AGA stove

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Modern 3-oven AGA

The AGA stove is a heat storage stove and cooking stove.

It was developed in 1929 by the Swedish Nobel laureate in physics Gustaf Dalén , who was employed as a senior engineer at the Swedish Aktiebolaget Gas Accumulator (AGA). In 2009 the stoves were sold by the former British licensee of AGA, the Aga Rangemaster Group , under Aga-Rayburn, which, according to its own information, produced around 2,000 stoves per year, which were particularly popular in English country houses.

The stove is based on a heavy, traditional cast iron construction . Based on a heat storage technology, a central heat source with two large hot plates and two ovens is combined into one unit. The hotplates are divided into a high heatable and a boiling plate, which can also be used as a grill plate. Heavy, hinged insulating covers for these continuously heated plates are a characteristic of AGA stoves.

The idea of ​​different heat levels is repeated in the ovens. The basic equipment includes a roasting oven and a braising oven. The larger stoves have an oven and a heating oven. The stoves are fired continuously, the individual cooking areas have no controls. At most, there is a regulation that allows a "vacation reduction" or shutdown.

In the original construction, the heat source was fired with coal. The modern Aga stoves offered in Germany can be heated either with gas or electrically. The international range also includes burners that run on coal or fuel oil.

In the 21st century, the AGA stove is seen as a waste of energy. The manufacturer specifies a permanent output of 0.86 kW. This brings his energy consumption to 7,500 kWh per year and at electricity prices from January 2020 to a good 2,200 € / a operating costs.

AGA stove in a Scottish kitchen center

history

In 1912, the year he was awarded the Nobel Prize, Dalén was seriously injured and lost his eyesight in an explosion during a trial program at AGA. While recovering, he spent a lot of time at home and learned the hassle his wife had to make to cook. Although he was blind, he felt challenged to develop a stove that made all essential cooking techniques possible in a simple manner and at the same time was also suitable for heating.

The construction of the stove was Dalén's hobby and took place in the meager spare time. The stove came on the market in 1929 and, with its energy consumption of only eight pounds of coal in 24 hours, was a minor sensation in view of its cooking and heating performance and quickly made it popular - especially in England.

In the 1970s, AGA restructured and concentrated on the gas business. She gave up the rest and with it the production of the stove.

In the 1970s, the emergence of central heating replaced the stove heating that had been common up until then. As a result, the AGA stoves were increasingly classified as out of date, both in terms of their concept and design and energy consumption. Business with them declined accordingly. Since a conservative clientele living in traditional country houses was preserved, especially in England, the licensee there took over the entire production and worldwide sales.

In the 21st century, the stove enjoyed increasing popularity again thanks to its exclusive design, which was perceived as "retro", its heavy construction and its cooking properties and, depending on the location and type of the house, also because of the heating concept, especially in 2009.

Trivia

The English writer Joanna Trollope was referred to in 1992 as the "Queen of the Aga Saga" for her novels, which were set in the middle-class rural environment.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Aga unveils new biofuel model . Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  2. Questions and Answers. AGA GERMANY, archived from the original on December 10, 2014 ; accessed on January 12, 2014 .
  3. The history of the AGA stove. AGA GERMANY, archived from the original on December 10, 2014 ; accessed on January 12, 2014 .
  4. 49 + 1 ways to think lucky and be positive
  5. The Aga saga: Sales of the classic cookers are hotting up again - After a tricky recession the iconic iron range company is preparing itself for a comeback, reports Sarah Arnott
  6. ^ Recession hit Aga trials green energy
  7. See Aga saga , in: Margaret Drabble (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to English Literature . Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 43.