(not a word post) kettles - 09/25/03 11:36 PM
Don't laugh at me (much) but, do you USns have kettles, normally?
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 12:42 AM
Yes, I see them flying overhead fairly often.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 01:46 AM
I can't say from my own knowledge, obviously, but I've always heard that they don't.
Bingley
Bingley
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 02:08 AM
well, I've seen them in the field, usually lying down if it's going to rain... 
do you mean kettles like to cook in?
do you mean kettles like to cook in?
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 02:33 AM
do you mean kettles like to cook in?
Ohhh-hh, that kind...
Ohhh-hh, that kind...
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 03:05 AM
>do you USns have kettles, normally
normally, it's wot we boils water in, for tea loik.
-norman n. vader
normally, it's wot we boils water in, for tea loik.
-norman n. vader
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 07:16 AM
now that I come to think of it, I believe it's electric kettles that are meant to be a rarity over on that side. Something to do with their domestic electricity being a lower voltage? wattage? amperage? Weaker, anyway.
Bingley
Bingley
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 07:19 AM
Yes, I see them flying overhead fairly often. ~ Jackie
Pardon??? I've seen a flying fortress and there is a 'plane we call the flying brick. But a flying kettle?? Is it a type of bird or a new breed of superhero perhaps? And does it have a spout?
Pardon??? I've seen a flying fortress and there is a 'plane we call the flying brick. But a flying kettle?? Is it a type of bird or a new breed of superhero perhaps? And does it have a spout?
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 10:40 AM
Something to do with their domestic electricity being a lower voltage?
Or either more common, one. We have planty of heat sources for bringing the water in the kettle up to boiling temp. A plain old Armstrong kettle can be used on a gas stove, electric stove, wood stove, butane stove, whatever. Having the heat source built into the kettle seems a little redundant to USns.
Or either more common, one. We have planty of heat sources for bringing the water in the kettle up to boiling temp. A plain old Armstrong kettle can be used on a gas stove, electric stove, wood stove, butane stove, whatever. Having the heat source built into the kettle seems a little redundant to USns.
pocket belt talk - 09/26/03 11:46 AM
Yes we have kettles here in the U.S. Such as this one http://www.kitchenetc.com/products.cfm?sku=000800524
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 12:40 PM
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 01:28 PM
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 01:41 PM
In reply to:We have planty of heat sources for bringing the water in the kettle up to boiling temp. A plain old Armstrong kettle can be used on a gas stove, electric stove, wood stove, butane stove, whatever. Having the heat source built into the kettle seems a little redundant to USns.
Well, I certainly didn't notice any lack of stoves of one sort or another last time I was in the UK, so there must be more to it than that.
Bingley
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 02:05 PM
didn't notice any lack of stoves
Perhaps they're more expensive to use? I would imagine that electric kettles might be more efficient than ours.
Perhaps they're more expensive to use? I would imagine that electric kettles might be more efficient than ours.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 03:01 PM
This is my best guess too. Besides, I note that electric kettles seem to be quicker to the boil than having the same amount of water in a kettle on gas, electricity or the like. I also think there might be something in Bingley's idea about voltage - UKians operating at 240 and Usians at about 120 (yes?).
cheer
the sunshine warrior
cheer
the sunshine warrior
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 03:03 PM
I meant electric kettles. My partner pointed out the almost complete lack of brewkits in US telly. Since then I have been keeping my eyes peeled for any evidence of kettles on US programmes, and found little. I was wondering if this no electric kettle world was a real one or just a TV land creation. How do builders brew up on site? How do you cope on holiday? How do you have a cup when someone is cooking? How do students stay alive? How do you bear it, poor lambs? Or is it in fact, not true at all? Oh, questions questions
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 03:09 PM
something in Bingley's idea about voltage - UKians operating at 240 and Usians at about 120 (yes?).
Correct about the relative voltages, but it's really current that does the heating. You'd use twice the power to get the same current with twice the voltage.
