Kettle

Etymology

The word kettle originates from Old Norse ketill, "cauldron". The Old English spelling was cetel with initial che- [tʃ] like 'cherry', Middle English (and dialectal) was chetel, both come (together with German Kessel "cauldron") ultimately from Germanic *katilaz, that was borrowed from Latin catillus, diminutive form of catinus "deep vessel for serving or cooking food", which in various contexts is translated as "bowl", "deep dish", or "funnel".

Stovetop kettles

A modern stovetop kettle is a metal vessel with a flat bottom used to heat water on a stovetop or hob. They usually have a handle on top, a spout, and a lid. Some also have a steam whistle that indicates when the water has reached its boiling point.

Kettles are typically made with stainless steel but can also be made from copper or other metals.

Electric kettles

In countries with 200240V mains electricity, electric kettles are commonly used to boil water without the necessity of a stovetop. The heating element is typically fully enclosed, with a power rating of 2–3 kW. This means that the current draw for an electric kettle is up to 13A, which is a sizeable proportion of the current available for many homes: the main fuse of most homes varies between 20 and 100 amps. In countries with 120 V mains electricity, twice as much current is drawn for the same power.

In modern designs, once the water has reached its boiling point, the kettle automatically deactivates, preventing the water from boiling away and damaging the heating element. |access-date=31 March 2025}}

Development

Electric kettles were introduced as an alternative to stovetop kettles in the latter part of the 19th century. Although there is one report of an electric kettle being sold by General Electric in London in 1890, the first confirmed electric kettles were designed in 1891 by Carpenter Electric Co., exhibited in London at Crystal Palace Exhibition in 1892 and in Chicago at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. In 1892, Crompton & Co. also exhibited a working electric kettle and started featuring it in their catalogue in 1894. These kettles were quite primitive as the heating element couldn't be immersed in the water. Instead, a separate compartment underneath the water storage area in the kettle was used to house the electric heating element. The design was inefficient even relative to the conventional stovetop kettles of the time.

In 1902, the 'Archer' electric kettle made by Premier Electric Heaters in Birmingham, England, was marketed as a luxury item. It had an element sealed in the base of the kettle (not exposed to water), and was one of the first kettles with a boil-safe device.

In 1922, Leslie Large, an engineer working at Bulpitt & Sons of Birmingham, designed an element of wire wound around a core and sheathed in a metal tube. The element could be immersed directly into water which made the kettle much more efficient than stovetop kettles.

In 1955, the newly founded British company Russell Hobbs brought out its stainless steel K1 model as the first fully automatic kettle. A bimetallic strip, heated through a pipe by the steam produced as the water comes to the boil, flexes, and cuts off the current. As little steam is produced before boiling occurs, the bimetallic thermostat is set to activate well below 100 C, thus this design works even at higher altitudes where the boiling point is significantly lower. The design has since been widely adopted by other manufacturers.

Whistling kettles

A whistling kettle is a kettle fitted with a device that emits an audible whistle when the water in the kettle starts to boil. The action of steam passing through the device causes vibration, in turn creating the sound, known in physics as a tone hole.

The exact mechanism by which this occurs was not fully understood until a paper, The Aeroacoustics of a Steam Kettle, was published by R. H. Henrywood, a fourth-year engineering undergraduate at the University of Cambridge, and A. Agarwal, his supervisor, in the journal Physics of Fluids in 2013.

Harry Bramson is the inventor of the whistling tea kettle.

Automatic tea kettles

Automatic tea kettles are meant to make tea brewing easier, built with the capability to make different kinds of tea without much input from the user. Once set, the automatic tea kettle brings the water to the specific temperature for preparing a given kind of tea, adds the tea to the water, and steeps the tea for the appropriate amount of time. This is because different types of teas must be brewed at different temperatures in order to create a full, balanced flavor. Often they will make a beeping sound to alert the user when the tea is ready, and maintain the temperature of the beverage after preparation.

Kettle gallery

File:Swan electric kettle, Museum of Liverpool.jpg|Swan electric kettle in brass, an early electric kettle at the Museum of Liverpool File:Caydanlik.jpg|Aluminium çaydanlık. A unique instrument of Turkish cuisine. File:Museu da BaronesaDSCF0130.JPG|Kettle on a portable stove at the Museu da Baronesa, Brazil File:Tea beauty in simplicity.jpg|Modest tea kettle boiling water over small bottled gas at a tea house. File:Graves kittel 1984.jpg|Graves kettle, 1984, a postmodern kettle with a bird-shaped whistle on the spout File:Electric kettle phillips white.JPG|A contemporary "jug"style electric kettle made from enameled metal and plastic File:Solar kettle.jpg|Solar powered kettle File:Kkettle.jpg|A Kelly kettle, designed to efficiently use the heat of a small fire in a chamber at the base File:USKettle.jpg|Copper coated cast iron stove tea kettle made between 1846 and 1860. Albany/Troy NY, USA File:Station Chai.jpg|An Indian aluminium kettle, popular in South Asia, used for making tea or boiling water File:Glass tea kettle, Kashgar.jpg|Glass tea kettle in Kashgar in 2010 File:Survival Kettle Red.jpg|Survival Kettle Red in 2019 File:Japanese Cast Iron Tea Kettle by Steven Depolo.jpg|Tetsubin (鉄瓶), Japanese cast iron kettle or teapot.

Similar devices

• A cauldron is a large kettle hung over an open fire, usually on an arc-shaped hanger called a bail. In Hungary these are referred to as kettles.
• A fish kettle is a long slim metal cooking vessel with a tight fitting lid to enable cooking of whole large fish such as salmon.
• A kettle grill is a dome shaped grill with a rounded lid, resembling a cauldron.
• A kettle drum is a kettle (cauldron) shaped drum.
• Kelly Kettle

References

References

1. T. F. Hoad, ''English Etymology'', Oxford University Press, 1993 ({{ISBN. 0-19-283098-8). p. 252.
2. (1912). "The Electrical review".
3. "Electric Kettles 1886 - 1900".
4. "'Archer' electric kettle, around 1902 {{!}} Science Museum Group Collection".
5. "Electric Kettles". John Lewis Partnership.
6. "Small Appliances". The Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances.
7. (8 July 2010). "The Secret History Of: The Russell Hobbs K2 kettle". The Independent.
8. Myall, Steve. (2012-09-01). "Made in the UK: The life-changing everyday innovations which put British genius on the map". [[Daily Mirror]].
9. "Electric Kettles". Museum of Science and Industry.
10. "Electric kettle {{!}} Science Museum Group Collection".
11. (2013). "The aeroacoustics of a steam kettle". [[Physics of Fluids]].
12. (24 October 2013). "How the kettle got its whistle". [[University of Cambridge]].
13. "Harry Bramson invented the whistling tea kettle.".
14. Baxter, Anna Helm. (2021-11-23). "10 Best Electric Tea Kettles to Make the Best Cup of Tea, Noodles and Pour-Over Coffee".
15. "Tea Brewing Temperature Guide".
16. Gergely, Anikó. (2008). "Culinaria Hungary". H.F. Ullmann.