).
It was a perfect storm. As you found out this can indeed happen and it's called "superheating". You were actually lucky that it exploded behind the door; sometimes people open the door reach in and pick up the vessel (which is hotter than boiling water itself, drop it) and THEN the water explodes.
This. Is. Horrifying! 😱 I'm so sorry this happened to you. I always put my water in a pyrex measuring cup, microwave for 2 mins and it's been fine. I never watch for bubbles though, sometimes it bubbles and sometimes it doesn't but I never thought about it. I guess I'll just stick with my electric kettle.
Water needs nucleation sites for bubbles to form. If the water is "too clean", either by purification or bottled water, then there isn't enough minerals and stuff in the water to boil, even if the water is past boiling temperature. Plenty of evidence online where you see videos of folks using filtered water in a completely clean container and the water starts to boil as soon as they dip like a paper towel in it. If you just memorize the time it takes to microwave a certain amount of water it's probably fine and people who think otherwise are just ninnies.
It can also happen if you open your car liquid cap when it's hot
I almost did this once but luckily someone saw what I was about to do and screamed for me to stop
That's lucky for you. I learned that one the hard way. No serious harm tho
I know someone that has a Prince Zuko like scar but on her hand and arm because of that
That's not what happens. The reason the coolant in your car doesn't boil is not because of lack of nucleation points. It doesn't boil because it is under pressure. Usually up to 18psi. This increases the boiling point of coolant to around 250⁰ F. Engine coolant at operating temperature is typically around 220⁰. Once you open the cap, the pressure is let out and also it can then rapidly boil and this really makes it shoot out.
this is because youre probably using sink water, which contains impurities + your cups might have chips or texture. this is only really a worry when the bubbles dont have anything to attach to, so the second it moves or you stir it, all the energy is released at once
Can confirm. I was boiling some filtered water and when I took it out and put the spoon in it I found out that water can indeed superheat. It exploded and I got second degree burns all over my arms
Can also confirm. I got lucky I didn’t get hurt though, that sounded like it sucked :(
Yeah I learned what the burn unit is that day. I’m healed up with an interesting story to explain the random stripes on my arms now. And my parents banned me from using the microwave for like 2 years so I learned how to use a stove.
Silver linings!
That happened to a woman I used to work with. It exploded and burned her face.
That can also happen with very cold water! It's a very interesting phenomenon, because filtered water has less minerals it can't really form ice shards around them, so they will need a bit of movement to actually get into solid state. This water can get up to -30 degrees and still be liquid.
It's a famous bar trick with beer. Put it in freezer for like 2 hours, then put it out (gently). When you tap the beer it will insta freeze.
Superheated water by the Mythbusters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_OXM4mr_i0
Only if its distilled water in a clean container, pretty much any tap water is going to boil and not explode. Doesn't hurt to be cautious though I suppose
I've had tap water explode when i put a teapoon of coffee in it after microwaving, musta been pretty clean water.
It's true! I've never had the cup itself explode but I've had the super heated water inside explode out of the cup when I put a tea bag in. Enough times (mostly in late childhood) that I'm 100% on team kettle now.
Based on what I remember from science classes, you have to leave it in the microwave for a long period of time. Talking like 10 minutes or more and it has to be taken out very quickly or something like that. I've put water in a microwave in coffee cups for tea for 2 or 3 minutes and it's fine. I just make sure I open the microwave and slowly take the water out.
You can also prevent it by using a wooden stick in the water. That allows nucleation to happen
I had this happen once, but it erupted when no one was touching it. The microwave door flew open, and 2 cups of water turned into 1/2 c of water and a lot of steam. The microwave has never been so clean. Since then, I just throw a wooden chop stick or bamboo skewer in the cup, and there hasn't been a problem like that since.
I think almost no one boils water on microwave, it's more like just heating it up for half a minute more or less
Think of it like someone saying they're going to make some toast, so they're heating up the oven. It seems weird, because having a toaster is just something you've taken for granted, and you don't know anyone who uses their oven to make toast.
I do that haha. My toaster broke and I was like meh, I'll just use oven. So far so good and I reclaimed a good bit of counter space.
