Friday 16 January 2009

Another Nail

The classic Aga cooker is in danger as the manufacturer cuts jobs due to declining sales.

If you've never run across an Aga, then you've missed out on one of the classics of industrial design. Originally created by a Swedish inventor as an aid to the blind, it's a cooker withoput any controls. Instead, the burners and two ovens are always hot with the burners covered by huge insulating lids and the sides of the cooker equally padded so that only a trickle of heat is needed to keep it going. To bake something, just pop it in the oven. To fry something, just lift the lid and plop the pan down. Breathlessly simple.

It's a shame if the Aga passes into history. My aunt and uncle had one and my fondest boyhood memories are of how it kept the farmhouse's kitchen cozy even in the worst winters and was always the perfect place for drying boots. Let's just hope that they stay in business long enough to fulfill my ambition of installing one at Chez Szondy.

3 comments:

jayessell said...

Do the pipes to the left of the flue mean it's also a water heater?

Unknown said...

i actually had one for the first 16 years of my life. my mum actually scrapped it. the thermometer broke and the temperature control didnt work either. but it was lovely and warm. the pipes do go to the boiler and heat the water ^,..,^ its an awesome cooker. shame they dont make them anymore. ours ran on coal, so it wasnt so eco friendly. but it did keep our house warm. the modern range cooker is a pansy compared with the AGA.

caro_carito said...

My father in law as one. I used to coock somme delicious pastry thanks to her.