Correct about the relative voltages, but it's really current that does the heating. You'd use twice the power to get the same current with twice the voltage.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 03:17 PM
How do builders brew up on site? How do you cope on holiday? How do you have a cup when someone is cooking? How do students stay alive? How do you bear it, poor lambs?
Cept maybe for the builders, I think the answer may be ... microwaves. I guarantee you'll find those on the telly, and in every dorm room on most campuses. Especially since most people over here probably use teabags instead of loose tea. Pop a mug of water in the micro and...voila!
Cept maybe for the builders, I think the answer may be ... microwaves. I guarantee you'll find those on the telly, and in every dorm room on most campuses. Especially since most people over here probably use teabags instead of loose tea. Pop a mug of water in the micro and...voila!
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 03:21 PM
i have an electic kettle--looks sort of like the one Judy and Lionell have--As Time Goes By-but shorter
but most of us have 4 burner stoves (and many have 6 burner stoves!) and Microwave ovens, and coffee machines, and few of us drink tea (i occationally drink ice tea, but drink hot tea only if forced to!)
More than not having kettle, many in USer's don't have tea pots!--Certainly tea drinkers usually do, but even many tea drinkers just make tea by the cup, using tea bags. when they are on sale, they cost about a US penny a apeice, and they are used once or twice, and discarded..
i grew up in a tea drinking house, so i have several tea pots, and friend who drink tea, are surprised and delighted when i make a pot of tea for them (in a two cup tea pot, just using tea bags!) at least 2 do not have tea pots in there own homes! --which i think is weird! if you are going to drink tea, you should brew it by the pot! and not by the cup!
electic tea kettles can often be found in offices, where there might be plenty of outlets, but no stove. (but often there is a microwave oven, and people heat water in the Microwave.)
but most of us have 4 burner stoves (and many have 6 burner stoves!) and Microwave ovens, and coffee machines, and few of us drink tea (i occationally drink ice tea, but drink hot tea only if forced to!)
More than not having kettle, many in USer's don't have tea pots!--Certainly tea drinkers usually do, but even many tea drinkers just make tea by the cup, using tea bags. when they are on sale, they cost about a US penny a apeice, and they are used once or twice, and discarded..
i grew up in a tea drinking house, so i have several tea pots, and friend who drink tea, are surprised and delighted when i make a pot of tea for them (in a two cup tea pot, just using tea bags!) at least 2 do not have tea pots in there own homes! --which i think is weird! if you are going to drink tea, you should brew it by the pot! and not by the cup!
electic tea kettles can often be found in offices, where there might be plenty of outlets, but no stove. (but often there is a microwave oven, and people heat water in the Microwave.)
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 03:26 PM
How do you bear it, poor lambs?
Mostly USns drinks coffee anyway.
Mostly USns drinks coffee anyway.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/26/03 03:29 PM
I can shed some light, perhaps, on student-y issues, though my example is not from student days, nor from the US.
Once upon a time I lived in Brixton (South London - lovely place an unnecessarily castigated as either too rough, or too yuppified). My flatmate, and the owner of the place, Hugh, decided that he wanted a glass brick wall between the kitchen and the entrance hall. His plans gradually became more and more ambitious until we had knocked down any number of walls and had lost the use of: the kitchen, the downstairs bedroom, the dining room.
So we co-opted the downstairs bathroom as makeshift pantry and kitchen. The problem was that the only cooking implement we possessed was a microwave oven. And we had no microwave-safe cooking utensils. Hence the student-y set-up. Which lasted six months (the glass bricks were a long time coming, and an even longer time actually laying).
Our solution consisted of living off, in the main, rice and lentils. The cooking method was simplicity itself: we took the handle, plunger and lid off the Bodum coffee-pot and placed the lentils in it, bunged it in the nuker, and cooked until soft. Then poured it out into a bowl and started on the rice. Similar, but one-stage, operations, helped boil the water for tea, coffee and the like.
Life without a kettle, It's possible.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
Once upon a time I lived in Brixton (South London - lovely place an unnecessarily castigated as either too rough, or too yuppified). My flatmate, and the owner of the place, Hugh, decided that he wanted a glass brick wall between the kitchen and the entrance hall. His plans gradually became more and more ambitious until we had knocked down any number of walls and had lost the use of: the kitchen, the downstairs bedroom, the dining room.
