Object Lessons: The Great British Range Cooker - Remodelista
Think of a classic British kitchen and an Aga range cooker is likely part of that picture. Before the Aga, cooking on a range, with open flame and red-hot surfaces, was unpredictable, dirty, and somewhat dangerous.
Photograph courtesy of The Foodie Bugle.
The classic: An Aga from 1942 reconditioned by UK appliance specialist Twyford Cookers. The Aga has begun to gain popularity in the US; see below for sourcing.
The Esse Ironheart, introduced in 2004 to celebrate Esse’s 150th birthday, takes its inspiration from the earliest Esse range cookers, which were wood burning.
Photograph courtesy of British Standard Cupboards.
Five to Buy
The glass-fronted firebox provides heat as well as visual interest, but the stove makes the most of modern technology with its oven temperature control and domed hotplate covers.
The classic Aga Four-Oven Cooker offers, in addition to four ovens, two hot plates and a warming plate.
The Everhot 150i features three independently controllable ovens, two cast-iron plates, and a three-zone induction hub.
A Rayburn Cooker 300K in a kitchen in Galway, Ireland, designed by Guard Tillman Pollack.
The compact AGA Companion is just 24 inches wide and has four sealed burners, a slow-cook oven, and a roasting oven; $8,999 at A. J. Madison.
Watch for her column every Tuesday, and have a look at her past lessons, including two English kitchen favorites, the Pastel Enamel Cooking Pot and the Ercol Stacking Chair.
