Aga Oven Cooking



N

Nick

Guest
With a Aga cooker can you cook ready prepared meals and for example oven chips?

If so does it extend the cooking time? Or is the oven hot enough (in the top
half) to cook as per a conventional oven?

I'm thinking of buying an Aga but we are a typical household, with school age
children and our style of cooking is usually well planned at the weekends, but
somewhat ad-hoc during the week, and were trying to assess how much of a change
the Aga will bring with it.

Comments and thoughts welcome.

thanks
 
In rec.food.cooking, Nick <[email protected]> wrote:
> With a Aga cooker can you cook ready prepared meals and
> for example oven chips?

Is an Aga one of those European ovens which stays on all the
time? If so, whay do you want one?

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who
 
[email protected] wrote:

> In rec.food.cooking, Nick <[email protected]> wrote:
> > With a Aga cooker can you cook ready prepared meals and
> > for example oven chips?
>
> Is an Aga one of those European ovens which stays on all
> the time? If so, whay do you want one?

Stays on all them time? Are there really ovens that work
that way? They must have very good insulation.
 
Mark Thorson <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

> [email protected] wrote:
>
>> In rec.food.cooking, Nick <[email protected]> wrote:
>> > With a Aga cooker can you cook ready prepared meals and
>> > for example oven chips?
>>
>> Is an Aga one of those European ovens which stays on all
>> the time? If so, whay do you want one?
>
> Stays on all them time? Are there really ovens that work
> that way? They must have very good insulation.

Yep, the whole range remains on all the time. The hotplates
on the cooktop have insulated hinged covers to be used when
not cooking. Depending on the model, several ovens are set
at different temperatures. The various hotplates are also
set at different temperatures. The temps are not easily
adjustable.

They can be ordered to use various fuels; e.g., gas,
oil, wood, coal, etc. Even in a cold climate, some folks
turn them off for the summer and use alternate equipment
for cooking.

Wayne
 
with an aga you can cook anything that you can cook in a
"conventional" type oven. the more modern ones have
thermostats showing what the temperatures are, unlike the
one that my mom used to cook/bake with.
 
Nick wrote:
>
> With a Aga cooker can you cook ready prepared meals and
> for example oven chips?
>
> If so does it extend the cooking time? Or is the oven
> hot enough (in the top half) to cook as per a
> conventional oven?
>
> I'm thinking of buying an Aga but we are a typical
> household, with school age children and our style of
> cooking is usually well planned at the weekends, but
> somewhat ad-hoc during the week, and were trying to assess
> how much of a change the Aga will bring with it.
>
> Comments and thoughts welcome.
>
> thanks

Won't be any problem. Millions of people cook what you are
planning on cooking on Agas with no difficulty. It will take
some getting used to of course.
 
In rec.food.cooking, Wayne Boatwright <[email protected]> wrote:

> Even in a cold climate, some folks turn them off for the
> summer and use alternate equipment for cooking.

I was at an open house once where one was installed. The
kitchen was sweltering. The sellers had installed
supplemental air conditioning, and the kitchen was still way
hot. In the winter.

I don't understand the appeal.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who
 
On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 04:31:04 +0000 (UTC), [email protected]
wrote:

>In rec.food.cooking, Wayne Boatwright
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Even in a cold climate, some folks turn them off for the
>> summer and use alternate equipment for cooking.
>
>I was at an open house once where one was installed. The
>kitchen was sweltering. The sellers had installed
>supplemental air conditioning, and the kitchen was still
>way hot. In the winter.

Yes, but the Aga is very efficient and costs only a dollar a
day to run!

>I don't understand the appeal.

I checked out the Aga on the web and frankly, if I had a
castle with a kitchen somewhere remote and a kitchen staff
to do the cooking in the summer, it would be very
attractive indeed. Not only for the convenience of being
able to cater a feast with roast hunks of meat and a nice
casserole at a moment's notice without having to pre-heat
the oven, but also in the winter to be able to dry one's
mittens after the hunt.

OTOH, if one has a McMansion, one has plenty of room for the
"Aga companion" too, which is a conventional range/oven set
to use when the Aga is shut off in the warm weather.

