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Oven Thermometer for Aga Oven Use
Answer
Dear Charlotte
OVEN THERMOMETER FOR AGA OVEN USE
You ask a very common question for new Aga owners, which is a variation on its sister concern: what exactly are the temperatures of the Aga ovens? I can give you centre oven air temperatures (see table below), but please understand that these in themselves are not as immediately useful to you as you first imagined. The reason for this is that Aga ovens cook mainly by radiant heat from their cast iron construction.
The ovens in conventional cookers cook mainly by the temperature of the air within the oven, where the air is heated by electric elements or gas jets within the oven. Aga ovens are heated indirectly from the one heat source within the cooker. Of course there is hot air in the Aga ovens, but invisible infra red heat is radiated from the heavy oven castings and it is this heat which is the main means by which food is cooked and browned. This is why specific temperatures are not so crucially relevant. To the new user, at first sight this can seem unfamiliar. In fact the heat in the Aga ovens is extremely gentle and forgiving - kind to food in fact - and exact oven temperatures are not as crucial as with conventional cookers. With an Aga, you don`t set the heat - you find it. Position the food in the correct part of the Aga for the required length of time and you will obtain excellent results very easily, all with the minimum effort nor having to endlessly check on food.
To get you started, if you don`t possess The Aga Book by Mary Berry, this is an absolute must. It is the book that is issued with every new Aga, and copies are available from your local Aga Specialist (click on "Where can I find?" on the Aga website www.aga-rayburn.co.uk). At the back of The Aga Book there is a useful Aga cooking chart, which explains where different foods should be cooked, plus Ten Golden Rules.
Here are the normal operating temperatures of the ovens for 2, 3 and 4 oven Aga cookers, please bear in mind the notes above, but here they are:
Roasting Oven Hot Approx. 240-260 degrees C 475-500 degrees F Gas Mark 8-9
Baking Oven Moderate Approx. 180-200 degrees C 350-400 degrees F Gas Mark 4-6
Simmering Oven Slow Approx. 115-135 degrees C 225-275 degrees F Gas Mark 1
Warming Oven Warm Approx. 70-90 degrees C 150-200 degrees F Gas Mark 1/4
Now that I have explained the background, here are details for two oven thermometers which I am happy to recommend for use - if you must - in the Aga ovens. They both will hang on the front bar of an Aga grid shelf but should not be kept in the ovens all the time, not because they will come to any harm but for the fact that they will keep falling off and getting in your way....
Divertimenti sell two types which are fine in the Aga. A rectangular model, product code 28016, is priced at £16.00, and a circular dial model, product code 28022, is priced at £12.10. Prices plus package and postage (free if you spend over £100). Divertimenti may be contacted at 139-141 Fulham Road, London SW3 6SD, Tel 020 7581 8065 or 33-34 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4PT, Tel 020 7935 0689. The Marylebone High Street shop is right near the new Grange showroom, which houses the second Aga department in London.
Good luck and happy cooking
Best Wishes
Richard Maggs
THE AGA COOKERY DOCTOR
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