The Best Electric Kettles

Electric kettles are handy for making tea or coffee and for any cooking task that requires a few cups of boiling water, from rehydrating dried mushrooms and tomatoes to softening lasagna noodles or reconstituting concentrated stocks. The Capresso H2O Plus won our last testing in 2008; we wondered if it was still the best kettle on the market. We gathered several kettles made from stainless steel and glass (we’ve found that plastic kettles can create funky flavors) to test against our old favorite. We started by timing how long each took to boil water. We then evaluated the precision of their spouts and comfort of their handles and boiled the maximum allowed volume in each one to see if they splashed or spilled. We even held a blind tasting of the boiled water to see if any imparted off-flavors. Finally, we subjected each kettle to a durability test of 25 additional boiling cycles, putting the top-ranked models through a full 365 rounds to simulate daily use for a year.

Electric kettles have improved since our last testing, as our new lineup boasted key features that weren’t standard in previous years. The kettles themselves are cordless, so you can lift them away from the heating element to pour, and 360-degree compatibility with their bases means that they don’t need to be oriented in a certain direction. Each kettle also automatically shuts off when the water boils and has a safeguard that prevents it from turning on when the kettle is empty.

That said, there were certainly differences among them. To begin with, materials mattered. We wanted to see the water level as we filled them. With glass kettles, a glance was enough. But when we filled the stainless-steel models, we relied on windows or external water-level gauges—the majority of which were hard to read at a glance. With both metal and glass kettles, we preferred those that had large light-up power indicators to signal that kettles were on or had finished their boiling cycle.

Boiling speed and capacity were critical factors. When we timed how long each kettle took to boil 1 quart of room-temperature water, averages ranged from about 4 1/2 to about 5 1/2 minutes. (This takes roughly 9 minutes in a covered saucepan at high heat.) We were pleased to discover that the fastest kettle was also one of the largest. It holds 60 ounces—more than double the capacity of the smallest kettle in our lineup. Although you won’t need that much for a cup of tea, it’s ideal for reconstituting a large amount of stock base or preparing a water bath for delicate cheesecakes or custards.

Finally, since boiling water can cause serious burns, a good kettle should feel comfortable and secure. ... read more