iron tea kettle question

[zoomzilla]

Hi all, I've been using a tetsubin iron tea pot for about two years or more now and I had no idea I was not supposed be be boiling my tea water in it. None of the instructions told me anything about that, I guess you're just supposed to know. Anyway, did I unknowingly poison myself from drinking the enamel residue(I seem to be fine), and secondly, does anyone know where I can get iron tea kettles safe for the stove top. I've looked at quite a few online places but all I can find are enamel coated ones. Thanks for any help.

[AdamMY]

I don't think you would have poisoned yourself, but why you shouldn't use them on stove top is the enamel when placed on direct heat is highly likely to crack, then water would seep through the crack and slowly rust the kettle away from the inside.

[Chip]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

There are a lot of topics on tetsubins here in Teaware and Accessories. I might suggest looking through a few pages of topics.

Regarding the enamel question, I can not even venture a guess, but might recommend completely retiring this piece for now.

[Proinsias]

I've heard, Nada I think, say that one should avoid putting a tetsubin on the stove. An electric hotplate or a charcoal stove should be used.

They are generally not very cheap, here's Nada's selection to give you a rough idea.

[zoomzilla]

Thanks for all the advice. For now I'll use a cheap stainless steel whistler, but I want to look for an unlined iron one for the future. I was able to find some cheap unlined iron teapots designed for using as a humidifier. they say they're not to be used for human consumption, but why? if it's unlined regular iron I dont see the problem with that. I use an iron skillet so I cant see how that would be any different.

[JBaymore]

I was able to find some cheap unlined iron teapots designed for using as a humidifier. they say they're not to be used for human consumption, but why? if it's unlined regular iron I dont see the problem with that.

It MAY not be a normal "iron" pot. There may be some alloying that brings some metals or additives into play that are not suitable for potable water. Stuff that is used to improve the casting process... but is not designed for cooking use.

best,

...............john

[Jack_teachat]

Some good posts on Tetsubin kettles on the Half-Dipper...

http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2009/06 ... ction.html

http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2009/07 ... subin.html

Jack