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mrs_ratfire

AGA Cooker Review

Mrs.Ratfire
11 years ago

Hello! Somewhere on this, someone had a thread about AGA cookers, but I could NOT find it. Many of the reviews were from people who do not own one- this makes little sense in my opinion. Learning Curve to cook on AGA- non-existent if you already cook to begin with. Yes there are differences, but the learn time was nothing to me. The AGA is MUCH faster to cook on. After an AGA (I have a traditional one running on natural gas), my regular stove is like cooking on a toy. The large french burners are gentle and fast! The ovens- very fast. You will be very surprised how fast things roast or cook. Burning is not common- no direct heat such as the coil section of an electrical stove or the flame spot on a gas burner. The radiant heat is heavenly in the house. Fuel consumption- the AGA burns a small amount of BTU's per hour, all the time. The instal guy told me about 10 BTU's an hour. Your range top alone has an average burner rate of about 7,000 per burner per hour. This value is all over the board depending on your range. In any event, to run any fuel source to cook uses a large burst of energy and it would be difficult for the AGA to burn as much as a traditional stove. My heat bill went down! Yes, if you are right in front of it in the summer it is hot- other side of the room, you will not notice. My sky lights threw in more noticable heat. Some people turn down in the summer and cook food longer. I do not, I fanatically love this thing. EVERTHING comes out DELICIOUS- far superior to any other oven. The thing is a cast iron box- the heat is moist and fantastic. I took my normal gas stove and left it in the garage. I have it if I want to use a full baking sheet- a full one will not fit in AGA. I do not prefer the AGA for baking, but I bake very little, so people who do are better qualified to answer. The "cold plate" is a sheet that slides in to reduce ovens for baking. Most items you do not need to use the sheet but some it helps. You will dump your microwave, toaster, can change drip coffee maker to a stove stop perculator, all electric appliances, woks, waffle irons etc. You will buy all stove top versions as the AGA does a much better job- toaster included with purchase. The only thing I use my gas stove for in the garage is the flame broiler. That the AGA cannot do. You can sear a steak on the hot side and put in AGA or on slower burner to finish- but it has no flame broiler. I still use my garage oven to flame broil steaks. NOTHING ELSE! I wish I was an AGA cooking demo rep- the time savings is a miracle and a life saver for me. Cooks with NO ability make fabulous juicy food, FAST. The AGA is so quick, you forget how much time and prep other cooking is. When you shut it down for a repair or cleaning, you will miss it terribly. I put my hand washables on the kitchen chairs or the AGA bar to dry. If you fold your pillow cases and put on top of closed burners, it takes out wrinkles in time- works better if damp. My pets love it. I love it. My husband loves it. I had it off for a week once. The ambient temperature of my house dropped significantly- I missed it so much. My fault for taking a week to get around to the annual cleaning. I have replaced one part since it went in in 2008, the thermal coupling. LOVE-LOVE-LOVE this appliance! You can turn it down only to the point of the piolet light being on and very cool to clean. Can use Easy Off on all exterior pieces. Inside door on hot oven needed cleaning, rest was just a wipe off. I have only swept the interior of the ovens out ever- they burn off everything in the chamber. The ovens are deep- the roasting oven will hold a 27 pound turkey. The concept of heating a giant oven that has one dish in the middle is a bad design as with most ovens. This one can run at MANY temperatures all at once. Comes with one rack per oven, I ordered 2 extra ones for different heights already in there. I only use pans on it- I have NEVER bought burner shields which are disposable to cook right on the burner. Seems wasteful to me and I really have had no need. LOVE MY AGA! If you can buy a second hand one, there are re-furbished ones out there. I have the 3 oven, the 2 oven would have been more than enough. The 3rd oven is only used by me as a warming tank on holidays. Floor models are often sold much cheaper. Beware of E-bay- has been inclined to false postings of AGA';s that do not exist! Unless it is a Kitchen store you can call, I would be very careful on individuals saying they are selling them. For what? They last a life time and once you have one, trust me, you are not ripping it out. I would NOT consider one using solid fuel- wow- would that be a job! Good luck with this. I may answer if you post but may not- rarely check my e-mail.

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