So we co-opted the downstairs bathroom as makeshift pantry and kitchen. The problem was that the only cooking implement we possessed was a microwave oven. And we had no microwave-safe cooking utensils. Hence the student-y set-up. Which lasted six months (the glass bricks were a long time coming, and an even longer time actually laying).
Our solution consisted of living off, in the main, rice and lentils. The cooking method was simplicity itself: we took the handle, plunger and lid off the Bodum coffee-pot and placed the lentils in it, bunged it in the nuker, and cooked until soft. Then poured it out into a bowl and started on the rice. Similar, but one-stage, operations, helped boil the water for tea, coffee and the like.
Life without a kettle, It's possible.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
Aha! Trying to blind me with science, eh? - 09/26/03 03:47 PM
Me bear of ickle brain and long ideas much bother me, but...
The heat gained by the water must surely depend upon the total energy gained, itself reflected by the power consumed. The current, as it were, will in any case vary inversely as the resistance, and directly with the voltage, no?
In effect, for the same resistance (the heating element in the kettle), twice the voltage (UKian), would pump energy into the water at twice the rate, therefore (in theory at least) bringing it to the boil in half the time.
As far as energy efficiency is concerned, the issue would be that of an enclosed element (the Brit kettle), versus the open flame/hob of a kettle placed on a heater. I'd suggest that the enclosed element, ceteris paribus, would result in less loss of heat into the nearby environment.
But it's been an age since I did electrical circuits in school, so I could be deadwrong.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
The heat gained by the water must surely depend upon the total energy gained, itself reflected by the power consumed. The current, as it were, will in any case vary inversely as the resistance, and directly with the voltage, no?
In effect, for the same resistance (the heating element in the kettle), twice the voltage (UKian), would pump energy into the water at twice the rate, therefore (in theory at least) bringing it to the boil in half the time.
As far as energy efficiency is concerned, the issue would be that of an enclosed element (the Brit kettle), versus the open flame/hob of a kettle placed on a heater. I'd suggest that the enclosed element, ceteris paribus, would result in less loss of heat into the nearby environment.
But it's been an age since I did electrical circuits in school, so I could be deadwrong.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
I guess what it boils down to - 09/26/03 03:51 PM
is USns don't drink much hot tea. It's pretty much an exception here, not a rule. Hot coffee in a thermos is the way to go. And, as NancyK said, people will often just nuke the water in a microwave. We have a kettle on the gas stove and use it daily, though more often for herbal teas than for the "real stuff" (which, like Helen does, is usually consumed cold).
In fact, in my experience, if you order tea in a restaurant here it's assumed you mean iced tea.
In fact, in my experience, if you order tea in a restaurant here it's assumed you mean iced tea.
Re: I guess what it boils down to - 09/26/03 06:01 PM
woah man, the things you find out
Re: I guess what it boils down to - 09/26/03 07:03 PM
Yeah, and we use grease to treat a cooking pan before baking in it..Here in US grease is edible! (one of the simpsons shows Homer salivating at the thought of grease, ..most, of don't! but we do use the word differently.)
and over in Q & A about words, there is small side discussion about muffins, --cake like, but not as sweet or tender as cake; small cakes baked in small tins (6 or 12 depressions/cups to a single pan) lined with paper vs english muffins (a whole nuther kind of muffin)
and to those of us who watch some BBC/ITV shows, there are british foods (like Lionell's 'custard tarts') that are unknown here!
long ago (2 years or so) there were a series of threads about cooking utensils, (we cook on stoves, not cookers!) and normal 'household' appliences (i'd say 80% of US households have at least 1 electric coffee maker, 90% have some sort of coffee maker,and about 40% have 2 or more coffee makers, (i have an electic coffee maker, and expresso machine, and 2 stove top coffee makers... when i moved, i got rid of my coffee urn--that make 40 cups at a time!) but only 60% have kettles- and about 30% tea pots!
kitchens are very differently equiped! and even when we have the same stuff, its often called different names! --griddle to most in US are flat peices of cookware.. for making toasted cheese sandwiches, or pancakes, grills (indoor) have ridged surfaces, for cooking meat of vegetables.. BBQ or barbarque grills have wire racks that the food is cooked on-usually out of doors, over charcoal or more likely, lava rocks heated with propane (bottled gas).
