At the center of every English dream kitchen, is an AGA stove. A new one can, apparently, run up to £20,000, though older ones can be found in kitchens all over the country. A very fancy kitchen will have both an AGA and a regular stove. Because is AGA is not regular.
An AGA is always on, always hot. It has two large burners with lift covers. One burner is hot, one burner is warm. It has two oven compartments, one hot, one warm. You can change the "hot" temperature, but it will take hours to change. Now imagine cooking (& baking!) just with these hot and warm burners and compartments.
Our American hosts in Shropshire have one of these stoves. It seemed crazy when we first saw it, and I especially have trouble imagining baking, but I can also see the charm having lived with it for a few days and even getting a little cooking experience on it. On Saturday evening our hosts had a gala to attend in Liverpool, so we babysat the kids, including cooking dinner & breakfast the next morning. After a couple days watching how it's done & with a few instructions, I managed cheeseburgers & french fries for dinner and a full English breakfast (minus baked beans) in the morning, but including eggs, over easy. Even the toast was made on the AGA! The warm burner makes a mean toast!
I'm not sure how I'd feel about living with an AGA instead of my gas stove, but it was a fun challenge, and I can definitely see the advantage of an always on oven making your kitchen toasty warm in the damp & chilly English weather.
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