Aga essentials

[MarmiteCoriander]

We are shortly moving into a house with a gas aga. What are your essential pots/pans/accessories you recommend? Aga brand or another brand that also fit the long oven? I have a toaster thing, but thats all. I'm a competent cook, but never used one so any tips on using it/cooking would be appreciated.

No Aga branded stuff is essential, nice to have stackable pans but the prices are eye watering.

I use my Stellar saucepans. Obviously they don't stack but I rarely use more that two in the oven. I can fit three in if I need to.

For grilling I use our old grill pan from my old Neff oven. It doesn't sit on the runners. I put the shelf on the 2nd runners and slide my grill pan onto it, works fine.

Should get a gauntlet if only for reaching into the back of the oven but mostly I like using tea towels so i just take a bit extra care reaching in.

I use two sheets of round bacoglide for toast/toasties, frying eggs, pancakes and welsh cakes. Did buy a new pallet knife 😂

Tesco used to sell baking trays that fitted the runners but I think they've discontinued them. I use my pyrex baking trays.

I have a Le Crueset kettle much cheaper than the Aga ones which were £180 when I was looking to buy.

If you bake you'll need a cold plain shelf.

The only real essential is a timer, there are no cooking smells with an Aga unless the door is opened. Its easy to out something in and forget about it. One good use for Alexa is she does multiple timers that can be named.

Mary Barry has a series of Aga cookbooks and most her recipes have Aga instructions as well. I found them quite useful to get the timings and strategies down. For example, for mashed potatoes she recommends starting them on the boiling plate for ten minutes, draining the water, adding a lid and then sliding it onto the floor of the simmering oven for 45 minutes. I haven’t followed many of her recipes verbatim but I do check with the books for timings and methods.

www.Blakeandbull.com also do Aga cookware, gauntlets, cleaning equipment etc. I do recommend the gauntlets! I am a clumsy cook and would have burned myself repeatedly without them!

They also do drying racks and bars, very useful to avoid running the tumble dryer and you’re already paying to run the Aga anyway.

Oh and if you have a hound you’ll definitely need a dog bed placed in front of the aga! Your pup will thank you.

Oh and Mary Berry has a recipe for cooking your Christmas turkey overnight in the simmering oven! I haven’t tried it yet but love the idea of getting started the night before and freeing up space in the roasting oven!

Thanks everyone. Off to check ebay and the other websites for bits and pieces.

Oh I don’t know if you’ll check this thread again, but one more essential that even Mary Berry won’t tell you about - three or four 2p coins! If you’re ever trying to simmer something on the simmering plate but it’s too hot and you don’t have enough time to use the simmering oven, put the coins directly on the simmering plate and the pan on top of the coins. It will diffuse the heat just enough to keep your food at a simmer and not a soft boil.

If you are putting pans inside the Aga oven then they need to have metal handles and you can get a handle heat protector for taking them out but never take them off the pan after you take it out of the oven as you will forget it is red hot and you will pick up the pan by the handle - cue v burnt hand and dropped food - if you always stick to this rule this can never happen

www.hartsofstur.com/le-creuset-handle-glove-4913.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1KC62pLj-wIVDLDtCh2m8QX_EAQYByABEgLyVfD_BwE

A pizza paddle is brilliant to get pizza from back of the Aga oven -
Then put the pizza directly on the simmering plate for 2 minutes to get extra crispy base!

Some great additional tips- thank you.

@littlefishexpat - never heard of the 2p coin trick.
@ruthieness -off to buy handle protectors and a pizza paddle. Never thought to crisp that bottom of the pizza up on the simmering pad. I know now.