Can someone recommend a kettle to use on a gas hob which is easy to fill and pour? Ours is metal and so gets hot so we have to hold it with a cloth which means it can easily slip out of your hand - not good with boiling water
It is called Whipping. I think the one I used to use (many moons ago) was West Country Whipping - a kind of lashing.
Our gas kettle belonged to Mr F's grandparents - as in out for the day take a kettle and a gaz stove. It (of course!!) has a whistle. The cheepy electric kettle does not.
From the OP:
Our current kettle is like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Highlander-Whistling-Aluminium-Lightweight-Available/dp/B........
We find it difficult to fill it through the 'whistle' cos the flap does not open far enough and the handle, although not metal, gets very hot. Not being a closed handle it can slip out of your hand easily if holding it with a tea cloth.
I like the whipping idea but dont think it would work with this handle
How about buying a silicon pan handle grip? Cut off the closed end & cut it along its length & snap it around the grip. They're non slip and somewhere like Watt Brothers or B&M would have one for a pound or two.
Doesn't solve the filling problem though.
If the one you've got is awkward to use anyway(we had one similar, and I agree, a real pain to fill up), there seems little point it messing about with the handle.
You now know what you are "looking for" in a kettle- easy to fill, heat resistant handle-, so I'd say just spend 10-15 quid on a new kettle...
You've just made me think twice about a whistling kettle. I was about to buy one as my existing overmont 0.8L kettle doesn't make a sound and so I have to pay attention to avoid excess steam, especially if boiling it in the canopy late a night / early morning.
As I'm usually up with the kids at 6am, I may just give my fellow campers a break and stick with my existing kettle.
The small size means it's really easy to judge how much water to add so I only boil what I need for a brew or two. I can boil enough water for two brews in around 1.5 minutes.
Bear in mind this is a small kettle, 0.8L really only good for a couple of decent mugs, three at a push if they are not too big. Ideal for me and the OH are the only tea drinkers and we use a pan with a lid if we need to boil more water. It actually fits nicely in the pan I take though I have used the kettle to boil a few eggs as it minimised the amount of water I need to heat.
The silicone handle is OK through does get very hot if you leave it vertical. If you lean it to 45 degrees while boiling it stays a lot cooler for easy handling.
Thats what I bought recently. My old was was aluminium and I was partly concerned about aluminium cookware but more concerned about the fact my old one gets very hot, the handle is not well insulated and you have to watch it like a hawk because once it hits boiling it will evaporate all the water away pretty quick and molten aluminium on your cooker is not a generally considered a good thing :)
The whistle on the Vango isn't screaming (which is a shame) but its loud enough to alert me that the kettle needs looking at. Its stainless steel but very thin so heats up very fast, handle is insulated and the lid comes off for fast filling.
I go mine from Argos as they were cheapest with stock.
------------- Its not what you don't know that gets you into trouble - its what you think you know which just ain't so.
In the past I’ve found some aluminium kettles affect the taste of the water. They occasionally sell this Le Creuset Demi Kettle at a reasonable price in TK Maxx
It’s enamel inside and out which leaves the water tasting of water. And unlike the bigger Le Creuset kettle, the handle folds down for easier packing.