KITCHEN RANGES
23 June 2008
"On Standby"
Aga is a brand of stove that’s so old it’s new. It’s a product that requires no introduction to professional kitchen designers, but the general public—at least in the United States—still does not, by and large, know of this product. And yet, it’s something we often see in movies set in Europe, especially Great Britain. How many times have we seen a character working to calm another who goes into the kitchen and "puts a kettle on." If they’re upper class, the stove will invariably be—to American eyes— this weird contraption that seems to have two large lids on top. Lift one, pop on the kettle, and it seems to heat almost immediately. The magic of film. Actually, it’s the magic of Aga, and it’s a magic that kitchen designers are beginning to introduce to the United States, which makes the old new again.
First, the reason the kettle heats so quickly in those movies is that the stove is actually on all the time. One lifts the lid or opens any of four oven doors, and the Aga, because it is always hot, goes right to work.
So, what is the benefit of a stove like this one? Well, for one thing, it is a decided conversation piece. For years I have dickered with the idea of installing an old-growth pine countertop in our kitchen, just so I could tell people "That countertop was growing when the Declaration of Independence was written."
The model we’ve featured at the top of this blog costs $15,855, has four ovens (one each for simmering, warming, roasting, and baking), and weighs 1290 pounds. Imagine the fun when you tell your friends how you managed to get a stove of that weight into the kitchen. Actually, it might be easier to just install the Aga and then build a house around it!
Another factor is that the stove itself is made of cast iron (that would explain the weight!), and people who have it swear by cast iron in both cooking utensils and stoves. But the main selling point, I suspect, is the always-on feature, although I cannot say that I find that aspect particularly appealing. I am not one of those who snacks, and even if I were, when you get the munchies in the middle of the night, you raid the fridge, right? You don’t go into the kitchen and cook up a steak!
The "always on" feature is popular in countries with a climate like Great Britain, where, I’m told, summer starts July 1st and ends July 2nd, or some such thing, the point being that it is normally cold, damp, and cheerless. No wonder those people had such an empire—they really just wanted to get the hell off that island! But for them, a stove that is on all the time is also a heater, as it would be for anyone, really, but especially so for people like myself in sunny San Diego. A stove year round? We’d melt!
Joseph
No comments yet
Leave a Reply