Important news for hosts: scientific evidence on the superiority of the kettle

Regular readers here know I’m a big fan of real research, science and data. Here is information supporting what many members have long known: you must have a kettle to make a proper cup of tea.

Hopefully they will weigh in on electric vs stovetop in future studies.

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Oh, KKC, you’ve gone and opened the Pandora’s box. We’ll be hellbent onto coffee brewing next, followed by a hopeless descent into duvet management.

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But I so love having American guests who have never seen an electric kettle before. One family took one home with them.

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What do they use @Joan

I’m American and I have an electric kettle at home. I also provide one at the rental as well as a microwave and a copper kettle. I keep the copper kettle in the cabinet now, though. I got tired of washing grease off it because people keep frying in my not-well-ventilated kitchen.

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This is tongue-in-cheek, right? because the science is bullshit.

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Americans took an electric kettle from the UK that they can’t even use in the US? LOL!

The post is meant to be funny, yes. A distraction from the tension, anger and arguing that consumes the forum some days. A distraction from the pandemic. Hence my eyeroll at this:

However, my scientist friend tells me one can get most anything published in a “peer-reviewed” journal these days. It’s apparently another one of those things you can simply buy instead of earning.

Here’s the article:
https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/5.0013295

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??? Electric kettles aren’t something unique or hard to find in the US- as far as I’m aware, they are available everywhere that kitchen appliances are sold.

But something I’ve found Americans are completely bamboozled by is the type of clothesline I have, which is quite common in Canada and maybe also Europe? I brought the parts down from Canada, as they aren’t available in Mexico. Two large pulleys, one at each end, a metal connector that is used to tighten up the line, and another piece which rides along the 2 lines, that you roll out when you have about half the laundry hung, that keeps the line from sagging.
No American friend or guest has ever been able to figure out how to use it.

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Taken out of context for journalism. All of that goes out the window if you’re talking about bringing a cup of water to a boil, where the bubbles create a current in the water that very effectively stirs the water making convection completely irrelevant, just like a kettle.

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Maybe this wasn’t recent. Electric kettles were not common in the US about 25 years ago. Still, I think there are quite a few older Americans that just don’t know they exist.

My reaction to the article:

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Either one of those whistling jobs that our grandma’s had, or a saucepan on the top of the cooker. I’ve never heard of using a microwave.

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I can’t stand microwaves, don’t own one. I always say, “I don’t even like the way they boil water”.

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They reckoned they would find a suitable adaptor… I had no say in the matter!

I could seriously do with one of these, as long as it can cope with high winds.

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Got it in one; older guests, completely intrigued. I could not believe that they were unavailable, and have obviously had younger Americans stay who were completely familiar.

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That’s even more funny. I wonder how long they searched and what they tried before they gave up.

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I deem this thread a success. It’s probably the greatest thread in the history of the forum. It’s beautiful, it’s a beautiful thread.

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I wouldn’t quite go that far, but yes, a success for our times.

Some great ones started in March - food, books, TV/films, jokes, all splendid but I think we ran out of steam as the weeks/months wore on in such dire fashion.

So well done in starting a new one!

Now, I’m just going to put a clean duvet cover on, without a topsheet, with a throw and matching cushions. Our bed of course.

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