Post by SachaPost by Phil C.Post by RustyHingePost by JanetWhat she does discuss, is the Aga-cooking method of juggling a dish
between the hot oven and the cool one, which has absolutely nothing to
do with ovens or hot plates losing heat.
I grew up using an AGA, or having one used about me. ("Mummy, Mummy,
what's for dinner?" - "Shut upand get back in the oven!") and yes,
cooking on the hotter plate reduces the oven temperature significantly -
indeed the book tells you how to reduce the temperature of the oven this
way for cooking sponges and similar.
Lovely pieces of kit, but the ovens are ridiculously small. My mother
bought a Moffat electric cooker *especially* for the Christmas turkey
and the ham.
I'm not sure what's lovely about them, unless there's no option. Even
then, aren't there better ranges? I "inherited" one (oil) c1974 and
couldn't wait to get rid of it, once we'd put in central heating. The
argument always seems to me to shift once any particular disadvantage
is pointed out <shrug>
Friends of ours have one on which the central boiling plate is an 'S'
curve and as far as I can recall, it's never covered. I can't remember
its name but if it comes to me, I'll post it. Theirs is oil fired. I
don't know one person with an Aga - and I've had two - who has not
found that the ovens (especially the main, roasting oven) lose heat
when the hot plates are used. Unfortunately, it's one of the things
Aga users have to get used to and for about three years, an Aga was the
only cooker I had and it drove me mad. Having Christmas lunch at 4,
when it was planned for 1 the first year was down to just that plus
horrible high winds. A couple of years later, I sold it and when I
said to an estate agent friend that I was the only woman I knew glad to
get shot of an Aga, she said "oh no you're not", but wouldn't expand
further!
I've come to the conclusion that an Aga or similar constant heat range,
satisfies some atavistic instinct in humans for perpetual fire to keep
away predators, warm the inhabitants and cook their food at any time!
I can remember the very short period in which I had the tiniest amount
to do with Guiding and 'keeping the fire in' was paramount! I suspect
a range satisfies a whole - ahem, range - of needs! I'm the first to
admit that in cold weather, I'm glad of that central core of warmth in
the house but it's a jolly expensive way to warm a kitchen, dry a few
clothes and roast a few bits of meat.
Agas and their cousins have their devotees who undoubtedly far outweigh
their detractors but I honestly don't know why, except for my atavistic
explanation. They cost a small fortune, well into several thousands;
they have to be on day and night, summer and winter, unless you have
alternative means of cooking and the results can be very dubious in
terms of reliability.
We like the kitchen to be warm; it's big and cold and "cavernous" when the
range is off. Yes, we could leave a radiator on all day, I guess. It might
be worth it financially although it would obviously be a while before we
recouped conversion costs. For me, while we can afford it, the "lifestyle"
advantages are worth having. It's like other aspects of a home - you pay
for what makes you happy if you can beit carpet type or, as here recently,
kitchen top if it means enough to you.
Cooking?
WOKs are a method which is not as good as on gas or radiant elect;
and the top of the hot oven is not as good a grill as the best gasfired
ones; our NOBEL had a grill element in the bottom oven but we never used it
and had it removed as a waste of space. Don't grill much.
Ovens are fine - don't seem to have problems when using the rings but maybe
it's me not being observant; cooking times don't seem to be extended
uinless there's an east wind. Temperature is definitely sensitive to wind
strength and direction (easterly lowers the temp) and chimney performance
is an unknown the architect warned us about situated as we are on the side
of a hill. In fact, the range once went out in a strong easterly before we
had the flue regulator put in. A further point on oven is that we have a
metal plate to put above the cake tins when cooking cakes; without it the
top browns too fast. I'd assumed that that was normal for AGAs but
apparently not.
I had trouble finding an alternative to the cast iron bakestone previously
used on gas; didn't want the rough underside to scratch the enamel on top
of the range and the naked hotplate was too hot. Now use a cast iron frying
pan which is very big.
Yes. They are expensive - thousands as you say. Our NOBEL was admittedly a
cheaper alternative but it's generally worked out well.
The boiler leak was a blessing in disguise; the hot water had been <too
hot> before and when they relaced the defunct boiler with an AGA one the
hot water temp became cooler.
Cheers
Jane
--
Jane Gillett : ***@higherstert.co.uk : Totnes, Devon.