Its interesting to learn about what each culture thinks is important-- and the name for things as well!
and over in Q & A about words, there is small side discussion about muffins, --cake like, but not as sweet or tender as cake; small cakes baked in small tins (6 or 12 depressions/cups to a single pan) lined with paper vs english muffins (a whole nuther kind of muffin)
and to those of us who watch some BBC/ITV shows, there are british foods (like Lionell's 'custard tarts') that are unknown here!
long ago (2 years or so) there were a series of threads about cooking utensils, (we cook on stoves, not cookers!) and normal 'household' appliences (i'd say 80% of US households have at least 1 electric coffee maker, 90% have some sort of coffee maker,and about 40% have 2 or more coffee makers, (i have an electic coffee maker, and expresso machine, and 2 stove top coffee makers... when i moved, i got rid of my coffee urn--that make 40 cups at a time!) but only 60% have kettles- and about 30% tea pots!
kitchens are very differently equiped! and even when we have the same stuff, its often called different names! --griddle to most in US are flat peices of cookware.. for making toasted cheese sandwiches, or pancakes, grills (indoor) have ridged surfaces, for cooking meat of vegetables.. BBQ or barbarque grills have wire racks that the food is cooked on-usually out of doors, over charcoal or more likely, lava rocks heated with propane (bottled gas).
Its interesting to learn about what each culture thinks is important-- and the name for things as well!
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/27/03 03:46 PM
How do builders brew up on site? How do you cope on holiday? How do you have a cup when someone is cooking? How do students stay alive?
As I found out on my trip to the UK and Ireland, just because you can't imagine something doesn't mean it doesn't exist! For your first question: I think any construction person over here who tried to "brew up" ANYthing on the job would be laughed right out of the place. You either bring it with you (thermos, as someone said) or go to an eating joint at lunchtime, if you're lucky enough to have one nearby. As to being on vacation--if you mean camping, well, you can find campsites with electricity, but most people use propane or similar stoves (they're made to be portable). When my husband takes the Boy Scouts camping, most of the time they just have a fire and use a grate to set the pots on (he DOES like his coffee!). As to students: in my daughter's dormitory, there's a lounge/kitchen on every floor. I don't think there's an actual stove, but there are microwaves.
Personally, I think it would be awfully inconvenient to have to go searching for an electrical outlet, to say nothing of the waste of counter space. I assume you also have to find something to protect the countertop from the heat? Or do these electric ones come with that built in?
As I found out on my trip to the UK and Ireland, just because you can't imagine something doesn't mean it doesn't exist! For your first question: I think any construction person over here who tried to "brew up" ANYthing on the job would be laughed right out of the place. You either bring it with you (thermos, as someone said) or go to an eating joint at lunchtime, if you're lucky enough to have one nearby. As to being on vacation--if you mean camping, well, you can find campsites with electricity, but most people use propane or similar stoves (they're made to be portable). When my husband takes the Boy Scouts camping, most of the time they just have a fire and use a grate to set the pots on (he DOES like his coffee!). As to students: in my daughter's dormitory, there's a lounge/kitchen on every floor. I don't think there's an actual stove, but there are microwaves.
Personally, I think it would be awfully inconvenient to have to go searching for an electrical outlet, to say nothing of the waste of counter space. I assume you also have to find something to protect the countertop from the heat? Or do these electric ones come with that built in?
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/27/03 11:07 PM
I think the holiday brew-ups are taking place in slightly less rigorous surroundings. Suppose you are in your hotel room and want a cuppa. How do you heat the water?
And what was it that you couldn't imagine that you found exists?
Bingley
And what was it that you couldn't imagine that you found exists?
