⭐️All Things Aga Related⭐️

[TheRealHousewife]

… From recipes, techniques, tips & tricks.

I have searched MumsNet and there isn’t really an ongoing positive/appreciative thread sharing the joys and tribulations of having an Aga.

My first experience of an Aga was accidental when the holiday accommodation we booked a few years ago had an Aga. As we’d taken our own food I had to crack on. I used it for warming up pre-cooked food in one of the ovens and I did a few things on the simmering & boiling plates including the famed Aga toast. We all loved the soft warmth it brought to the kitchen and to be honest for as big as they are we thought it look homely and inviting. We were hooked! From what I could gather it heated the water in the cottage too.

They have many uses and I’m interested in what other people appreciate their Aga for, their favourite recipes and any hints and tips you can share.

PS - Im not trying to be insensitive in the current energy pricing crisis and I understand that not everyone will see the merit of this thread ❤️

PPS - Photo isn’t my Aga x

Congratulations a AgaNewbie!

Mine's a 1980s oil fired two oven model in dark blue. Not in the best condition as previous owners scratched the top and it could use some reconditioning.
It costs a fortune to run, maybe £40 pw depending on oil price when I order, and so we only have it on from October to the end of Feb (subject to weather) but I put away the electric kettle, toaster etc when it is on.
It makes everything brilliantly in the ovens except for anything you want to be crispy (eg chips) so we use a small air fryer for that.
I love how warm the kitchen is and how whenever we have a houseful of teenagers they gravitate to it, along with our resident animals.

I am considering what to do if we redesign the kitchen (badly needed- also 1980s). Options range from leaving as it is, reenamelling (I would love it to be butter yellow!), making it electric, replacing perhaps with an everhot if they are more economical/ environmentally friendly. Not at all sure which way to go yet. But two of my siblings have asked if they can have it if we replace!

May I join too?

@Honu we have an Everhot too, it is the most expensive thing I've ever bought because I read about them on Mumsnet but I love it to bits, especially at this time of year, we do have to switch the hotplate off in summer because the kitchen overheats with it on but it has induction rings.

Ours is an electric so I’ll let you know how we get on.

My MIL thinks I’m insane as we had a lovely Rangemaster which we sold to part fund the Aga

It’s about the slow life for me mainly and the dream of a warm cosy kitchen for the family to gather in. Plus we live in an old 16thC cottage so it just feels right

Hi @AgaNewbie I feel your joy! I never thought I’d ever own such a beautiful beast … but here I am. I do feel blessed! Enjoy yourself when it arrives 👍 Your cottage sounds lovely 🥰

@Okayornot Sounds lovely if not a little thirsty. I too use an air fryer if needed as our Aga isn’t meant to be on 24/7 so sometimes I don’t switch it on.

Hi @ExquisiteDecorations , the more the merrier 😬. We have a 3 ring induction on our Aga. Very useful. To be honest I got used to the ovens straight away but the hot plate is another matter. It’s very good at boiling a kettle but when I tried crumpets the outside was getting over done and the inside I felt not done enough. I will try again at some point. I am going to have a go at doing fish on the simmering plate one of these days and see if that fairs any better.

Shared a photo of a gluten free chocolate and black cherry cake I recently made.

That cake!!! 👀👀👀

Do you use a cake baker or just go for it?

that’s my biggest worry - that I won’t be able to make chocolate cake anymore 🤣

I grew up in houses with AGAs as the sole means of cooking. The first one was coal fired, which makes me sound like I must be 100, but I'm actually in my mid 50s. Second one was a reconditioned oil stove and was a bit shit and then it was a new oil AGA in the mid 1980s with 2 rings and 2 ovens, which is the one that is still there. I will cook Christmas dinner for 15 on it and it alone again this Christmas, as it is the only means of cooking (other than a microwave) in my parents' house.

I can do pretty much all food in or on an AGA, so if you have any questions - ask away!

It also heats the hot water and the otherwise baltic end of the house that it is in.

@AgaNewbie Just went for it in the ‘baking’ oven 😅

Hi @MargoLivebetter I have crowned you the threads Aga Queen 👑 … cue curtsy. How lovely, your childhood sounds idyllic having a permanent bum warmer in the kitchen 🔥 I’m so impressed about you cooking for 15 on the big day 😮 PS you could name change to ‘AgaQueen’ 😉

Trigger warning, sad story:- I’m in a Facebook group where a lady posted today about hanging notice board type decoration falling of its hook above the Aga and killing her small dog underneath. Such a tragic unexpected thing to happen😢😢😢

We moved into our house with an Aga ten years ago: 4 oven gas, dark blue, battered and bruised, but wonderful. I'm a pretty good cook, and I love it - we switch it off over the summer and have an electric oven and hob in our utility room. Our cats love it too.

lol, thank you @TheRealHousewife! A coal fired AGA definitely wasn't idyllic! It was a sooty beast and certainly made for interesting cooking.

@mazylou lovely pussy cat 🐈. Does the kitty ever jump near the hot plate? 😦

Was everything a little bit sooty @MargoLivebetter?

May I join too please 😊
4yrs ago, DH and I bought a property which had been left derelict and empty for over 7yrs. There was an aga inside and after finding an aga specialist/gas person who said it was actually fine, we paid for it to be dismantled. It was amazing to watch them use a Henry to suck out the vermiculite, then pull apart and stack all the bits together like a jenga set! After 2yrs of renovating, they returned to put the aga together again on a different wall.

