Kettles

Kettles have the most interesting history among other kitchen utensils. In spite of some people using them to boil socks or as fish tanks, the most common use is still to boil water to make tea. And as you know, making tea in some countries is an art. Unfortunately folk traditions are being pushed aside as people become busier and don't have time for that. While people are still buying non-electric kettles primary because of their low price, electric devices evolve fast. Popular features that you can find in an electric kettle are automatic switch-off and cordless control. One of complains about electric kettles was problem of cleaning them because of the heating element inside. Not anymore. Hidden heating element is now a standard feature in electric kettles. So, how do you choose a right kettle? Let's look at the main features:

• Electric or non-electric? As mentioned above, non-electric devices are usually cheaper, but electric ones provide more functionality and usually safer. As a safety measure, non-electric kettles often come with a whistle which tells you when it's boiling.
• Plastic or metal? There is no big difference. It's mostly a question of style, but there are two points to consider here. Once in a while automatic switch-off brakes (be careful when choosing a cheap device!), so if your kettle is made of plastic, the plastic would burn. Another point is that boiling water in plastic probably is not as healthy as boiling it in stainless steel. So considering plastic or metal, we would choose metal.
• Automatic switch-off. Most of electric kettles have automatic switch-off built in, but not all of them can be manually tirned off. The switch sometimes works only one way - On. If you want to turn your cattle off in the middle of process, the only way to do it might be to unplug it.
• Cordless control. We just say it's very convenient and recommended. Some models have 360 degrees base, but it's not a huge enhancement.
• Hidden heating element. Not much to consider there except that hidden element makes it really easy to clean kettle inside.
• Capacity. Make sure it's big enough to boil water for all your guests!
• Water indicator. It's a “nice to have” feature.
• Anti-scale filter. Great to have, especially if it's removable and washable.