Aga's

[Zeeky]

Anyone got an aga? Do you turn it off in the summer? If so, what do you cook on in the summer?

We are buying a house with a 2-oven aga & there is no separate oven or hob to use if aga is off. I do a lot of cooking & baking, especially in summer with kids' birthdays & jam making etc. Just wondering what others do. The vendors said they switch it off in summer & just use the microwave & BBQ instead.

I had an Aga with no alternative method of proper cooking. It was a nightmare tbh, the kitchen was boiling hot all summer long, it was OK if you didnt mind cooking in your swimwear I suppose. Plus I objected to paying to have two ovens on all day long just so I could use the Aga hob once in a while.

Could you maybe get a couple of hobs fitted plus an all singing all dancing microwave that grills and bakes?

Aga's what?

We used to have one but only switched it on in the winter months - it was gas

We also had a separate electric cooker to use instead of or in addition to the aga.

Apologies for incorrect apostrophe usage in title!

I think we will have to get a separate hob installed & possibly an oven too, bummer! Didn't notice the lack of separate hob when we viewed house, but it wouldn't have made any difference to us putting in an offer as it ticks all of our other boxes.

We keep ours on all year, but I tend to have the kitchen door open most of the time in summer so the dogs can run in and out.

I think it depends on the size of the kitchen and the amount of ventilation. I bake all year round and tend to oven cook a lot of meals so would need a full cooker, and not just a hob and microwave in summer.

I would suggest that you use it for the first summer and then see how you feel, rather than splashing out on a oven and hob you may end up not using much.

I'm on the move too and I'm going to miss my Aga.

Mrszoldberg - good advice! We'll be moving end of Jan hopefully so won't need to worry about it for a while. I'm a little scared of having an aga ad never used one before & will miss my 5-burner gas hob & wall-mounted double oven!

we have a gas powered aga and it is really great, provided you use it to its full potential.

I use mine for all cooking, kettle boiling, toast making, drying washing (use washable nappies to so there is a lot of it). it also runs the hot water tank (which we top up with the immersion heater occasionally and a radiator in the bathroom. I actually bake more, because you just might as well if the oven is on already.

I only turn ours off if we are going away.

I miss Aga toast more than anything else - that and being able to hug it when you come in from the cold :)

How do you make toast on an aga?

you sandwich the bread into one of their wire toasters and put in on the hotplate then turn - you then get lovely chequered toast

www.agacookshop.co.uk/tools/all-tools/aga-toaster.html

I now make toast direct on the simmering plate. and pancakes.....and crumpets......and welshcakes....

oooooooohhh Pancakes!

Pancake day doesn't come round often enough if you have an Aga!

Also, guilt free "fried" eggs

I'm scared of ovens! can never work out how to turn them on, or what temperature

have just an aga, nothing else, no microwave - keep it on all summer, just keep the windows open. agree with the poster who said to wait before buying an oven, you might just fall in love with the aga.

can you really fry eggs directly onto aga plate?? I have never tried that, doesn't it stick horribly?

bake-o-glide is fab for eggs and bacon, but we also have a cast iron frying pan with 4 depressions for perfectly formed fried eggs. this is just about all my husband ever cooks (or cooks with)

Can anyone recommend a good aga cookbook to get me started?

Hi Zeeky - if all goes well (fingers crossed etc.) I'll also be moving into a house at the end of January which I think only has an Aga. They do have an integrated microwave/oven but I don't think any rings - there's no gas in the house. It isn't the same one, is it?

I've been told that the local Aga shop runs introductory one-day courses showing you how to use your Aga and when I had a look think they were about £30. Will definitely be signing up. If we get further down the line with this buying lark I'll also be getting this introductory cook book which has been recommended.

Ooooh thanks Londonlottie. I will look into the aga courses as i'm a little scared of having only an aga to cook on. I do a lot of cooking so it will be strange! We don't have gas in the new place either (it's an old farmhouse).

It's an art, but once you've mastered it you'll never go back. Everything in our house (water/heating/cooking) is run off the Rayburn. Is it a pain in the ass? Yes. Is it worth it? Definetely.

We don't turn ours off in the summer. Just open the windows (but it is a fairly big kitchen so plenty of windows).

We have had the AIMS conversion so that the Aga can be on a timer, and it goes down low overnight. Still warm enough to make a cup of tea, but not hot.

Only had it 2 years (bought house with Aga in situ) and LOVE it. I bought two books (Mary Berry and Richard someone,) which explained the principles, and it is really easy. Makes me look like a reasonable cook (which I'm not).

Aga shops do fab demonstrations you can attend (and eat the results) - I went to one the first year about Xmas dinner, but the books tell you how to do it too.

I do my main wash in the evening now, then hang it all over the Aga and it's dry by morning.

There is nothing better than coming down on a cold winter morning, or in from outside and standing by the lovely glowing radiant Aga

Definitely recommend the Mary Berry cook books. Even if it isn't an Aga recipe book, she puts Aga notes on each recipe, ie which oven and which rung to hang your baking tray from.