Best stovetop tea kettle

January 26, 2022 3:02 PM

My beloved red enamel tea kettle is rusting horribly inside and needs to be replaced.

I freely admit I’m very bad about remembering to pour out the rest of the water after I’m done using it, and hope to get significantly better about that with the new tea kettle. But I also feel like just about every kettle I have looked at so far has a bunch of reviews from people saying it started to rust pretty much right away. So I am turning to you for suggestions for kettles that you’ve had a good experience with!

Please assume for purposes of this question that it must be a stove top tea kettle (we have a gas stove) and I do not want to buy an electric kettle. A pretty color would be great, but not a requirement. Ideally it would hold at least a couple of quarts of water, have a whistle, and not easily slosh water out of the spout when you open it. I live in the US and would prefer to order online. Thanks!

posted by skycrashesdown to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

I got this one as a gift for my newly-remodeled kitchen almost three years ago. I empty it when I'm done using it, but it has not gotten a smidge of rust on it. Although it's spendy and black, I think it more than makes up for it by being handsome and having a unique whistle. It sounds like a train whistle and it makes me smile every time I boil water for tea.

Several reviewers commented about it losing its whistle. I had the same problem, but tightened the lid and it is now like-new again.
posted by DrGail at 3:18 PM on January 26, 2022

I've never had a teakettle rust inside and I never pour the water out after use. (I do tend to dump out the old stuff before refilling it, though, so I'm boiling fresh water each time.)

Are all these teakettles with bad reviews about rust Amazon(etc) deals? I've always had older stainless steel ones that were purchased before online shopping from giant fulfillment centers was the go-to. I use my housemates' unbranded one now but the last one I owned was, I think, cheap Farberware originally purchased in the 90s by a relative.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:47 PM on January 26, 2022 [2 favorites]

I have one from Le Creuset and leave the water in, no rust.
posted by pinochiette at 4:10 PM on January 26, 2022 [3 favorites]

P.S. Are you sure it's rust and not mineral deposits from the water? This talks about how to clean that.
posted by pinochiette at 4:41 PM on January 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

For pure aesthetics, I like this 2.5 qt. old Pyrex tea kettle, which is practical only with gas, and possibly not very even then because it has no whistle (though you can see when it’s boiling), and takes about twice as long to reach a boil as metal kettles. The metal band and glass handle socket are stainless rather than chrome as the caption asserts.

They’re out there, and I saw a couple for $40-50 plus shipping while I was looking for a good image.
posted by jamjam at 5:40 PM on January 26, 2022

I have a thick porcelain tea kettle that is delightful and I have had it for years and can count on one hand the number of times I have emptied it. It does not have a whistle, though.
posted by Vatnesine at 6:10 PM on January 26, 2022

Get something like this. The only catch is that you may need to put a little wire trivet on the burner to protect the glass. (I've never used a gas stove so, I don't know what the procedure is for one of those.)
posted by sardonyx at 7:01 PM on January 26, 2022

We use this OXO Uplift kettle. I have had our current one since 2018. We had a slightly different version for … 7? 10? years before I replaced it - that one had a rubbery surface on the handle that got sticky to touch over time.

This version with the cork handle doesn’t seem like it would be susceptible to that.

I am extremely negligent of the kettle. We have super hard water that I forget in the kettle for months. Neither of my kettles have rusted. I occasionally remember to soak them with vinegar and give them a quick scrub.

This kettle whistles and I love the one hand pour situation. My 80 something Mom loves the one I gave her too, so it definitely lives up to the OXO brand.
posted by hilaryjade at 7:08 PM on January 26, 2022

I have a spectacular English kettle, the Simplex Buckingham. I received it as a wedding gift almost 30 years ago, and it's been on my stovetop, with various amounts of water in it, ever since. The paint has flaked off the handle a bit but otherwise it's still perfect. Also, it boils water incredibly quickly (on a gas flame). I freaking adore it and think it's worth every penny. I've given them as gifts once or twice. They will seriously last the entire rest of your life.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:24 PM on January 26, 2022

I love my OXO kettle, like the one that hilaryjade links to above. Mine is a nice red.
posted by booth at 8:08 AM on January 27, 2022