Aga - the best choice! (AGA Cookers in General)

Member Name: shamis4

Product:	AGA Cookers in General
Date:	30/08/08 (1024 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Super oven that will be the pride and joy of your home!

Disadvantages: Very expensive (but you are paying for quality)

Last year, during the summer, we had a large extension built onto our house and this added some extra rooms as well as largely extending our kitchen transforming it from a small square room into a large room with a dining area at one end and then the main kitchen along with an island in the middle of the room. We got all new shelving units and cupboards and everything from fridges to a dishwasher. But the centre piece of our new kitchen is now the new Aga.

What is Aga:

Aga is a company which makes one of the world's most known and finest cookers.
It is thought to be a very much British company but actually originated from Sweden and their cookers are now present in thousands of homes across the country. The actual Aga was invented by the blind Dr Gustav Dalen. It was originally designed to be a modern cooker for his home and is now a style icon which is present in loads of homes and is seen as the top of the range in cookers.
Aga as well as producing their fine cookers also make fridges and cook books and other cookware.
Why get an Aga:

If you are fed up with your old cooker that looks dull and rather tasteless in the corner of your kitchen, why not make your kitchen the place to be and enjoy being there with a great cooker that not only looks great but is also extremely useful and easy to use.
They even come in a range of colours from creams to black, blue or red.
Shop and Service:

The first time I went into an Aga shop I was amazed at how great it looked with all these outstanding cookers and it felt really homely. All the staff alwasy seem to be very helpful and know a lot about the Agas, many are even specialist Aga cooks who have their own books.
If you are interested in getting an Aga, but are unsure what it would be like they have loads of cooking sessions where they show you the potential of it and how to use it and loads more. So we had to go to one of these ( and you even get the first one free - as you can go to others and learn more once you have your Aga). It was great as we were cooked loads of stuff from a cooked breakfast and toast (which can be done on the Aga) to Salmon, spaghetti and even some nice deserts including popcorn for the kids.
This session was extremely useful in showing us how to use an Aga and how it can be used to cook anything - and it tasted great. The people were very helpful and told you anything you wanted to know.
We have subsequently been back to several sessions including a special Christmas one on how to cook your Christmas dinner!
The Installation:

As you can guess from this subtitle we bought the Aga - and were very easily persuaded. A date was organised as to when they would come round and install it as it has to be put together at the house - and is very heavy as it is made from some very heavy, chunky metal. It didn't take too long too install and they just had sort out the pipes so it could all work properly. It then has to be turned on and left at specific heats for certain lengths of time and turned up gradually so it gets going properly. But this only takes a week or so and then you are set up forever (hopefully). It just meant we had to have microwave meals for that first week!
The Aga:

Having now had the Aga for almost a year now it has been absolutely great and has been used for so much. We opted to buy the largest one with two hobs, as well as a gas section at the end. The reason we got this as well is because the Aga is of course very hot and tends to act as a large radiator heating most of downstairs up - which is great in the winter, but not so in the summer. So in the summer we turn off the main Aga, but can still cook using the gas section.
Our version is cream and fits in with our fridge and all the cupboards and units in the kitchen.
It has several different sections in it and they all have different uses, from the normal cooking ovens to specially designed baking ovens for making all your cakes and other goodies.
On top of the Aga there are also two special hobs one is for boiling and the other is slightly cooler. They both have special lids which just lift up and there you have your hob hot and ready to use. You can even fit up to 3 average sized saucepans on top of these.
There is also a special section behind a door with all the heat controls which are very east to use and described through the manual.
We find that some of the sections are great for also storing all our trays and other things - especially in the summer as there is no heat!


We have used the Aga loads since we have add and have even been able to experiment with different things from our Aga cookbook - including popcorn on the boiling plates which is very amusing.
Another great factor as well as being a heat source for the house is the fact that the ovens don't give off much smell so if you leave that chicken in there for too long when having a dinner party no one will be able to smell it (although you will have to find some more food!). We have had a problem once or twice and have left something in there and forgotten about it and found charcoal left in there!


Problems:
We have only ever had one problem with our Aga and that was that the fan was not working properly so the Aga couldn't heat up enough. However Aga were very good and sent round someone to look at it and it was all sorted within a few days and the fan was replaced, and at no extra cost as you are covered for 3 years for any problems after buying your Aga.
The Aga can also get very hot when it is turned on and children must be aware of this as touching it will not burn but may cause a shock!

Good things:
The Aga food tastes so much better in my opinion than a normal cooker as it cooks different to normal cookers and doesn't dry out food, but keep all the flavours.
Toast can even be done on the Aga - you put your bread in a special rack and put it on and it only takes second to toast!

Aga offer loads of help in their shops and on the website as well as there being lots of different Aga specific cookery lessons and demonstrations to attend (information can be found out at your local Aga store)

Other Aga products:

Aga also produce several different cook books by a variety of different chefs and these are all specific to the Aga and tell you some great recipes and how they should be cooked on an Aga rather than a normal cooker.
Aga also produce their own range of saucepans and other useful cookery items, though these can be used on any cooker of course.
What they do however produce are several items that are specific for the Aga and also come free when you purchase an Aga. These include grease proof sheets for the hobs in order to protect the actual hob and make it easy for frying stuff such as eggs!
There are also covers for these hobs which allow you to put your washing for example on top to allow it to dry but without getting burnt - very good use of space indeed rather than having an airing rack up in the winter.
Aga also produce a special toast rack to put your toast in and then put it on the hob and close the lid and hey presto you have toast in a few seconds!

Price:

This is the only bad bit I have to say.
The prices of an Aga oven range from about £5000 to £12000.

Though you can of course buy second hand ones or renovated ones for much lower prices.
You can get a free brochure from the store or website.
I have to say that it is very expensive, but if you think about what you are getting it is worth it. A top of the range oven that will be the pride and joy of your home!

Conclusion:
The best oven money can buy. Cook everything you want and learn loads more about cooking. Aga is definitely the best choice in ovens!

Thanks for reading!

Summary: the best oven money can buy!