Bingley
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/28/03 12:45 AM
what was it that you couldn't imagine that you found exists? First and foremost: public eating places that actually do not have so much as one single cube of ice on the premises; also, a country where probably less than .01% of the population knows how to make iced tea; a hotel room without a shower (!!!); ordering smoked salmon and being served raw salmon, for starters. Then there were the places on the motorway where all traffic was required to slow down and (most) change lanes...for no visible reason at all: no construction, no wreck, no check point--nothing! You'd get through this little bit, then everybody would just pick up speed again... no police in sight.
Oh--most hotel rooms here have a coffeemaker--electric!--in them, with a basket of packs of coffee, creamer, sweetener, etc.
Oh--most hotel rooms here have a coffeemaker--electric!--in them, with a basket of packs of coffee, creamer, sweetener, etc.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/28/03 01:41 AM
FWIW, I watched a new program last night, Joan of Arcadia, and they showed a scene with a whistling kettle(I own and use one), not electric. I might never have noticed if not for this thread.
http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/joanofarcadia/about.html
http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/joanofarcadia/about.html
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/29/03 11:48 AM
assume you also have to find something to protect the countertop from the heat? Or do these electric ones come with that built in?
The range of kettles available is most varied. Most of the cheaper ones are plastic and jug shaped, they have a power lead out the back that is exactly like the power lead that comes out of your computer. In fact techies here call them kettle leads. In a tea emergency you can use them but the ampage ( what is the right word for that?) is different so it's a dangerously bad idea unless desperate. I just got a new kettle that is cordless ( a more expensive kind, it cost a whole twelve pounds) and that sits on a round base that is plastic. The kettle looks like a stovetop one though. I also have a travel jug kettle that plugs into a ciggie lighter in a car ( though I have no car, spose that is a bit crazy). I am instinctively opposed to the idea of microwaving hot water, but I can't think why. And that, you will be pleased to know, is all I have to say about kettles.
**except this on different cultures and essentials: 90% of French people drink fresh coffee every day but only 10% own coffee machines, they all go out for coffee.
The range of kettles available is most varied. Most of the cheaper ones are plastic and jug shaped, they have a power lead out the back that is exactly like the power lead that comes out of your computer. In fact techies here call them kettle leads. In a tea emergency you can use them but the ampage ( what is the right word for that?) is different so it's a dangerously bad idea unless desperate. I just got a new kettle that is cordless ( a more expensive kind, it cost a whole twelve pounds) and that sits on a round base that is plastic. The kettle looks like a stovetop one though. I also have a travel jug kettle that plugs into a ciggie lighter in a car ( though I have no car, spose that is a bit crazy). I am instinctively opposed to the idea of microwaving hot water, but I can't think why. And that, you will be pleased to know, is all I have to say about kettles.
**except this on different cultures and essentials: 90% of French people drink fresh coffee every day but only 10% own coffee machines, they all go out for coffee.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/29/03 11:28 PM
A flock of hawks is called a kettle! What a delight to learn. Is the name Kitty Hawk derived from "kettle" at all? The term kettle apparently comes from the hawks' use of warm air thermals to gain altitude, boiling upwards into the sky. Perhaps Kitty Hawk, NC got its name from being a common site of such an occurence. (?)
Here in U.S. coffee drinkers far outnumber tea drinkers, and many others also drink far more Coke, Pepsi or other soft drinks than they do tea. Tea is a civilized beverage though, and I am lucky enough to work with a multi-national group of individuals (Canadian, Indian, Pakistani, and American mostly), many of whom are tea drinkers. Our kitchen has not only a hot water dispenser that heats rather than boils water, but we also have large assortment of teas on hand at all times. So when I want tea it is handy, although I much prefer coffee. Sadly, the coffee we keep on hand is dreadful stuff.