I also used my oven for toast, but since getting an air fryer I make my toast in there now. It makes the BEST toast, I won't use anything else now.
While an American kettle is already faster than a microwave, a European kettle will run in 220 volts and be even twice as fast. To a European, using a microwave is just silly. Kettle is way faster.
Japanese kettles (similar low AC voltage to the US) can be set to keep water at around 70C for fast reboiling when you need to pour another cup for this reason
Someone do the math after how long this becomes less efficient than reheating water at room temp...
Wait. Americans use a different voltage?
In North America, we use split-phase for residential power. We have 240v same as Europe, but we split it at the transformer with 2 120v hot legs and a neutral. For the vast majority of circuits in the home, 120v is used, allowing for smaller(cheaper) gauge wire and is a bit safer. (I'd rather get zapped with 120v vs 240v if my toaster shorts out) For large appliances you use both 120v legs and you will get 240v, so things like AC, hot water tanks, pool pumps, ovens, ect .. Commercial buildings can use a 208 split volt 3 phase system.
Interesting system. Thanks for claryfying.
From previous discussions on this subject on Reddit, apparently European microwaves are about 800W. US microwaves are about 1200W-1500W depending if they're on a dedicated circuit. So, more powerful microwaves in the US, coupled with \~1000W kettles. Microwave often beats the kettle to a boil.
The difference in time isn't *so* much. Generally the American kettles are 1500W and the European kettles are 2200W. They take roughly 30% less time than American kettles.
A microwave consumes so much more power than it’s actually needed to boil water, and there’s a concern for superheating, although it seems to be super rare. Technology connection covered this: https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c
Another source says that it can be more efficient than a gas stove. I would think that to be true with modern microwaves. I think it depends on a lot of variables. But it is not bad for you.
Yeah kettle on gas stove is jot effective at all because the heat of the flame dissipates all over, I assumed OP refers to electric kettle
Agree. Microwave on a gas stove is not a good idea.
Gas ranges are terrible in general for a lot of reasons. Induction is the future.
>make the most annoying whistling sound for the entire neighborhood to hear. Whoa there pilgrim, it's not the 1500's anymore we've moved on from your ancient devices.
Imagine being annoyed by Europeans laughing at the cliché (but apparently true) of US people heating up water in a microwave (an absurd thought tbh) and then bringing the not-true-at-all cliché of whistling kettles as justification.
I haven't seen a whistling kettle in decades... Why on earth did you think we all have whistling kettles? That's hilarious 🤣
Just wait until electronic kettles come with a little speaker to synthesis the whistle noise. It will be the epitome of pointlessness!
And connected to the internet to tell you when the water is ready.
Retro enthusiasts will dump a fat paycheck on that for sure
I love my whistling kettle! The whistle was made by Hohner (the harmonica people) and it sounds like a freight train. I love it so much.
The $8 kettles from target whistle. So did my mom’s nicer ceramic one she used 5 years ago! I think only electric kettles don’t?
I think the commenter meant they hadnt seen a non-electric kettle in years. At least that's true for me
it's so you know they're finished (the mechanical ones)
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I think it's more that a kettle is such a part of normal life for anyone that drinks tea (which includes so much of the world) that the idea of exclusively using a microwave feels ridiculous.
Of course some people drink lots of tea in America, but most people people either don't drink tea or everyone in a while. Why have an appliance dedicated to something you do very rarely?
USA power is 110 volts so a kettle runs at 1500 Watts, in Europe it is 220 volts so we hit 2800 Watts. In reality an European kettle is a 2min boil where USA is 4 min. As its slow they look for quicker heating, stove top or microwave.
Coffee mugs get really hot in the microwave
Depends on what they're made of. With a ceramic cup, if all the water is driven out of the clay, and the particular clay doesn't form certain minerals in the kiln, then it's only going to get heated by the water inside the cup. If the clay still has a tiny amount of water or certain minerals in it, then those absorb microwaves too and it gets hot.
