For what it's worth, when I did a houseswap to Canada last summer, my exchange partners in Vancouver had a kettle to put on the gas hob. Most of us now use an electric kettle because - at UK voltages - it's so much quicker. The latest thing is a kettle with a built-in water filter. London water is so chalky that this would be a real boon - I'm getting sick of descaling every few weeks.

And for the person trying to get a song out of their heads try these:

Oh, the factories may be roaring
With a boom-a-lacka, zoom-a-lacka, wee
But there isn't any roar when the clock strikes four
Everything stops for tea

or

I like a nice cup of tea in the morning
For to start the day you see
And at half-past eleven
Well my idea of Heaven
Is a nice cup of tea
I like a nice cup of tea with my dinner
And a nice cup of tea with my tea
And when it's time for bed
There's a lot to be said
For a nice cup of tea

Another one to hum all day - soory it's a bit long ;)

RIGHT SAID FRED by Bernard Cribbins

Right said Fred, both of us together, one each end and steady as we go
Tried to to shift it, couldn't even lift it, we was getting nowhere
And so, we, had a cup of tea

Right said Fred, give a shout to Charlie, up comes Charlie from the floor below
After straining, heaving and complaining, we was getting nowhere
And so, we, had a cup of tea

Charlie had a think and he thought we ought, to take off all the handles
And the things that hold the candles, but it did no good, well I never thought it would

Right said Fred, have to take the feet off, to get them feet off wouldn't take a mo
Took it's feet off, even with the seat off, should o' got us somewhere but no
So Fred said lets have another cup of tea and we said right-o

Right said Fred, have to take the door off, need more space to shift the so and so
Had bad twinges taking off the hinges, and it got us nowhere
And so, we, had a cup of tea

Right said Fred, have to take the wall down, that there wall is gonna have to go
Took the wall down, even with it all down, we was getting nowhere
And so, we, had a cup of tea

Charlie had a think and and he said look Fred, I've got a sort of feeling
If we remove the ceiling, with a rope or two we can drop the blighter though

Right said Fred, climbing up a ladder, with his crowbar gave a mighty blow
Was he in trouble, half a ton of rubble, landed on the top of his dome
So Charlie and me had another cup of tea and then we went home

Kate: What would you call that plastic cylinder that Corrie Street folk were heating water in - a kettle? Would you differentiate between that kind of kettle and the old type kettle that goes on the cooker top? To me it was a water heater but i realize that sounds daft perhaps.

PatrickLondon and MariaH, unfortunately(?) I don't know those songs but I'll be in London next week so perhaps I'll ask someone to recite them for me.

FWIW, most people I know have an electric kettle. (They're available at most home goods and department stores.)

I'm off to make a mug of Yorkshire Gold--now if only I had that great Yorkshire water, ach well.

The white thing you saw would be a jug kettle.
You can see some at http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...ll_Appliances/
or http://tinyurl.com/5jp6q

They come either with a cord (like the old style electric kettle) or cordless, where they sit on a stand which is plugged in. Jug kettles usually come with a water filter and switch off automatically when the water boils.

Thank you Patrick London. I have been following this thread totally mystified as to why there would be such a cultural difference between British and American water boiling technology. If it is true that it is slower to boil water in a kettle on a stove in the UK, then I get why one would want an electric kettle. Until now, I have thought they would be handy for dorm rooms and offices but couldn't imagine why a person would want one in a kitchen.

PalQ, sorry if it sounded like I was taking the mick, indeed a kettle is simple a device with a lid and a spout that you use to boil water. Matters not if it's a plug-in kettle, or a stove-top kettle. Equally it can come in all shapes and sizes, with water filters or without, self-switching off or not, plastic, metal, you name it. But no British home would be without one, and I'd wager than 95% of the country has the plug-in rather than the stove top kind.

I even have a mini plug-in kettle I take on holiday with me - can't miss that early morning cuppa!

I don't know anyone here (in Ireland) who uses tea leaves. They just use Nambarie (or some other brand) tea bags. Most then brew the tea in a tea pot, after boiling the water in a kettle, or make one mug if it's just for themselves. They certainly don't consider tea making an art form--it's like calling pouring a glass of water an art form.

I personally use leaf tea because teabags use the small broken leaves called "sweepings" in order to brew quickly. I think that you get a better cuppa with leaves but chacun a son cup of tea.
I find that American friends make more of a song and dance about tea, possibly because it's not such a common drink as it is in Ireland and the UK. As you say, it's drunk by all ages and classes and is taken for granted.

PatrickLondon and Maria, OMG, I haven't heard those songs/jingles for years and I'm singing along!

Now I'm confused. How do Americans boil water if not in a kettle?

Sheila, HI! Americans boil water either in the microwave or in a pot on the stove. As water is boiled mostly to cook something in - eg pasta, rather than make tea, this works for most people.

I had always used an on-top-of-the-stove kettle. After falling in love with the electric kettles that we used at self-catering cottages in Ireland I started looking for one here in the US. I was lucky and found a stainless steel one. Advantage: It doesn't stain on the inside from water deposits. Disadvantage: The exterior gets very hot. I never boil water on the stove anymore and I gave the old kettle to my son when he moved out.

Sheila, mostly in a kettle on the stove. I never heard of an electric kettle until my husband's cousin moved to the U.S. from England many years ago and couldn't find one in the stores here.

I use a kettle to boil water and they still seem to sell a lot of them in my local homeware stores. I do just boil it in the pot if I am making pasta, however. My sister used to have an electric kettle but now doesn't have anything which drives me batty when I am at her house and there is no way to boil water but in the microwave.

This isn't very efficient, it takes longer to boil, I think, than just on the stove, but it's also inconvenient as you need to find a special container for the boiling because you can't use metal, and then there is no handle -- or if there is, you can't grasp it because it's hot, also.

I don't have an electric kettle because there's no need for one with a stove and a regular kettle (I only have a gas stove, so it heats it quickly) and I try not to have too many things around cluttering things up when unnecessary since I have a small kitchen.

Christina, my sister gave up her stove top kettle some time ago. When I have a cup of tea at her house, I have to boil water in a small stainless steel saucepan. That is far better than microwaving it!

(Now I am wondering what the heck we call our stainless steel, on the stove burner, pot for boiling water. I am so confused at the moment I will have to check with DH when he gets home. Blame my horrible cold and related medicines for brain dysfunction!)

Micro may not be as efficient but it saves energy - at least in my latest electric bill the company's energy saving tips said to use microwave over stove as it was more enery efficient.

Okkkkkk........

So, setting the microwave to one side, at least temporarily, how can it be more efficient to boil water in a kettle on the stove than in an electric kettle??

May I ask some of the kettle experts to tell me something about my kettle?

It's an old copper kettle which a cousin bought in England in the late 50s or early 60s.

She and her family lived there for a few years when her husband was in the US Air Force. She loved antiques and curiosity shops, so I'm sure she picked up the kettle at such a place.

She gave the kettle to my mother, and I inherited it.

Obviously it was much-used, but even with all it's dents it polishes up beautifully, and I love it!

Was this a typical boil-water-for-tea kettle before the advent of the electric ones? I hope this isn't a totally stupid question!

Byrd

Sheila, I have no idea whether it is more efficient to boil water on the stove than in an electric kettle. I have never felt that it was particularly inefficient, but I admit to never having tried an electric kettle. I don't think people use the stove because it is more efficient. Most people I know in the U.S. have just never had electric kettles and have never felt the need for them.