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Even after I knew it was unsafe, the alternative was to microwave a glass measuring cup, burn myself on the handle, drop it, get a face full of hot water and glass, slip, and die slowly bleeding out through my severed jugular, clenching a full cup of dry noodles. I chose the plastic.
It’s always crazy to me that a kettle isn’t a standard kitchen item in NA (assuming that’s where you are).
They’re so cheap and so useful for so many things besides tea and it takes aaaages to get water to boil on a hob for any kind of cooking. Pasta, ramen, soups, sauces, hot water bottles, cleaning anything difficult.
But then again because of the 110V vs 240V situation, they take twice as long to boil in NA vs Europe so maybe it is more comparable to microwaving or boiling on the stove so they seem less useful.
Thanks for your comment, I was so confused as to why people were microwaving their pot noodles lol
Boil the kettle > pour > stir > wait > stir > eat.
Ready in 5 minutes. No 3rd degree burns. 😂
With microwave:
- Put water in cup noodles
- Microwave
- Eat
Ready in 4 minutes ;) No 3rd degree burns.
I have a 110v electric kettle and it works fine for me... flip the switch and it boils the water and auto shuts off when it's done. Doesn't really take that long imo, definitely quicker than microwaving the same amount of hot water or doing it on the stove. If I'm in a hurry It's great for "preheating" the water before I dump it into the pot to make macaroni/ spaghetti etc.
Same. I didn't realize it was so nice until my wife got really into tea. Now we have two kettles, a crappy one for pre-boiling water for the stove, and a nice one for tea (controls precise temperature).
I still don't drink tea, but I use the kettle at least once/week.
I live in NA, and I have one. Most tea drinkers that I know have them, too. I don't know how I could live without one.
But I guess tea isn't as ubiquitous here. That's probably why people don't have kettles. They wouldn't use them enough to be worth the counter space.
I live in North America and would think someone was joking if they told me they don't have a kettle. Especially if they have cup noodles.
We just got one like a year ago, and we have had cup noodles and tea for well over a decade. It's really not hard to heat water in the microwave, it's just ~80sec on high.
I don't put the cup of noodles itself in the microwave because it's not microwave safe. If I'm making one serving, I'll probably still use the microwave because I don't want to get the kettle down from the cupboard.
They take longer to boil here and longer still at high altitudes! Even so, it's faster than a stovetop. I love my kettle and use it *daily...
My main issue is that it gets entrusted with hard water residue (even though I have a water softener), so I need to clean it out periodically. I'm also at a high altitude (~4k ft/>1km).
That said, I still use it regularly, now that we have one. But I didn't have a kettle for years because we just don't drink much tea.
I use the microwave, and I’ve never had the handle of the pyrex cup get hot. Maybe thats a thing with shitty glass?
Microwave is going to be just as fast for quickly heating up a small amount of water, stove is plenty quick for larger amounts but I have an induction stove so it's extremely quick. If you look away, it WILL boil over. I don't see how a kettle could be quicker than my stove for the same quantity even if I had a 240v kettle, the stove is 240v but has a 50 Amp connection, compared to the 15 or 20 that a kettle would get.
Having a kettle would be one more item to clean, store and have counterspace for.
Also if someone really wanted (and it made much of a difference) you can get 240v outlets put in here. Like I said, the stove has 240v so you could probably tap into that circuit to retro-fit. But I'm not convinced it's any quicker, or easier than just microwaving it or using the stove, so nobody puts those in.
Also, like the other person I've never had a pyrex handle heat up, and even with regular mugs put in there it only heats up from the food being in it, not being heated my the microwave.
You should try a kettle. They’re definitely faster and more convenient than microwaving or the stove. There’s a reason tea drinking nations have them.
Also how often do you think you need to clean a thing whose sole purpose is to boil water?
Hard water + heating elements = scale
But also, seems like it would get mildewey/moldy pretty quick, I know coffee/tea makers can get downright gross even in the water-only parts.
The strangest part is that kettles are everywhere in Canada. It's just the Americans who refuse to give up their barbaric practice of microwaving water
Hey, we fought an entire independence war over tea, we can't let it sneak back in with a kettle.
do want
I use a pot on my stove but not a kettle you plug in.
Bro just buy an electric kettle or use a pot to boil the water on the stove...
Single serve coffee maker also works if you already have one.
"Leslie, I tried to make ramen in the coffee pot and I broke everything."
They literally make ceramic noodle cups that are exactly like the Styrofoam ones with a handle.
If you are microwaving a glass measuring cup long enough the handle will burn you then you are doing it wrong...
Yup, like ~80sec should do it. That's enough for the water to boil, but not long enough for the heat to transfer to the container.
This is so bizarre of a scenario.
I thought you were putting your noodles into your measuring cup of water because you don't own any bowls. Or a stovetop or a pot. Why are the noodles dry in the end?
I also like how you describe it as "the alternative", as if obviously, this is what a normal human being would do.
...and I just noticed the noodles are still in the cup they came in.
My only deduction is that your kitchen consists solely of cupboards, measuring cups, and a microwave. Likely no utensils, as they could cause similar catastrophes.