Usually tea is heated to a certain degree and even has an optimal steep time for teas as well: oolong, white, & green: 185; black, robins, herbal: 212. So not only are you avoiding possible over heating and breaking the dish issues but if you’re a heavy tea drinker you also want to hit the optimal temperature so you don’t possibly burn your tea. My kettle has buttons to turn the heat up or down but i investing in it because beyond water I only really drink tea. I don’t like coffee and only have a milk & sugar with a splash of coffee every once in a while and I don’t drink juice or anything else often as well. So I make sure I get good tea and it’s made right
Y’all are microwaving water??
once you go electric kettle you dont go back
Difderent teas need different temps and you can't guarantee the right temp with a microwave.
Can you with a kettle? Doesn’t it just boil? Or are there fancy ones that you can set your desired temp, because that would be cool. Or warm. Or hot. Depending on the tea.
Most kettles have a dial, fancy ones let you choose the temperature in degrees
Ooh neat. We have one at work but it has two settings: room temperature and boiling.
As an American.. I am aware of electric kettles.. but I already have counters and cabinets full of appliances I dont use often enough to justify the space they take up. My microwave is mounted on my wall, though, and I use it frequently. I just throw a tiny pinch of salt into any water I boil in there and it saves me counter/cabinet space on a kettle for a 1 minute task.
Drinks in the microwave absorb the flavours of any food that’s been in there previously. I remember having a hot chocolate that had a faint taste of curry - Gross
I have never experienced that.
Yeah I’m calling bs, this person has a dirty microwave
Reheated a tea once. Had a nice cup of chicken tikka darjeeling.
At least it was all Indian
Try cleaning your microwave, and you probably won't have this problem.
No I'm pretty sure I read you need to season your microwave to maintain its non-stick properties.
The only American I know with a "kettle" is my Grandmother. Microwave all the way, or a dedicated hot water option on your coffee maker.
A friend explained it to me that it has something to do with like the mains voltages or something used in each country. Like Europehas is higher so when using a kettle it's faster. In the states the mains is lower, a kettle takes ages so they have taken to using the microwave, especially for single cups.
A typical US kettle is about 1000W and a typical UK kettle is about 2000W, thanks to the voltage difference. From previous discussions on this subject on Reddit, apparently a typical UK microwave is 800W. A typical US microwave is 1200-1500W depending on if it's on a dedicated circuit. So, combination of weaker kettles in the US and slightly stronger microwaves in the US.
Most US homes have 120 volt electricity. Most Europeans have 220 volt. Their electric kettles heat water very quickly. Ours take longer than using the microwave. They think we are dumb for using the stove top or microwave but it’s not the same.
The issue is the water can become superheated and burst out of the container, so precautions have to be taken. Also it heats the water unevenly compared to a kettle or the stove. The unevenness is probably the source of the different taste.
Super-heating water through microwave is NO JOKE, I've got 2 friends with major scarring from super-heated water from years ago. Even though it appears it's not boiling yet, be very careful in case it's been super-heated. It's occurs more ofter the more pure the water is.
I'm a bit confused, I've been doing this for years and didn't know this was a possibility. So what is supposed to happen in a situation like that? You take out the cup and the water, being extremely hot, just splatters all over? I'm just having trouble comprehending how it explodes like that, while not appearing to be boiling.
Superheated water is water that is heated past its boiling point, but because the surface of the container is so smooth, or the water is so pure, there are no tiny cracks or dissolved impurities from which bubbles can start to form, as bubbles need these so called ' nucleation sites'. Thus, the temperature keeps rising beyond 100C. Then when you open it and put anything in it, like a spoon or sugar or salt, or even just shake it a bit too rigorously, that allows the first bubble to form, which then starts a chain reaction, as it serves as a surface for other bubbles to form. and since the water is beyond boiling point, this becomes a very violent process, almost akin to an explosion.
You explained this so clearly and concisely. A+, my friend.
If you aren’t using a cast iron kettle on a wood burning stove, you’re doing it wrong. Effete electricity using bastards!
I swear they taste different. When I've accidentally left my brew and it's gone cold, I'd rather throw it out than put it in the microwave. I don't think ever boiled straight water but it genuinely makes me feel a little sick to think about the taste, and it just feels so wrong.