My Chantal stainless…

My Chantal stainless teakettle broke last night, and I admit I was relieved -- the handle got scaldingly hot. So happy to replace it, and now I'm waffling between models, and between stovetop and electric. I like the look of stovetop, and that it doesn't take up precious counter space, but I am told that electric heats up much faster, and it turns itself off, which is definitely a plus. In an ideal world, I want my kettle to be:

  • beautiful (this is pretty important to me, or I won't leave it out)
  • not overly-modern (I live in a industrial / eclectic Victorian, and my kitchen is fairly vintage)
  • easy-to-clean (the stainless one got nasty on the stove and was hard to get spotless again, very frustrating)
  • with a whistle if stovetop (otherwise I forget and it burns off all the water)
  • cordless if electric
  • safe-to-grab handle
  • doesn't burn you with steam when you're pouring
  • doesn't explode (I really like the glass Jura kettle, for example, but someone in a review said it exploded on them, eep.)
I think those are the main things. I've been pinning my favorites so far here (found 3 electric, 3 stovetop).

6 thoughts on “My Chantal stainless…”

  1. I have a le creuset and they are much easier to keep clean. I’d suggest you go to a store and see if you really like the handle on the halo. It looks cool but my assessment was that for frequent tea drinking it wasn’t the best grip/pour/feel.

  2. I hope someone recommends the perfect kettle, because that’s my list of requirements too! My current kettle’s handle gets too hot & I have to use a potholder or kitchen towel to pour…it also splatters. Of course, none of that was apparent in the store. I’m thinking of switching to electric – I’m also tired of my kettle getting splattered when I cook something on the stovetop.

  3. I had one of the graves teapots. i wouldn’t bother. its a weird shape, the bird stops working and is hard to pull out, and it is stainless and gets pretty gross.

  4. Boring technical considerations:

    The Bonavita is only 1000 Watts so it will be ridiculously slow. No point.

    Clear electric kettles are a terrible idea over the longterm because over time even the softest water will lead to mineral deposits in the kettle. These aren’t worrisome, but they aren’t pretty. Unless you want to keep cleaning it out with citric acid, avoid clear.

    We have this one, which is definitely not pretty:

    http://www.amazon.com/T-Fal-Vitesses-7-Cup-Electric-Kettle/dp/B000EZU678/ref=sr_1_10?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1331490927&sr=1-10

    but it is 1750 Watts which means it heats up water ridiculously fast. (In England, electric kettles tend to run on more wattage than in the US, so we had a hard time converting when we got to the US).

    I like having an electric kettle. It’s fast and easy and you can heat up only a little bit at a time. I think you revert to microwave fairly often. You’ll find this just as easy and much nicer.

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