Topic: AGA SAGA

[tim]

Changing temperature?

No - you just plan ahead & use heat shields etc. No - you can't suddenly blast the thing in the last half hour, but for only 2 1/2 years out of 60 we have had 'ranges' & I wouldn't hesitate to ask you in!!

And Daughter-next-door is one of the most dedicated & successful bakers, doing things that I would never have dreamed of. And with 3 boys!!

[flossy]

 

  Ooooh tis a whole new world tim that i would love to be in!

  Thanks for your post and for asking me in x

   The nearest I have got is 'redding  the hearth '  [ Cardinal tile polish] and blacking the grate
    on a Sat morning - cleaning the brass and still no Aga in site !

    Suppose making toast on a fork with a coal fire doeasn't count ?

     floss x

[calendula]

Green? No! But will Daughter-next-door's do??

Cons? Must say that, even in a 15'x19' kitchen, with windows on 2 sides, we do turn it right down for our 4 days of Summer.

great colour Tim - colonel mustard, in the kitchen with the Aga  ;D I think the only colours I wouldn't care for would be brown or pink - sky blue is quite nice though

grawrc, it is a myth about the credit crunch but this would be retail therapy big time  ;D

you can cook anything in an Aga  :)

[tim]

Nothing like toast on a coal fire. Oh, those school days!!

[tim]

Final thought - anything's better than what we had when we came 50 years ago!!

[betula]

Brilliant before and after pics Tim. :)

[artichoke]

I'm almost feeling homesick now. I left my husband and our oil-fired dark blue Aga in 1986. I have to admit it was rather hot in the kitchen in the summers we had then, and I installed a second hand electric stove for hot days and other crises.

Parents had solid fuel cream Agas throughout my childhood in various houses, and cooked everything on them. Sad when my mother died and my father moved into a smaller house with a gas stove. He never got the hang of it. He would put a casserole in the oven, come back 2 hours later, and it would be sitting there still stone cold.

I was seriously looking into cramming an Aga into the corner of his tiny sittingroom, when he suddenly died.

Husband no 2 doesn't believe in Agas, says it would be silly to have two boilers in one house (I suppose he is right......), so the closest I could get is a gas range in dark green with 2 ovens and 8 gas rings. I've managed to get quite fond of it after 10 years.

Like many people's Agas, ours revived chilled lambs and newborn pigs and baby pheasants, and was a magnet for cats and dogs.

[tim]

You don't have to have a water heating AGA??

[star]

I had one of those cream solid fuel Agas, Artichoke. It was a nightmare to learn how to use initially, but when I got the hang of it....it was superb.

If I had the chance of another Aga it would have to be another solid fuel one..........ah memories.

[Jeannine]

I am so jealous.. so very jealous, not having an Aga is terrible.. we had one when we lived in the UK before and it certainly  was the heart of the house..  I am so envious.XX Jeannine

[Mrs Ava]

Work for a fab lady in a huge country home with an even huger garden, and when I arrive she has the kettle on the top and the chair infront and I sit and sip, warming my toes on the Aga.  And it was cold today, so when I went in for a coffee at lunch time, she opened the top oven so I could warm my hands.  Bliss.

[calendula]

Final thought - anything's better than what we had when we came 50 years ago!!

snap Tim  ;D

URL=http://img247.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rebuild11ny7.jpg][/URL]

we live in 2 houses that have been joined so the upstairs (shown here about 5 years ago) is the exact same space as downstairs where the Aga was built into - oooh the mess

[Shirley]

spent a week, last year, at a cottage in north west Scotland, only accessible by boat or a 2 mile walk in.  No gas, no electricity.  The lady owner made absolutely wonderful meals and there was always freshly made bread, cakes and biscuits - all on an AGA. 

[tim]

Don't forget Rayburns, though. We've had 3 over the years before this house.

Excellent for hot water. We burnt Peat on the one we had in Northern Ireland. Used to add a couple of blocks to wake it up for the Breakfast fry-up. Lovely smell!

[flossy]

   Agh, now -  Tim,

   Going to show my ignorance and ask you what is the differance between an Aga and a
    Rayburn,  suppose the hint is in the name but sounds too futuristic to be in a past era. ?!!   :-[

   

[tim]

Knew someone would ask that!!

And then there's the Esse.

And clones!!

Pass!!

[OllieC]

We had a Rayburn Royal for a few years... it was perfect for the north of Scotland. The difference? I think in general the Rayburn is a cheaper alternative, in a place where either would be very practical... I saw more of them than Agas where we lived. Perfectly good but not so stylish? I'd have a Rayburn, for purely sentimental reasons!

[flossy]

  

   And it would be me wouldn't it !!     :-\

   Not heard of the Esse --  sounds French ?

   Wont ask about the  ' clones '

    Going for my dins and give your head a rest x
 

    

[calendula]

Tim - what was the cut of lamb you used for the 7 hour in the bottom oven - would love to do this if you have time to send the details  :)

amazing how quick google is - the ads at the bottom of this thread are all about ranges and stoves and agas - don't tell betula ;D

[tim]

So sorry for the delay - it was a Nigella recipe but it's no longer there. However, here's an idea:

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/recipe.asp?article=2762

There's also 3 1/2 hour Leg of Lamb with Garlic, Lemon & Beans.

Both a bit longer at bottom oven temp of 110C.

Then there's;
6 hour Shin of Beef
4 hour Shoulder of Lamb
(but both at 170C)