I've just read that most Americans don't use/own kettles. Is this true?
If it is true, how do you make a cup of tea?
I knew the grits would be mentioned!! I'm from the south and they're ground corn oddly enough. Down south we put butter and salt in them with cheese at times but up north they put sugar in them. Super american food I guess. I'm in Colorado now and natives are clueless about grits.
That said, I'll look into an electric kettle! My coffee maker is a Moccamaster and I cannot recommend them enough!! Add a burr grinder and it's the best dang coffee ever.
Love this thread. UK here. A kettle is very culturally important. We have a hot water tap but IMO it doesn’t taste the same. Got to have it from the kettle.
Has anyone mentioned washing up bowls yet? My friend (from Alabama but has lived in UK for 15 years) thinks they are the strangest things ever. Personally I cannot imagine not having one. Now is that just her or are they not a thing either?
I have an electric kettle, does that count? It heats the water to boiling so fast. I like tea, but my son is obsessed with it so much that I bought him an electric kettle when he moved into the dorm for college.
The stiff clothes and scratchy towels is what I remember from hanging clothes with Grandma. I was starting to wonder if it was just bad water causing that or something. It was awful! I mean, there was something sort of fun about hanging clothes and being out with the fruit trees... Just the scratchy results were a disappointment.
I have an electric kettle. I use it all day long! Couldn't live without tea! I can't even imagine making coffee without my kettle and French press!
I'm an American citizen, born to American parents. However, I'm only culturally half American. I was born in continental Europe and both my parents and I have lived there on and off for much of our lives. So there are a lot of American things I don't really "get" like iced water and people's love of fast food. And some Euro things that seem equally odd. For example, I can't live without an American-style shower! And I've gotten used to American king-sized beds which make escaping from my husband's snoring easier, and larger refrigerators!
Never heard of a washing-up bowl, but I've not spent any time in the UK or Australia.
Hot water is hot water. Right?
Apparently not. I had no idea, learned something new today.
Why Does Microwaving Water Result in Such Lousy Tea?
A reader recently wrote in to ask: Why is tea made with microwave-heated water so lousy compared to tea made with water boiled in a kettle?slate.com
So maybe this is why I've always thought I didn't care for black tea lol. I was probably drinking it too hot or too cold for the best flavor.