All about the ElectricKit from Sarah Whittaker, “the cast iron lady”
Think about the amazing positives of Aga cooking: that wonderful all-round, indirect radiant heat that seals in the flavour as soon as things go into the oven. The ease of cooking pastry straight on the floor of the oven with no need to bake blind. Cooking pizza straight on the floor of the oven. Breaking an egg onto a piece of bake o glide on the simmering plate for the perfect fried egg, no pan and no washing up. Steaming rice in the oven. Steaming vegetables in the oven. Long slow casseroles that you chuck in at breakfast time and they are ready to eat after work. Frying on the floor of the oven so there is no greasy steam in the air. Think of the lovely warm kitchen all year round, instant heat, ready to cook at any time of night or day. This is exactly the same with an ElectricKit conversion.
Think about some of the worries about cooking on a traditional Aga: you do have to think ahead and manage its heat – for example you have to cook Yorkshire puddings before anything else that day, when the Aga is at its hottest and then the Yorkshire will rise well. In a 2 oven traditional Aga there are definite techniques to baking in the really hot roasting oven – not the case with an ElectricKit conversion, the oven temperature is thermostatically controlled to any temperature you like.
If you cook a lot on the top of a traditional Aga, the heat dissipates through the hotplates and the oven loses temperature. Not the case with an ElectricKit conversion, the heat is thermostatically controlled and the hotplates are completely separate to the ovens.
Over the years of demonstrating traditional Agas, I made the heat management the core of the presentation – once people know what to do, it’s easy, but if you don’t know how to cope, it can be a nightmare. With the ElectricKit conversion the heat is constant, which makes it very much easier to cook on.
One of the most frequently asked questions is about grilling – where is it and how do you grill? The roof of the roasting oven of a traditional Aga is nearly as hot as the hotplate, so that is the grill, but the grilling effect never quite works. In the ElectricKit conversion, you turn the oven temperature up by 20 degrees to kick start the element. then you grill against the roof of the lower oven.
The ElectricKit ovens are designed to be on all the time, if you like, or off all the time in summer. From cold they reach full heat in an hour.
There are two cast iron hotplates, just like a traditional Aga, but the difference is that they can both be set to any temperature, from a fast boil to a gentle simmer.
Traditional Aga cookers need regular servicing, oil twice a year, gas and 30amp electric once a year, the new generation electric every two and a half years. Average cost of a service £150. Latest models do not need servicing. ElectricKit conversions do not need servicing.
The ElectricKit has taken the best cooker in the world and improved it for the 21st Century – controllable, even heat for a fraction of the running costs of a traditional Aga. Amazing!
Sarah
Cast Iron Cooking
Expert in Esse, Aga and cast iron range cookers and cooking
The Trout, Nether Wallop, Stockbridge, Hampshire, SO20 8EW
01264 781072
twitter: @ironcookinglady
Facebook: iron.whitaker
ElectricKit Demonstration dates in conjunction with Rural Ranges –
Sarah Whitaker Demonstrations at Showrooms
- Liked about the new way of cooking ….
“The convenience of being able to switch on and off as with a regular oven/hob. Energy saving. Fuel saving. No smell of oil. Ease of use in general.”
Melanie Sharwood. Welcome Home Property Management
- “I absolutely love my converted cooker. Thank you so much again.”
Debra
- “I love that we have more accurate cooking temperatures for baking. The temperature control is more efficient and easier to use.”
Diane Camborne
- “Thank you so much for installing our Aga we are so pleased with it and it has already made our house feel like a home. The engineers were very professional and just got straight on with it with no fuss ad minimal disruption. Would highly recommend!”
Mel Nr Looe