I came to the world of electric kettles fairly late. I was raised with a stove top kettle and thought it the best way to manage my hot water needs (plus, I’ve always liked the way they looked sitting out on a burner). But then in the fall of 2011, I went to visit my sister. She had a relatively inexpensive electric kettle that boiled water at miraculous speed. There was no ten+ minute wait for a pokey stove to heat and transfer its warmth. I was sold.
Soon after I got home, I ordered my first electric kettle. I got this
Soon enough, I was using it multiple times a day. It served up hot water for morning cups of coffee and tea. In the afternoon, I’d use the cooled water in the kettle to help feed my sourdough starter (boiling helps evaporate out any chlorine in the water supply that can harm or kill the sour bacteria. Just make sure the water is under 100F when you add it to your starter). During dinner prep, I’d heat water to hydrate spoonfuls of Better Than Bouillon or to speed up soup making.
I also found myself turning to the electric kettle during canning. As you know, I make a lot of small batches of preserves, and often I make three or four things in succession (I like to take advantage of a hot canning pot). These small batches range in size from two half pints to four or five. If I don’t plan well, I can wind up trying to process jars without having enough hot water to cover. Instead of adding hot tap water and hoping that the pot returns to a boil quickly, I can keep the kettle hot and top off the canning pot immediately. It has sped things up immeasurably.
This summer was also the first time I had the electric kettle during tomato canning season. I do the bulk of my tomatoes whole, peeled and packed in water (makes for a shorter processing time) and with an electric kettle, having that hot water takes no time at all.
Thanks to the kind folks at Hamilton Beach, I recently upgraded my electric kettle to their programmable model (my previous kettle was also made by HB, but I bought it with my own dollars, long before I started teaming up with them for giveaways). This guy allows you to select the temperature to which your water heats. That makes it particularly great if you have fussy coffee habits (I say this lovingly and as someone who regularly weighs her beans to ensure a close-to-perfect brew), drink green tea, or live at high elevations where water boils at lower temperatures.
It also has a outside fill indicator (the trade-off is that there’s a small amount of plastic inside the kettle to allow for this) and pours far more smoothly than my previous kettle. I also like the fact that it has a timer, so you can schedule the moment you want it to switch on to boil. With a fast boiling kettle, it’s not really entirely necessary, but I have been enjoying the luxury of walking into the kitchen each morning to a just-boiled kettle of water. It’s the little things.
Finally, the giveaway. Hamilton Beach has generously given me eight of these Programmable 1.7 Liter Electric Kettles to give away to my readers. Here’s how to enter.
- Leave a comment on this post and share your water boiling habits. Stove top kettle? Electric tap in the sink? Microwaved mug? If you don’t do hot drinks, what gets you moving in the morning?
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm on Friday, February 15, 2013. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog over the weekend.
- Giveaway open US residents only.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: Hamilton Beach gave me one Programmable Electric Kettle for review and photography purposes and they’re providing eight additional units for this giveaway. They did not pay for inclusion on the blog and my opinions remain entirely my own.
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What a neat appliance. I currently use the stovetop method. Half the mornings I end up going without tea because I am chronically late and don’t have time to wait for water to boil.
I use a kettle every morning to make my coffee.
I have been using an electric tea kettle since I lived in England in the late 1970′s and was introduced to the Russell Hobbs. In all those years, I’m only on my 2nd teakettle (the first one’s switch went out after about 10 years), although I would love to upgrade to one that is cordless.
stove-top kettle!
An old bright blue tea kettle with a broken handle, sentimental but inefficient;) an upgrade would be great! Just discovered the wonders of herbal teas, and have become an avid junkie. Stinging nettle and burdock root current faves.
I still use the stove top for boiling water. For morning coffee I’ve finally bought the Keurig coffee with pods. Your giveaway will definitely make things easier and faster in the kitchen.
I use an old-fashioned whistling tea kettle. An electric would be great for canning and for afternoon tea.
