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Basic Cookware Kit for Aga Cookers
Answer
Dear Jenny
BASIC COOKWARE KIT FOR AGA COOKERS
The "standard kit" supplied with every new Aga should include two grid shelves and one solid cold plain shelf, which is an important piece of equipment as it is used in certain situations to provide a moderate baking temperature in the Roasting Oven. This is essential when baking in a 2 oven Aga. I think having a second one is a good move. The wire toaster and full and half size Aga roasting tins come as standard together with reversible grill racks (essential for oven grilling at the top of the Roasting Oven and useful set in the low position roasting meat and poultry) plus the Aga Book, wire brush, Aga cleaning paste and a new Aga owner`s video guide.
Because owners often take their Aga cookware with them when they move (it is a very common problem, as your local Aga Specialist will tell you) Aga have put together a starter pack for inherited Aga owners just for you. It is priced at £99.00 for all the standard kit as above and you save over £66.00 R.R.P. from buying the items separately.
I would also suggest you buy at least a second half size roasting tin, possibly a large one as well. The small one as well as being used for meats is great as a "carrier" for other dishes, such as when making a rice pudding - any milk boiled over is contained and keeps cleaning up nice and simple. As well as the full size roasting tin, the Aga baking trays are also great for extra roast potatoes and the large one makes fabulous 5 egg roulades, both the normal type and of the meringue variety.
The round cast iron grill pan is good value and fantastic for chops and steaks. A good Aga kettle will boil as fast if not faster than an electric kettle and uses the Aga`s stored heat, saving you money on electricity. The aluminium and hard anodised ones are the quickest to boil and my personal recommendation.
After years of cooking on Aga cookers I would strongly suggest you treat yourself to some Aga pans with flat lids as their bases are machine ground perfectly flat and they really do boil more quickly, making perfect contact with the Aga hotplates - very useful at the end of a cooking session when you want, say, a green vegetable to come rapidly back to the boil and cook as quickly as possible. With their recessed knobs the Aga pans can also be stacked in the Simmering Oven which is another great plus. Get into the habit of using your Simmering Oven to its fullest capacity from day one and you will get the best results from your Aga. It is not just for warming plates as too many people suppose.
All Aga cookware is made to a very high standard and really is worth the investment. You will be cooking on the world`s finest cooker - cook with the finest cookware from day one and you really won`t regret it. You won`t necessarily need a whole set of new saucepans, but I would recommend buying at least one large shallow pan with a broad base to start with. The bases of all Aga saucepans are 1/4 inch (6mm) thick and machine ground to give perfect contact with the Aga hotplates. This means that, once boiling, even if a pan is only making partial contact with a hotplate, it will continue to boil. In this way 6-8 average sized saucepans can be used at the same time on the hotplates. Provided your existing saucepans have heavy and perfectly flat bases, they should give good results on an Aga.
With respect to cast iron pans, other manufacturers` cast iron pans may have flat bases, but as they have not had the machining process like a true Aga cast iron pan, the heat transfer will not be as efficient.
Finally I`d recommend some Aga gauntlets will protect your arms when reaching in to the depths of the ovens. They are deep and can contain a lot of food but you risk a glancing burn without any protection.
I hope that helps.
Best Wishes
Richard Maggs
THE AGA COOKERY DOCTOR
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Dear Richard, We are in the process of moving to a house which has an Aga and need some advice on cookware. What do you suggest is the basic kit we need for cooking on an Aga, having never used one before? Many thanks Jenny Saunders