Kitchen equipment - question for American persons - Page 3

Juniper · 02-21-2010, 10:33 AM

I have a fenced yard AND a clothesline. HA!

BrianR · 02-22-2010, 12:08 AM

I have a fully fenced in yard, but no clothesline due to all the blowing dust in the air. My clothes would be dirtier after laundering than they were before laundering! Not to mention many dogs who would likely pull the clothes off and play with them.

DucksNuts · 02-22-2010, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Griff

Which suburban hell did you visit?

Some of what you mention are as foreign to me as to you. What is a Maccas?

LA, Denver, Missouri, Michigan ....

I won't throw in Vegas, it's far from the norm

Pie · 02-22-2010, 10:00 AM

I have two electric kettles, one for work and one at home. They boil water much faster than a stovetop kettle.

I dislike using microwaved water for tea. There's always a nasty scum on top -- yeech!

xoxoxoBruce · 02-22-2010, 10:18 AM

Where is that scum coming from? Out of the water? Soap scum on the container?

Pie · 02-22-2010, 10:36 AM

I was googling that very subject, Bruce. There's no readily apparent reason for it, other than the possible effect of actual rapid boiling on the gas balance of the water. However, I've tried bringing the microwaved water to full-on rapid boil (in the presence of a nucleation site, like a chopstick or bamboo skewer in the beaker) and have still seen the same result, albeit slightly reduced.

To clarify, this is using the same water source, same tea, pouring microwaved water from a pyrex container into the mug vs. from the electric kettle into the mug.

It remains a mystery to me.

glatt · 02-22-2010, 10:39 AM

Is it possible that there is also scum in the kettles, but you just don't see it there because you aren't looking inside the kettles?

bbro · 02-22-2010, 11:01 AM

I have a stovetop kettle that I keep filled with water and just turn on when I am getting dinner ready.

I have a toaster/convection oven that I love. It is much better than a regular toaster AND I can use it as a regular oven....well for small things.

As for grilling ("broiling") - to me these are two different things. Grilling is done outside on the grill and broiling is done under the top element in the oven. Or if your oven has a section specifically for broiling, it is done there.

Pie · 02-22-2010, 01:13 PM

The scum is only created after the water in question is poured over tea leaves. Before that instant, the water is clear and scum-free.

Someone pointed out a possibility -- the metal heater element within the kettle (or the metal stovetop kettle itself) could be acting as an anode, allowing various hard-water components (calcium carbonate, for example) to deposit before it interacts with the organic compounds in the tea.
Anyone familiar with electric tea kettles will attest to the mineral scale that eventually forms on the heating element.

classicman · 02-22-2010, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pie

The scum is only created after the water in question is poured over tea leaves. Before that instant, the water is clear and scum-free.

Perhaps this is something that is on the tea leaves or something that happens in the drying process of them. Sounds like it has less to do with the water than the leaves.

glatt · 02-22-2010, 01:32 PM

And people pay extra for "mineral water." morons

Pie · 02-22-2010, 01:47 PM

No, not the tea. It happens with Lipton, it happens with Bigelow, it happens with my extra-super-fancy TGFOP Assam.

xoxoxoBruce · 02-23-2010, 12:26 AM

Doesn't tea contain oil?

jinx · 02-23-2010, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

And people pay extra for "mineral water." morons

I don't think they buy it to make tea with...

Sundae · 02-25-2010, 06:16 AM

Just to agree with Pie here. And admit I have no idea why it happens.

I've made tea in a microwave when I've had no other option, and the froth is yucky. I don't think it tastes the same either.

02-22-2010, 12:08 AM	#32
BrianR Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 3,338	I have a fully fenced in yard, but no clothesline due to all the blowing dust in the air. My clothes would be dirtier after laundering than they were before laundering! Not to mention many dogs who would likely pull the clothes off and play with them. __________________ Never be afraid to tell the world who you are. -- Anonymous

02-22-2010, 10:00 AM	#34
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	I have two electric kettles, one for work and one at home. They boil water much faster than a stovetop kettle. I dislike using microwaved water for tea. There's always a nasty scum on top -- yeech! __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

02-22-2010, 10:18 AM	#35
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Where is that scum coming from? Out of the water? Soap scum on the container? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

02-22-2010, 10:36 AM	#36
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	I was googling that very subject, Bruce. There's no readily apparent reason for it, other than the possible effect of actual rapid boiling on the gas balance of the water. However, I've tried bringing the microwaved water to full-on rapid boil (in the presence of a nucleation site, like a chopstick or bamboo skewer in the beaker) and have still seen the same result, albeit slightly reduced. To clarify, this is using the same water source, same tea, pouring microwaved water from a pyrex container into the mug vs. from the electric kettle into the mug. It remains a mystery to me. __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

02-22-2010, 01:13 PM	#39
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	The scum is only created after the water in question is poured over tea leaves. Before that instant, the water is clear and scum-free. Someone pointed out a possibility -- the metal heater element within the kettle (or the metal stovetop kettle itself) could be acting as an anode, allowing various hard-water components (calcium carbonate, for example) to deposit before it interacts with the organic compounds in the tea. Anyone familiar with electric tea kettles will attest to the mineral scale that eventually forms on the heating element. __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

02-21-2010, 10:33 AM	#31
Juniper I know, right? Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1,539	I have a fenced yard AND a clothesline. HA!

02-22-2010, 10:39 AM	#37
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Is it possible that there is also scum in the kettles, but you just don't see it there because you aren't looking inside the kettles?

02-22-2010, 11:01 AM	#38
bbro Insert witty comment here Join Date: May 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,182	I have a stovetop kettle that I keep filled with water and just turn on when I am getting dinner ready. I have a toaster/convection oven that I love. It is much better than a regular toaster AND I can use it as a regular oven....well for small things. As for grilling ("broiling") - to me these are two different things. Grilling is done outside on the grill and broiling is done under the top element in the oven. Or if your oven has a section specifically for broiling, it is done there.

02-22-2010, 01:32 PM	#41
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	And people pay extra for "mineral water." morons

02-22-2010, 01:47 PM	#42
Pie Gone and done Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 4,808	No, not the tea. It happens with Lipton, it happens with Bigelow, it happens with my extra-super-fancy TGFOP Assam. __________________ per·son \ˈpər-sən\ (noun) - an ephemeral collection of small, irrational decisions The fun thing about evolution (and science in general) is that it happens whether you believe in it or not.

02-23-2010, 12:26 AM	#43
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Doesn't tea contain oil? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

02-25-2010, 06:16 AM	#45
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Just to agree with Pie here. And admit I have no idea why it happens. I've made tea in a microwave when I've had no other option, and the froth is yucky. I don't think it tastes the same either.

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