Here in U.S. coffee drinkers far outnumber tea drinkers, and many others also drink far more Coke, Pepsi or other soft drinks than they do tea. Tea is a civilized beverage though, and I am lucky enough to work with a multi-national group of individuals (Canadian, Indian, Pakistani, and American mostly), many of whom are tea drinkers. Our kitchen has not only a hot water dispenser that heats rather than boils water, but we also have large assortment of teas on hand at all times. So when I want tea it is handy, although I much prefer coffee. Sadly, the coffee we keep on hand is dreadful stuff.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 09/30/03 01:47 AM
I had to dredge up this thread - 11/07/03 09:25 PM
Look, dody, electric kettles are coming into fashion here! (we got a $10 coupon for one in the last box of tea bags we bought):
http:// http://makeashorterlink.com/?V20132A76
http:// http://makeashorterlink.com/?V20132A76
Re: French kettles - 11/07/03 10:24 PM
In French, if we say "il a poigné les kettles" (he got the kettles) we mean the person got agressively angry.
Re: French kettles - 11/08/03 02:24 AM
"il a poigné les kettles" (he got the kettles) we mean the person got agressively angry. As in, boiling mad?
Re: I had to dredge up this thread - 11/08/03 11:18 AM
It seems electric kettles are still non-existent in the US. All I got from the link was a page not found notice.
Bingley
Bingley
Re: I had to dredge up this thread - 11/08/03 02:21 PM
Re: I had to dredge up this thread - 11/08/03 07:35 PM
Much as I hate to admit it, I am a little teapot, both short and stout.
Ron.
Ron.
i'm a little teapot... - 11/08/03 09:29 PM
my favorite 'variation' of the I'm a little teapot song, (an adult version) has me standing with both arms akimbo, singing,
I'm a little tea pot, short and stout,
Here is my handle (nod to one akimbo arm,)
Here is my...(nod to the the other arm, which is also akimbo, put a surprized look on your face and comment:)
Oh S***, I am a sugar bowl!
most times, the 'audience' hasn't noticed up until then that both arms are akimbo, (and that you don't have one arm held like a spout)
(it is one of several 'adult' variations of nursery rhymes that i know.)
I'm a little tea pot, short and stout,
Here is my handle (nod to one akimbo arm,)
Here is my...(nod to the the other arm, which is also akimbo, put a surprized look on your face and comment:)
Oh S***, I am a sugar bowl!
most times, the 'audience' hasn't noticed up until then that both arms are akimbo, (and that you don't have one arm held like a spout)
(it is one of several 'adult' variations of nursery rhymes that i know.)
Re: i'm a little teapot... - 11/08/03 11:10 PM
Do we gather, then, Helen, that the *song is well-known over that side, although the object to which it refers is a rarity?
Bingley
Bingley
Re: i'm a little teapot... - 11/09/03 12:51 AM
No, Bingley, it's the *electric kettle that's a rarity. Standard kettles are fairly common. *Teapots, about which the song is, although far from common, are not so rare as to be a rarity.
Re: i'm a little teapot... - 11/11/03 12:54 AM
How odd that I never noticed that. In Canada the electric kettles are at least as common as stovetop. Mine is a cordless that is the base has a cord but you just pick up the top section with the boiled water in it. Everyone is right about few people drinking tea in the states but they have't told you why.
I stopped at a coffee take out and asked for tea.
" You mean hot??" she asked incredulously.
"Yes, and would you please put the teabag in the cup before you add the water?"
"Oh no, we're not allowed to do that. It's illegal."
No wonder they don't drink much tea if it's illegal to make a decent cuppa.
I have decided to form a teadrinkers liberation front. Part of the manifesto is that
1)when someone offers you tea it must have tea in it not just flowers and fruit. (I like herb tisanes but they are NOT tea)
and
2)it will be a capitol offence to, at a buffet, put the hot water for tea in the same urn that had coffee in it yesterday. Bleah!
I stopped at a coffee take out and asked for tea.
" You mean hot??" she asked incredulously.
"Yes, and would you please put the teabag in the cup before you add the water?"
"Oh no, we're not allowed to do that. It's illegal."
No wonder they don't drink much tea if it's illegal to make a decent cuppa.
