The humble kettle has come a long way in the past 100 years starting off as cooker mounted affairs in the 1800′s up to there electrical corded variety to the various cordless kettle type syou get now. Innovation is still going strong with a range of new features coming out in the top end kettle ranges.
Rapid Boil
The biggest jump in kettle technology was the introduction of rapid boil technology in the late 90′s which used specially constructed and powerful heating elements to cut boiling time significantly. The downside to these is their increased power usage and so it’s become increasingly important to only boil what you need.
Scale Filters
The small filters fitted to the spout of most modern kitchens is often overlooked but if it wasn’t there then people would soon miss it! These small devices hold any limescale build up in the kettle and stop it from being poured into a persons drink. The high end cordless kettles offer stainless steel filters that will last much longer. Plastic filters – thoguh washable – will normally perish after a few years and will therefore prompt the replacement of the whole unit.
Illumination
This can be used for multiple purposes. For example in the Russel Hobbs cordless kettle it is used as a safety and information measure as it glows red when boiling and blue for when it’s stopped. However, the Breville Ice Blue kettle uses it more as a decorative illumination of the kettle.
Heating Power
The vast majority of kettles appear to have standardized at 3000 watts with the Bosch jug kettle being one of the exceptions at 3100 watts. This level of power enables very rapid boil (see above) but at the cost of using more energy.