I am very picky with my water. I don’t like plastic or any other thing that gets degraded with heat in touch with consumption water. I am not old fashion, just health conscious. I like technology but don’t think all new things out there are necessarily better.
I recently downsized and now have a very limited kitchen area for appliances so must be selective in my purchases. However, I had a kettle in the past and used it constantly so think I need one in my new home and this one looks great.
I love my tea kettle on the stove, especially the train whistle sound it makes when it comes to a boil.
But your description of an electric kettle has me sold! Especially for the need-more-hot-water-fast when canning or making soup applications.
What a great little thing you have there! My hot-water thing is boring — like your old thing — that’s what I use to make tea. We’ve had it for so long that I can tell when the water in the thing has hit the right temperature just by the sound. (That would be 160 degrees for tea.) I’d love to have a little thing like in the picture, that comes to temp quickly and accurately and even… ON TIME. Yes please!
I have a braun electric Tea kettle and love it. I use it at my studio for tea and such. I would love to have one for home, for tea, cooking and pacifers
I bought my electric kettle about 2 years ago and just love it! I need another for work!
Currently, I’m a stove top whistler. However, having an electric would come in handy to top off the canning kettle and open up some stovetop space.
I love, love, love my electric tea kettle, and I can’t believe it’s been going 3 years strong!! I use it all day long for my hot tea (I’m an addict), and it goes on the road with me everywhere (camping, hotels, disney) lol.
One with a programmable feature seems extravagant, but I like the idea of walking in and waking up to hot water ready to pour. Wow….life just keeps getting better!
I have been a stovetop kettle person but have recently been considering a move to electric. My teenaged daughter and I make tea all day – Scottish breakfast in the am, ginger green in the afternoon and herbal at night. I love how you use it for canning!
I’ve been dying for one of these for canning and soup making. I think it would be great when I’m being lazy and want to use bouillon instead of stock too.
What a fantastic giveaway! I love tea and I drink it all day. My super sweet husband bought me a tea kettle a couple years ago. That stainless steel kettle sits on my stove day in and day out. Now that I am designing the kitchen for the house we are building I wouldn’t mind an electric kettle to go in a special cabinet surrounded my my multitude of teas. I can just see it there plugged in on a pull out shelf and ready for my next tea craving.
I’ve got this exact kettle on my Amazon wishlist! I’d love to switch from my old plastic kettle. I make iced tea every single day and use the kettle for it. I also just started using the kettle to boil water for my kombucha batches, too…really, any time water needs boiling, it’s faster to use a kettle!
I’m using a kettle on a gas stove but I’ve always been intrigued by the electric kettle. I’d love to try one!
I just got one because I am having my kitchen remodeled and I have no stove for the next 6 weeks. I never knew I would love it so much. I will give this one to my parents.
I use an electric kettle daily….and it’s on it’s last leg, so a new one would be fantastic!
I boil water in a sauce pan in the stove. So you can see, this would be a HUGE upgrade for me!
I had a stovetop kettle for years until I went to visit my (then boyfriend, now husband) in the UK and was introduced to the wonder of electric kettles. I came home raving about how awesome they were, and my best friend bought me a stainless steel one for Christmas that year, and I have been using it ever since. We drink gallons of hot tea in the winter and it has been incredibly faithful, with a few little hiccups here and there.
Incidentally, growing up in rural Pennsylvania we’d never even heard of the concept, so when a Flying Circus skit mentioned the Electric Kettle department in a store, we thought it was just more zaniness
Typically I boil water on the stove. I also drink a lot of hot water at work, and they have a magical hot water dispenser.
I use an old-fashioned stove top kettle… that I would not mind replacing with one of these!
I’ve always been a stove-top kettle user. This would make quick work of the morning coffee routine.
I had one that I used to get the pasta water going faster. I hadn’t considered it for canning. Missing it even more now!