I have decided to form a teadrinkers liberation front. Part of the manifesto is that
1)when someone offers you tea it must have tea in it not just flowers and fruit. (I like herb tisanes but they are NOT tea)
and
2)it will be a capitol offence to, at a buffet, put the hot water for tea in the same urn that had coffee in it yesterday. Bleah!
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 11/11/03 03:55 AM
Don't laugh at me (much) but, do you USns have kettles, normally?
I'm not sure what most people in the US have. Judging by this thread it seems I'm one of the only ones who owns an electric tea kettle. Mine is a lot like this one from Target:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=8-2/qid=1068525795/ref=sr_8_2/602-1410565-0796602?asin=B00005OTY4
I have several tea pots as well to serve in or just to heat water on the stovetop. I've also been known to make tea in the microwave in a pinch. And yes, I drink tea almost everyday. Okay, I'm weird.
Oh, I also own an electric coffee maker, (Mr Coffee, of course), but only use it for company since I don't drink coffee too often anymore.
I'm not sure what most people in the US have. Judging by this thread it seems I'm one of the only ones who owns an electric tea kettle. Mine is a lot like this one from Target:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=8-2/qid=1068525795/ref=sr_8_2/602-1410565-0796602?asin=B00005OTY4
I have several tea pots as well to serve in or just to heat water on the stovetop. I've also been known to make tea in the microwave in a pinch. And yes, I drink tea almost everyday. Okay, I'm weird.
Oh, I also own an electric coffee maker, (Mr Coffee, of course), but only use it for company since I don't drink coffee too often anymore.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 11/11/03 12:45 PM
Don't laugh at me (much) but, do you USns have kettles, normally?
Mostly what we have is big, gas-guzzling cars and SVUs, which we steer carefully up to the drive-through window at Dunkin Donuts to receive our large, if somewhat ersatz, 'coffee', and go merrily on our mindless way.
Ron.
Mostly what we have is big, gas-guzzling cars and SVUs, which we steer carefully up to the drive-through window at Dunkin Donuts to receive our large, if somewhat ersatz, 'coffee', and go merrily on our mindless way.
Ron.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 11/12/03 02:48 PM
[url]www.blackanddeckerappliances.com[/url
Shorter link never works for me so the general location is above. Click Beverege and then click Kettles.
I couldn't manage half as well without my Black and Decker electric kettle! Heats eight cups in 90 seconds and has a features that automatically turns it off instead of letting it boil dry.
As I have grown older I have all my small appliances with the auto-shutoff feature!
I love a cup of hot tea and the boiling water must be poured over the teabag in a cup or leaves in the teapot. If the restaurant says they have to serve a cup of hot water with bag in the saucer, I have been known to ask for an extra, *empty* cup ... HA! ... and solve the problem neatly and to the amazement of the server.
The kettle is also useful for my son to heat water *fast - the boiling water is poured over his surfboard to get rid of old wax - the non-slip stuff applied to the surface.
I have many uses for my kettle.
The B&D kettle has an insulated bottom so no problem there.
The "cordless" type came out years after I bought my kettle. When it had to be replaces in another ten years or so, I will opt for the cordless.
I have an automatic coffee maker, too.
I am a fuss pot about tea so even by-the-cup, the cup has to be warmed by pouring boiling water into it before the tea brewing begins. I have cups with covers to hold the heat and even cup-size cozy - My tea cups are porcelain because I think it tastes better in porcelain than in clay-ceramic mugs.
Microwave tea is anathema to me. Putting a teabag into hot water? Yeck! Water must be poured over the tea, loose or bagged. Harumph!
Nothing beats a cup of hot tea in mid-afternoon - especially on a gray day and most especially in winter.
My mother and I used to have a cup together in the kitchen when I got home from school and before my three brothers trooped in! Happy memories.
All my fellow USns : get a kettle and have a cuppa! You won't be sorry!
Shorter link never works for me so the general location is above. Click Beverege and then click Kettles.
I couldn't manage half as well without my Black and Decker electric kettle! Heats eight cups in 90 seconds and has a features that automatically turns it off instead of letting it boil dry.
