Selecting And Caring For Stove Top Kettles
By Ned D'Agostino
My kettle is always on the go - I drink tea all times of the day and night and my choice of stove top kettles sits waiting for me to fill it with fresh water and fire it up again.
Choosing the right stove top kettle is important. A cheap old aluminum kettle will do the job but it simply won't last very long. It depends too whether you are using gas or electric to heat it.
Kettles come in dozens of different materials, from glass to the best stainless steel. Consider if you have hard water as well, a kettle that's coated with lime scale will become less and less efficient and if you have gas and leave a kettle to burn that is coated in lime scale inside, you will probably have to throw it away as you'll never get that burned taste out of your water. If you do have hard water containing a lot of lime, it may be a good idea to look for a kettle that has a removable lid. That way you can check and see what the kettle looks like inside, and at the first signs of lime scale, you can simply remove the lid and treat it with one of the many lime scale remover products you can buy in the supermarket. Simply using a water and white vinegar solution regularly you can clean away any light coating of lime scale in any stove top kettles.
If you have gas, you are going to need a much heavier stove top kettle. Old fashioned cast iron ones look great if you have an old-fashioned country kitchen d�cor. Cast iron retains the heat, along with heavy copper bottomed stove top kettles, so if you use your kettle frequently as I do, you are not constantly wasting power, bringing the cold water back up to boiling, it will have stayed reasonably warm.
Glass and Pyrex glass kettles look great in a modern kitchen, but again, beware of lime scale and keep them clean inside; otherwise, they will quickly go from looking elegant to ugly. Glass kettles make me nervous and I just won't use one, though many people do.
High quality stainless steel is always the choice for durable and easy to clean cookware - most restaurant kitchens use stainless steel for everything, it is easily cleaned and looks smart. Check to see that the handle isn't going to melt or get hot, and if you have a gas stove, make sure your stove top kettle doesn't have a wooden handle or any kind of material that can burn or catch fire! My grandmother bought a wooden handled kettle once; it was hinged so you could remove the lid easily. Trouble is, she turned the gas on too high and the handle caught fire!
You need to keep the outside of your stove top kettle clean - they are prone to getting splashed by anything else that is cooking on the stove.Some stove top kettles are sprayed with attractive colored coatings but as soon as you use some scouring powder to remove stubborn grease splashes, the coating comes off, leaving your stove top kettle looking decidedly ugly.
As a tea drinker, one of the most essential parts of any kettle for me is a whistle. I work from home and get totally immersed in what I do, and if I didn't have a whistle on my kettle I am sure I would have gone through a dozen stove top kettles at least this year!
<a target="_new" href="http://whistlingkettles.org/">Whistling kettles</A> come in all shapes and sizes. To find great deals and a large selection of <a target="_new" href="http://whistlingkettles.org/stove-top-kettles/">stove top kettles</A>, be sure to visit our website at WhistlingKettles.org.
Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Selecting-And-Caring-For-Stove-Top-Kettles&id=6729302] Selecting And Caring For Stove Top Kettles
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Kitchen Craft Le'Xpress Coffee Grinder with Stainless Steel Hopper
I received one of these as a gift. It took some effort to get it to work at all: The top handle would unscrew itself until I used a file to allow it to site deeper on the axle, allowing the connecting bolt to screw on for real. The handle knob unscrews itself when you crank. The grinding assembly at the core of the unit is held in place by screws which themselves are not solid in the wooden frame so if you aren't extremely careful it will come unstuck.
This seems like more of a novelty device than an actual kitchen tool. I wanted a hand grinder because I'm the only coffee drinker in the house, but it is just not worth the hassle.
James Martin by Wahl Mini Grinder 150W Stainless Steel ZX595
A coffee grinder is never going to be exciting, but one that doesn't work well is going to be extremely short-lived. Woe betide any gadget that gets between a 6am troll and his morning brew. I am that troll.
This James Martin branded grinder from Wahl does the job it is designed for, and does it consistently well. I recently used another grinder for a week, which has a dial to choose the fineness of the grind. It was rubbish. Even on the smallest setting it produced lumpy grounds which made a bad brew.
This grinder keeps it simple - press the button to grind, keep going until you are happy. The semi-clear lid lets you see what is going on and comes off with a short twist.
The blades, after 3 months, are as new and the whole thing gives the impression it will last for a couple of years, which in modern gadgetry is pretty good.
The design is vaguely pleasing to the eye and all-in-all this is a good grinder and, for the price, great value.
Four stars.
Andrew James Coffee, Nut and Spice Grinder - Powerful 150Watt, Stainless Steel Blades
I would rate this as probably the worst item I have purchased ! If you rotate the lever clockwise, the knob unscrews and drops off. The shutter over the bean hopper was extrememly stiff and difficult to move. And to grind enough coffee for two mugs is equivalent to a good work out in the gym I reckon !! Electric burr grinders are now so reasonably priced I would avoid this manual one like the plague ! I have given it one star purely because at least it looks nice !
Friday, August 3, 2012
Kitchen Craft Le'Xpress Cafetiere, Double Walled Stainless Steel, 8 Cup, 1 Litre
The only coffee makers that can possibly compete with this one is the Bodum (or similar makes that cost LOTS & LOTS more)! Look no further, as this is an unbreakable, double walled, fully insulated coffee maker that you will love & cherish forever. I have never seen ONE coffee ground in my steaming hot cup of coffee. The overall impression is one of top quality (the inner strainer mechanism is also very sturdy & well designed). I really cannot see how it could be bettered (and I AM fussy... OCD rules OK)!!!
This is clearly a popular line (as I had to order it 3 times (not solely off Amazon), to be told that "sorry" it was out of stock on the first two occasions. My persistance was worthwhile....
Get yourself one while the getting is good! Highly recommended!!!!!
Kitchen Craft Le'Xpress Tea Infuser, Stainless Steel
Prompt service.
This utensil was of a poor workmanship, as a result it is rarely used as the clasp is not adequate.
I think it is a case of you get what you pay for and I will be seeking a better quality perhaps more expensive infuser.
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