There are many appliances available today beyond your dishwasher, oven, and refrigerator. In the appliances aisles of certain stores, you will find microwaves, toasters, toaster ovens, milk frothers, electric mixers, and more. One of the most popular small appliances is the kettles, favoured for its affordability as well as its versatility.
To demonstrate the popularity of the kettle, we have compiled five of the top uses for this small appliance.
Some you will likely recognize, though some others may shock you.
Make Hot Beverages
The most popular use for a kettle, whether it is stovetop or electric, is to make hot beverages. To make tea or coffee, all you really need to do is add water to your kettle and let it heat to the appropriate temperature. Then, pour the water into your mug with the teabag or coffee inside. There you go! This strategy works with hot chocolate as well. You can also heat apple cider in your kettle. Just empty the water and fill it up with cider!
Just Add Water Meals
There are many instant meals available on the market that you can make with the simple addition of hot water from your kettle. The most common, particularly among college and university students, is instant ramen noodles. There are also instant soup mixes, as well as freeze-dried food people commonly use on camping trips. While the process is relatively simple, make sure you check the directions on whatever meal you are making to see if you need to do anything else (e.g. stirring, sauce packets, et cetera).
Boil an Egg
Did you know you can boil an egg in your kettle? We would only advise doing this with kettles that do not have the exposed coil at the bottom, unless you have an attachment to prevent the egg from touching the coil. Some people also prop up their kettle on one side so the eggs roll away from the heating element.
Here is how you do it. Place your egg (or eggs) in your kettle and fill it with water. Turn your kettle on and let the water boil. Most kettles have a feature that automatically shuts them off shortly after the water begins boiling. If this is the case for you, we recommend setting a secondary timer, which you will start as soon as the kettle turns off. The amount of time you set the secondary timer for depends on how boiled you want your eggs. In general, hard-boiled eggs take eight to 12 minutes. With soft-boiled, you are looking at two to four minutes. Consider how long you would normally boil your egg and use that as a rough guide for making the egg in your kettle.
Cook Rice
Yes, you can actually cook rice in your kettle, although you will face a little clean up afterwards if there is an exposed coil at the bottom. To make some rice, simply soak the grains in water for 20 minutes before adding the water and rice to the kettle. You can also add some spices or vegetables the kettle, but never add bulky items like meat. Turn the kettle on and let everything cook for roughly 20 minutes, though the timing will vary based upon the amount of rice you are trying to make. If your kettle has an automatic shut off feature, you will need to turn it back on a couple times to ensure your rice cooks well.
Heat A Little Milk
Yes, you can heat milk in your kettle as well! Just empty your kettle of water, if there is any in there, and add your desired amount of milk. The only difference with heating milk in your kettle rather than water is you will have to pay more attention to it. Most would advise you to avoid letting the milk boil. Thus, you will need to shut off your kettle before it gets to that point, which means keeping an eye on it. The good news is that heated milk can make your hot chocolate extra creamy, so why not give it a shot?
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