As I have grown older I have all my small appliances with the auto-shutoff feature!
I love a cup of hot tea and the boiling water must be poured over the teabag in a cup or leaves in the teapot. If the restaurant says they have to serve a cup of hot water with bag in the saucer, I have been known to ask for an extra, *empty* cup ... HA! ... and solve the problem neatly and to the amazement of the server.
The kettle is also useful for my son to heat water *fast - the boiling water is poured over his surfboard to get rid of old wax - the non-slip stuff applied to the surface.
I have many uses for my kettle.
The B&D kettle has an insulated bottom so no problem there.
The "cordless" type came out years after I bought my kettle. When it had to be replaces in another ten years or so, I will opt for the cordless.
I have an automatic coffee maker, too.
I am a fuss pot about tea so even by-the-cup, the cup has to be warmed by pouring boiling water into it before the tea brewing begins. I have cups with covers to hold the heat and even cup-size cozy - My tea cups are porcelain because I think it tastes better in porcelain than in clay-ceramic mugs.
Microwave tea is anathema to me. Putting a teabag into hot water? Yeck! Water must be poured over the tea, loose or bagged. Harumph!
Nothing beats a cup of hot tea in mid-afternoon - especially on a gray day and most especially in winter.
My mother and I used to have a cup together in the kitchen when I got home from school and before my three brothers trooped in! Happy memories.
All my fellow USns : get a kettle and have a cuppa! You won't be sorry!
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 11/14/03 12:46 AM
Nothing beats a cup of hot tea in mid-afternoon - especially on a gray day and most especially in winter.
Amen, Sister.
Amen, Sister.
Re: (not a word post) kettles - 11/14/03 11:55 AM
Nothing beats a cup of hot tea
Well, I'll take nothing, then.
Well, I'll take nothing, then.
tea and cake - 11/14/03 12:10 PM
Earl Grey with the sweet citrus smell of bergamot snaking up in steamy swirls. Ginger nuts and two week old teabread for dunking, cryptic crossword, leather armchair and an enormous duvet. The best bit is when you slurp your first cup so quickly your mouth goes all numb, and the next cup sizzles on the roof of your mouth, kind of spicy from the ginger nuts, and richer and fuller and so much more, tea-ey for sitting just five minutes longer. You don't know what you're missing Faldage.
Re: tea and cake - 11/14/03 01:51 PM
Wait a minute. Here y'all're saying nothing is better and then you're saying you'd rather have something. I wish y'all'd make up your minds.
Re: tea and cake - 11/14/03 05:09 PM
he he 
Re: tea and cake - 11/14/03 10:36 PM
On a cold day to warm you up, on a hot day to cool you down, in the morning to wake you up, in the evening to help you sleep, on a bad day to help you survive and on a lazy holiday morning to enhance the joy of nothing you have to do.
I keep Earl Grey, English breakfast, Lapsang soochong and Wild strawberry black. Come on over I'll even make cookies.
I keep Earl Grey, English breakfast, Lapsang soochong and Wild strawberry black. Come on over I'll even make cookies.
Re: tea - an aside - 11/18/03 03:03 PM
For those who - like me - are forbidden caffeine:
I recommend Twinings English Breakfast Tea, decaffeinated.
When M.D. told me "No caffeine." I tried many many brands in search of a good cuppa and the Twinings is the only one that is the same taste as "real" tea. Black tea. With skim milk and Splenda in place of sugar, please. Thank you.
As for tisanes I like Blackberry tea and Orange Spice.
Have never been a fan of Earl Grey - it's the bergamot I don't fancy. And contrary to some opinions I am* a civilised person
I recommend Twinings English Breakfast Tea, decaffeinated.
When M.D. told me "No caffeine." I tried many many brands in search of a good cuppa and the Twinings is the only one that is the same taste as "real" tea. Black tea. With skim milk and Splenda in place of sugar, please. Thank you.
As for tisanes I like Blackberry tea and Orange Spice.
Have never been a fan of Earl Grey - it's the bergamot I don't fancy. And contrary to some opinions I am* a civilised person