I have an electric kettle that I use a lot – coffee, tea, canning season, baby bottles… and could use a lovely replacement like this one. Thanks for the giveaway!
I am a coffee drinker so I don’t have the need to boil water early in the morning. My wife, however, loves tea and uses a stove top kettle every morning for her tea!
I have a program auto drip for coffee in the morning. For tea I have the old whistle on the stove top type (really try to avoid using the microwave). It drives me crazy taking up room on the stove when I am canning though that it usually gets banished to the pantry. An instant hot would be a great addition!
I love how you talk about the ways to use an electric kettle to help with canning! I too am often running low on boiling water in the pot just as I’m about to put another batch of jars in to process. Right now, I use a stovetop kettle, but waiting for it to actually boil the water can get frustrating, especially when I’m ready for my tea NOW!
I am strictly a kettle on the stovetop gal, and at my office, we have a water cooler that also dispenses hot water. However, I have a co-worker who swears by using his electric kettle, so should I be the fortunate winner of this giveaway, it will be my gift to him!
I use my electric kettle all the time for tea, canning, and heating up baby bottles. Would be nice to have a newer fancy one!
I use a small Revere-ware kettle that was my mothers and is more than 20 yrs old. But, I fell in love with the electric ones when I lived in England, decades ago. When I returned to this country, none were available here ! I hadn’t thought of how useful one would be in canning.
I just started following your blog after getting your book a month ago which I love! I’m feeling inspired by all your ideas. I still heat water on the stovetop and brew a nice cup of green tea in the morning. I’ve always been eyeing getting one of these electric kettles but haven’t taken the plunge yet.
Currently, stovetop kettle that is cute, lime green with a cool shape. After reading your post, if I don’t win, I may splurge and either get an instant tap or one of these… Thanks!
I currently use a red stove top kettle that I regularly shuffle around the burners when I’m cooking. An electric kettle would great…do they come in red?
Great idea but………………..surely you can’t choose the temp at which pour water boils. At sea level it will always and forever boil at 212F/100C but you can choose the temp TO which you heat it (for perfect coffee or whatever).Yes?
Tim, thanks so much for catching that imprecision in my phrasing. I’ve corrected it.
I use my microwave and a Pyrex measuring cup…an electric kettle sounds awesome!
I have a kettle, but it’s not a fancy one like this!
I, too, was a late-comer to kettles, after years & years of a stove top one. Can’t imagine life without it now! Have a great day.
My boiling water for canning is almost always too low! Coordinating the timing for everything is already stressful enough, so it’d be great to have boiling water waiting on the sidelines anytime I need some extra. I also heat individual mugs in the microwave for tea, which, when you have a few guests over, can take some time! I’d love an electric kettle!
Cast Iron Kettle on top of the woodstove….keeps the air hydrated…and me!!!
I have a small, plastic “hot pot” from my military days that I still use. It’s fast and does the job. I’d love to upgrade. Thanks for hosting the giveaway!
We use our Kettle for Tea all day long in the winter and to fill up a hot water bottle before bed!
I use a small pot on the stove – old school!!
I use a stove-top kettle to heat my water each morning for my pot of tea. The microwave just doesn’t do it for me — the water cools down too quickly!
I have an electric kettle, but the lid handle broke off so I have to refill through the spout. It works, but I’d love an upgrade.
I have to rely on a pot on the stove to fuel my Chai Tea habit!
A 1980′s Russell Hobbs, eletric kettle bought at a local kitchen store (long since gone out of business). It was on sale because it was missing a little rubber foot. It is still missing the rubber foot, so sits a little crooked on the counter. Before that I went through two red plastic Hot Pots – I still keep one to take on travels, so nice to have a fresh hot cuppa that doesn’t taste like stale coffee in a hotel. As an avid tea drinker, a temperture controlled kettle would definately be a plus – and I’ve been looking longingly at cordless convenience as I traipse from counter to stove to refill canning pots with boiling water!