However, the main disadvantage would be not having a window
on the oven door ;>

I have to say they are beautiful units.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
 
[email protected] wrote:
>
> In rec.food.cooking, Wayne Boatwright
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > Even in a cold climate, some folks turn them off for the
> > summer and use alternate equipment for cooking.
>
> I was at an open house once where one was installed. The
> kitchen was sweltering. The sellers had installed
> supplemental air conditioning, and the kitchen was still
> way hot. In the winter.
>
> I don't understand the appeal.
>
> --

People often do have Agas in kitchens that are too small.
Also if the room was that hot, the Aga probably wasn't set
properly and was wasting fuel. I've used them in farm
kitchens and country house kitchens and there was no
overheating. They are well insulated.

I suppose the attraction is that they are made to use a
variety of fuels, cook well and are reliable.
 
[email protected] wrote:
>
> In rec.food.cooking, Nick <[email protected]> wrote:
> > With a Aga cooker can you cook ready prepared meals and
> > for example oven chips?
>
> Is an Aga one of those European ovens which stays on all
> the time? If so, whay do you want one?

In my damp climate, where mold in the kitchen is too darn
common, I'd love to have one. Our local place lets you try
cooking in it. The "hot" oven should do oven chips just
fine, it being the temp listed in the JOC's recipe for oven
fries. Ask your retailer to let you try it out. blacksalt
 
On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 04:31:04 +0000 (UTC), [email protected]
wrote:

>In rec.food.cooking, Wayne Boatwright
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Even in a cold climate, some folks turn them off for the
>> summer and use alternate equipment for cooking.
>
>I was at an open house once where one was installed. The
>kitchen was sweltering. The sellers had installed
>supplemental air conditioning, and the kitchen was still
>way hot. In the winter.
>
>I don't understand the appeal.

I had one eons ago in a farmhouse kitchen when I lived on
the wilds of Dartmoor. It was a little different to get
used to cooking with it, but once done, hard to be a bad
cook with an Aga. Roasts in particular tasted very extra
special. A shelf over the Aga was the ideal place for
rising yeast products.

I would have one again in a flash, only price dictates
I may not.

Sheena
 
In rec.food.cooking, Lucretia Borgia <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 04:31:04 +0000 (UTC),
> [email protected] wrote:
> >I don't understand the appeal.

> I had one eons ago in a farmhouse kitchen when I lived on
> the wilds of Dartmoor. It was a little different to get
> used to cooking with it, but once done, hard to be a bad
> cook with an Aga. Roasts in particular tasted very extra
> special. A shelf over the Aga was the ideal place for
> rising yeast products.

> I would have one again in a flash, only price dictates I
> may not.

I now understand. This newsgroup has lots of valuable
information.

The place where I saw the Aga was a kind of workingman's
victorian, with a hasty, unfinished, poorly planned yuppie
renovation. The kitchen was too small and too well insulated
for the beast. The Aga may well have been misadjusted, given
the poor planning and execution of the balance of the
renovation.

But I now know that in a big farmhouse (or mansion)
kitchen, with unheated servant's quarters upstairs, an Aga
would be great.

Thanks all who explained the proper place for an Aga. I
now think that they are kind of cool, instead of being
kind of foolish.

--
...I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who
 
[email protected] wrote:
>
> In rec.food.cooking, Lucretia Borgia
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> > On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 04:31:04 +0000 (UTC),
> > [email protected] wrote:
> > >I don't understand the appeal.
>
> > I had one eons ago in a farmhouse kitchen when I lived
> > on the wilds of Dartmoor. It was a little different to
> > get used to cooking with it, but once done, hard to be a
> > bad cook with an Aga. Roasts in particular tasted very
> > extra special. A shelf over the Aga was the ideal place
> > for rising yeast products.
>
> > I would have one again in a flash, only price dictates I
> > may not.
>
> I now understand. This newsgroup has lots of valuable
> information.
>
> The place where I saw the Aga was a kind of workingman's
> victorian, with a hasty, unfinished, poorly planned yuppie
> renovation. The kitchen was too small and too well
> insulated for the beast. The Aga may well have been
> misadjusted, given the poor planning and execution of the
> balance of the renovation.

Unlikely the kitchen was well insulated. In a cheap
renovation, kitchen insulation normally isn't very important
and often just doesn't exist.
>
> But I now know that in a big farmhouse (or mansion)
> kitchen, with unheated servant's quarters upstairs, an Aga
> would be great.

