I do, water is water.
this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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My in-laws do that. Just today I ordered them a lighted electric kettle.
Wait, you guys have microwaves?
Sincerely, Someone who does not own a microwave
So you heat a whole oven or stove every time you want some leftovers? cries in planet
Not by choice, but unfortunately that is my only option. cries in wallet
What is the difference on environmetal impact for running a gas burner for 5 minutes vs. running an electric microwave for 30 seconds?
It turns out gas stoves are wildly inefficient and spew most of their heat into the atmosphere instead of the food. This video comparing has been making the rounds again lately.
Just eat them cold.
I use an electric kettle but remember that in the US outlets are 120V, so they take a lot longer to heat water than in countries with 240.
So the microwave isn't much less efficient than the electric kettle, mainly because some of the energy is heating the mug/container. The least efficient is a stovetop kettle on an electric stove.
But I'm curious, why are Europeans so horrified by the idea of heating water in the microwave? Is it related to power consumption, or is there some other reason?
Why would you? Have some class!
And if you need such a small amount of warm water to cook. Then take warm water from your tap.
For everything else? Use a kettle!
Oh, now I see! You don't understand that a microwave can boil water, you think it can only warm it up a little. Thank you for clearing up my confusion.
Have some class!
Whenever I hear Europeans accuse Americans of being arrogant, I can only laugh. Feeling superior about something like how you boil water is hilarious.
But I'm curious, why are Europeans so horrified by the idea of heating water in the microwave?
Not op. But I'm really curious about the whole "microwave water" thing.
For me it's just a completely foreign idea. Maybe because electric kettles are so ubiquitous over here. Like everyone has one, including office kitchens and hotel rooms.
I'm also curious over the practicality. Doesn't it spill over? What kind of container do you use to hold the water? For example if you want one cup of tea, do you just put a cup of water into the microwave? Depending on the container, do you watch it the whole time?
I understand why one may use the microwave to heat water, I also understand it works, but the idea of actually doing it is... mystifying.
Most people would just put water in the mug (ceramic/microwave-safe of course) that they're going to make the tea in and microwave it until it boils or bubbles just short of a rolling boil, which takes 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the microwave's power--you'd learn the time yours takes and set the timer for that. At that point I don't see the difference between that vs. if you poured it into the cup from the kettle. Either way you now have a cup full of boiling-hot water to steep your tea in. No, it won't spill over if you don't fill it all the way up to the brim.
Electric kettles are a waste of space for many people. Limited use, fills up the counter. So then either you use the store or the microwave. We both know which one is faster.
Electric kettle is used more frequently than the coffee maker, and takes up less space. It's faster too. I think it's 2kw, while microwave is 800w. There are more powerful kettles too, up to 3kw i think.
I honestly don't know which is faster since I've never used a microwave to boil water. An electric kettle is essential for me. It also boils water that can then be used for cooking so for me it's versatile enough to justify the space. Toasters imo have much more limited use and those seem to be common in US households too.
I am an American. I got a stovetop kettle to boil water for my tea. My fiancée hates it and refuses to use it. My friends think it is weird that I don’t just use the microwave like a normal person.
You are the only normal person there
In the US I bought an electric kettle because I got tired of using the stove. I don’t understand people who use the microwave it just feels wrong.
I live in the US and I heat my tea water in an electric kettle. It probably isn't as fast as yours, but it is still close to microwave speed. And I can heat up enough for several cups of tea and have it keep the rest hot. I usually drink more than one at a sitting.
Unless I'm misunderstanding your statement, you're saying it's faster to boil water in the microwave than the kettle? How's that possible? I would think the microwave has more wasted energy
Microwave is blasting radiation at 100% efficiency as soon as you turn it on. Kettles heating elements need to heat up before they can heat the water.
I wonder what the efficiency of absorption is, though. Does 100% of emitted radiation get soaked up by the cup, or does some escape into the surroundings?
It doesn't get absorbed so much as excite the water particles as it passes through. I'd imagine it would be more effective in the beginning when they're standing relatively still.
My microwave can boil a single cup of water faster than my kettle. My kettle can boil four cups of water a lot faster than my microwave. It all depends on the microwave and kettle (and the voltage available).
Huh. I guess the kettle has some thermal mass to it making it less efficient for small amounts
Dafuq is tea? - Murican
Never we have a Quooker. (Instant boiling water out of the kitchen faucet)
In America this is the default method for small amounts of hot water.
Not a thing in Brazil
Tangential, but I just learned of a Quooker yesterday. Guy ran boiling water straight from the tap instantly at a house I was viewing. Blew my mind.
American electric kettles are also quite a bit slower to boil because our mains voltage is so low. https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c
My boomer mom will put a tea bag in a mug of water then nuke that until it bubbles to make tea. (Yes, even when the tea bag has a staple).
But, if she is heating up a can of soup, she will dump that into a sauce pan and heat that up on the gas range, on the burner right next to the nice kettle I got her years ago.
Does the staple cause any issues?
Technically, any metal is a no no, but her microwave has never exploded.
I have heated up a foil lined tetra carton of soup that caused some sparks, but I stopped it immediately and learned my lesson.
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