[UPoneacre]

Hi all,

Can we pick your collective brains, please?

Our new property is blessed with an oil fired Esse type OM range cooker (just used for cooking, not hw or heating) and which is about ten years old. We're new to these so a few weeks ago we had it serviced and lit for the first time and now enjoy the warmth, warm socks in the morning, dry teatowels, dry dogs etc etc. The only thing we're not getting on with very well is in learning to cook with it; on turning up the oil control valve it's not very sensitive at the lower end of the range and needs to be turned up 3/4 of the way round at least to make any difference and then temperature increase is very very slow. In all probability it's our lack of familiarity that's the problem but just wondered what others' experiences were of this and is there anything we ought to be doing that we're not already - apart from starting cooking three hours earlier rather than the two we seem to do now??

Robin and Suzy

[Womble]

We've got a coal fired Esse, and it's great.

I'll confess though, we only use it to cook with on weekends, since it takes 2hrs + to get up to cooking temperature, and by that time we weant to go to bed!

It's great for simmering casseroles in all day though  . I think you've hit the nail on the head already - just treat it like a big slow cooker!

[lachlanandmarcus]

I would agree with this, I have a wood fired Esse range (Ironheart) and I cook all my roasts pies puddings casseroles etc in it. But for very specific temperature things like delicate cakes I have a microwave which has a grill and oven and use the oven bit of that for those.


The Esse is much better at keeping everything lovely and moist tho, so I use that for whatever I can.

[doganjo]

Would an electric slow cooker (or two or three even  ) not be cheaper to run?   

[jaykay]

It takes a while to learn to cook in them.

You don't alter the temperature. You just change whereabouts in the oven you put things.

My ex never really did get the hang of it, but I now completely love my oil-fired Aga and would put money on a mortgage if I ever had to move, in order to have another one.

I recommend getting one of the 'Aga tips' books - a little bit of them is Aga specific, but most of it is 'generic range' stuff. I had this one given and liked it: Aga and range know-how

[Womble]

Would an electric slow cooker (or two or three even  ) not be cheaper to run?   

Have you ever tried heating your house using a slow cooker though? 

[jaykay]

 

[Louise Gaunt]

Remember , as the weather gets colder you will spend your entire life walking around people leaning on the rail getting warm!

[lachlanandmarcus]

Also ours heats some rads, great in a power cut as its all just gravity fed, no pumps needing elec.

[UPoneacre]

Thanks all.

We think we're getting the picture i.e. 'no rush' cooking, just 'laid back' slow cookery!. Jaykay -thanks for the book tip - we''ll have a look at that.

We have found already that the warmth from the range is noticeably rising through that end of the house and warming up the bedroom above which tends to be fairly cool as it's on the north west corner (and we can't do that with a slow cooker  ) so between that and the separate heating system it's balancing out reasonably well. As both are oil fired what we use in one we don't use in the other!

[Spinningfishwife]

You need to get your hands on one of the may books about cooking on an Aga/Rayburn type range, they explain the mysteries of range cooking, timing, oven position and the cold plain shelf. When I moved into this house I inherited a rather old gas fired Rayburn which ran the central heating. I had an equally ancient gas cooker too but it was condemned as unsafe so I had to learn to cook on the Rayburn pdq and a book was invaluable. I got this one, there's a lot of good explanation of techniques which you can use  for any range

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Rayburn-Cookery-Range-Cookbooks/dp/1899791450

I loved that old Rayburn, it was fabulous in the winter. It only came out when it became unsafe to use and the engineer couldn't source spares any more, it was a rather odd one being a left hand chimney version. We remodelled the kitchen and got a gas cooker and a combi-boiler instead. Boring, and the cats have never forgiven me.

[UPoneacre]

Hi,
and thanks for the book recommendation - we'll have a look at that.

Thank you all for your advice and comments - it's been very reassuring.

[UPoneacre]

Just to add to that - I've had a good day on the range - just managed to bake a birthday cake for Suzy in the top oven, and a decent casserole in the bottom oven and their both edible (brownie points in the offing, I think  ). probably won't be able to match that again for a while but we'll keep on trying.

[lachlanandmarcus]

I feel like saying 'yee ha!' at the concept of a day on the range!! 


Great that you are now master of the dark art of the range!

[Womble]

Well done - the brownie points sound delicious!