LOL the unheated servant's quarters wouldn't be right above
the kitchen, in any case. Servants are normally either in
the basement or in the attics.
>
> Thanks all who explained the proper place for an Aga. I
> now think that they are kind of cool, instead of being
> kind of foolish.
>

> - The Who
 
Arri London <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

> [email protected] wrote:
>>
>> In rec.food.cooking, Lucretia Borgia
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>> > On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 04:31:04 +0000 (UTC),
>> > [email protected] wrote:
>> > >I don't understand the appeal.
>>
>> > I had one eons ago in a farmhouse kitchen when I lived
>> > on the wilds of Dartmoor. It was a little different to
>> > get used to cooking with it, but once done, hard to be
>> > a bad cook with an Aga. Roasts in particular tasted
>> > very extra special. A shelf over the Aga was the ideal
>> > place for rising yeast products.
>>
>> > I would have one again in a flash, only price dictates
>> > I may not.
>>
>> I now understand. This newsgroup has lots of valuable
>> information.
>>
>> The place where I saw the Aga was a kind of workingman's
>> victorian, with a hasty, unfinished, poorly planned
>> yuppie renovation. The kitchen was too small and too well
>> insulated for the beast. The Aga may well have been
>> misadjusted, given the poor planning and execution of the
>> balance of the renovation.
>
> Unlikely the kitchen was well insulated. In a cheap
> renovation, kitchen insulation normally isn't very
> important and often just doesn't exist.
>>
>> But I now know that in a big farmhouse (or mansion)
>> kitchen, with unheated servant's quarters upstairs, an
>> Aga would be great.
>
> LOL the unheated servant's quarters wouldn't be right
> above the kitchen, in any case. Servants are normally
> either in the basement or in the attics.
>>
>> Thanks all who explained the proper place for an Aga. I
>> now think that they are kind of cool, instead of being
>> kind of foolish.
>>
>
>> - The Who
>

Aga's have won many design awards over the years at one time
a tech would come to site from the british factory to
install it. Even the one in Antartica (sp??)

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on
nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.
 
On Mon, 08 Mar 2004 02:22:44 GMT, hahabogus <[email protected]> wrote:

>Arri London <[email protected]> wrote in
>news:[email protected]:
>
>> [email protected] wrote:
>>>
>>> In rec.food.cooking, Lucretia Borgia
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> > On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 04:31:04 +0000 (UTC),
>>> > [email protected] wrote:
>>> > >I don't understand the appeal.
>>>
>>> > I had one eons ago in a farmhouse kitchen when I lived
>>> > on the wilds of Dartmoor. It was a little different to
>>> > get used to cooking with it, but once done, hard to be
>>> > a bad cook with an Aga. Roasts in particular tasted
>>> > very extra special. A shelf over the Aga was the ideal
>>> > place for rising yeast products.
>>>
>>> > I would have one again in a flash, only price dictates
>>> > I may not.
>>>
>>> I now understand. This newsgroup has lots of valuable
>>> information.
>>>
>>> The place where I saw the Aga was a kind of workingman's
>>> victorian, with a hasty, unfinished, poorly planned
>>> yuppie renovation. The kitchen was too small and too
>>> well insulated for the beast. The Aga may well have been
>>> misadjusted, given the poor planning and execution of
>>> the balance of the renovation.
>>
>> Unlikely the kitchen was well insulated. In a cheap
>> renovation, kitchen insulation normally isn't very
>> important and often just doesn't exist.
>>>
>>> But I now know that in a big farmhouse (or mansion)
>>> kitchen, with unheated servant's quarters upstairs, an
>>> Aga would be great.
>>
>> LOL the unheated servant's quarters wouldn't be right
>> above the kitchen, in any case. Servants are normally
>> either in the basement or in the attics.
>>>
>>> Thanks all who explained the proper place for an Aga. I
>>> now think that they are kind of cool, instead of being
>>> kind of foolish.
>>>
>>
>>> - The Who
>>
>
>Aga's have won many design awards over the years at one
>time a tech would come to site from the british factory to
>install it. Even the one in Antartica (sp??)

I also forgot to add that I did not have a dryer in those
days, didn't have a washing machine either for that matter,
but did have three little kids and all those diapers. In the
foggy Dartmoor climate, the racks that one could lower from
the ceiling and hang the washing on were divine life savers.

Sheena
 
hahabogus wrote:

>
> Aga's have won many design awards over the years at one
> time a tech would come to site from the british factory to
> install it. Even the one in Antartica (sp??)

My mother recalls when as a child, Rolls Royce used to send
someone out like that also. Maybe they still do? Goomba