I love it! We did put another oven in the kitchen, so the aga is off all summer. I'm still getting used to aspects of it and hope to learn more from others on here. Those cakes upthread look absolutely amazing!!! I'm a competent cook, but cakes in the aga is one area I could do with more help/practice on.

Hi @JC03745 that sounds fascinating! My cakes are probably beginners luck😅.
I literally bunged them in the centre of the baking oven, swapping tins around after 15 mins and then giving them another 9/10 mins.

I used the baking oven tonight to cook a couple of partridge for the family (I don't eat them) and it was running cooler than normal so took a lot longer. Looking for another oven thermometer just to double check temps before getting someone out.

You may regret offering to answer questions 🤣

Brownies. I make the best Brownies in the world as officially confirmed by my 12 year old. But that was on the Rangemaster so I’m slightly worried my Brownie making days may be over.
I read a Mary Berry recipe that stated to cook on the roasting oven for 20 mins and then move down to the simmering oven for a further 20. Can that be right??

@AgaNewbie the low oven on our AGAs have always been too cool to even finish off a bake. So, I disagree with Mary there, even though I usually think her guidance is not to be disputed!

You definitely will have to a bit of testing. For all baking, I use a number of different methods to get the temp right, depending on how hot the AGA is. Usually I will bake with the rack on the floor of the hot oven and reduce the heat further by putting in some heavy cold baking trays in high up above the cakes being baked. The number of trays depends on how much heat I want to knock out and also the kind of bake I'm doing. I also find you have to rotate the cake to get an even bake, as one end of the oven is hotter than the other. It sounds like a massive faff, but you get used to it and end up with lovely moist cakes, as the AGA is less drying than a fan oven.

You can also open the oven more freely than with a fan oven as you don't tend to get the massive drop in temps that lead to sunken middles in fan ovens.

I’m looking forward to the faffing to be honest. Pre Covid I had such a busy and stressful life and reevaluated it during lockdown (when I was much happier and calmer and not rushing around all over the place) and that’s when I realised that slow living was for me. I’m so looking forward to spending hours trying to get baking in the Aga right 😄.

It’s being installed on the 10th and I’m hosting Christmas . Have prepared everyone to expect a Turkey that is both burnt and not cooked at the same time 🤣

@AgaNewbie, you'll have a delicious turkey. I usually do ours the night before as it sucks a vast amount of heat out of the oven and I can't then get it hot enough for roast potatoes and parsnips the next day.

I then carve and put all the meat in trays wrapped tightly with tinfoil in the low oven to warm up on Christmas Day. Again, it doesn't dry the meat out and I don't think anyone would know it wasn't freshly carved. Meanwhile there is plenty of heat available for the roasties, which I can get crispy by par boiling, salting, shaking them really hard and then cooking them in goose fat.

I am not sure yet whether our aga will work in the traditional way - it’s a total control electric oven , it doesn’t lose heat from the hobs (I don’t think) and we programme the temp of each oven.

its a 2 oven so I’m thinking we will be programming the top oven to 200-220ish and the simmer to 140

Does that sound about right?

The cats are smart enough to stay off the plates, they have beds in front of it.

Good Morning

@mazylou Thats a relief 😅. I remember when I used to have a beloved cat and he used to jump onto counters etc.

@MargoLivebetter Excellent advice, I’ll take note for future reference, thank you for sharing! Like I say you’re the Aga Queen 👸🏼🥰

@AgaNewbie Not long now! 6 sleeps 🛌😬

We're hoping to be moving in about February - to a house with an Aga. Fingers crossed.

I shall be loitering silently on this thread until I have something useful to contribute or sensible to ask. Suffice it to say that we have the sort of lifestyle that involves inordinate amounts of mud, lots of wet clothes, two often damp dogs and plenty of home cooking, so I think the Aga will be an asset.

Welcome @MissyGirlie if you’re like me you’ll be researching all things Aga in preparation. If you’ve not already done so, YouTube has some fabulous content. Books ive found particularly helpful is Amy Willcock’s Aga Bible, Richard Maggs The Complete Aga Know-How & Louise Walker’s Traditional Aga Christmas. You never know the house seller might have some good advice to impart as well as a book or two. Are they leaving all the Aga accessories? I’d also be asking when it was last serviced too especially if oil run 👍

@TheRealHousewife useful tip re servicing, thank you, hadn't thought of that. It is oil, no mains gas, only water and electricity - we'll be back to a septic tank a la my childhood!

I haven't dared to buy any books, as the last time we thought we'd sold our house it fell apart in a screaming mess shortly before we were expecting to exchange. If if it all works out this time I'll have those on my birthday list.

I'll also have to persuade DH that it needs to be on Oct-April to stop the house getting damp...

Hi @MissyGirlie I have everything crossed for you re:- house buying! It is so stressful and the UK process totally sucks (if you're in the uk). Good idea ... any mention of damp should scare dh into compliance 😅

@MissyGirlie PS I forgot to mention you can find some really good condition/like new books online for a fraction of the rrp.

The Aga bible is around £30 new and I got a copy for £2.87 plus £1.95 p&p. Total bargain 👍