Top Tips for an Efficient AGA Christmas

Posted on December 01, 2022 in AGA, Christmas, Top Tips

With Christmas around the corner, it's time to start thinking about the best way we can use our AGA cooker more efficiently. With this in mind, here are a couple of ways to save money, time and energy this Christmas:

1. Warming plates before serving

Keeping a large number of plates and dishes warm ahead of serving can be tricky.

AGA eR3 Series, AGA eR7, AGA R7 Series and R3 Series have a separate warming oven, which is ideal for warming plates and dishes.

If you have a lot of plates and serving dishes to heat, fill your dishwasher with all your china and put it on a heat only (drying) cycle, or on the shortest wash option. Do a test run beforehand, if necessary, to time the length of the programme, and then you can set the dishwasher off at just the right time to result in hot dry dishes ready for your Christmas meal. This tip never fails to impress onlookers.

Serving dishes and gravy boats are best warmed at the back of the top plate of the AGA, where they heat through without the handles getting too hot. Protect the enamel by using a Chef's Pad or cloth.

2. Getting ahead with your vegetables

Based on the ‘AGA Cookbook’ by Mary Berry and Lucy Young

Getting ahead with the vegetables is a great way to simplify the cooking on a big day and is really useful particularly for traditional Aga’s to minimise the cooking on the tops when the oven heat is important. It also helps to get the washing of the pans out of the way before the kitchen gets too busy.

Green vegetables are usually cooked in boiling water in a pan on the aga boiling or simmering plate. Root vegetables can be steamed in the simmering oven - place in a pan of water and bring to the boil on the AGA boiling plate, cooking for 5 - 10 minutes and moving to the simmering plate if necessary. Then drain off nearly all of the water, put the lid on the pan and place in the simmering oven to steam for the rest of the usual cooking time.

To get ahead, by up to 48 hours, cook your vegetables separately in the normal way as above until only just cooked. Immediately transfer to a big bowl of cold water to stop them cooking any further. Once cool, remove from the water and place into a serving dish or dishes. Repeat with each vegetable, arranging them as you like in the serving dishes.

Cover with foil which has been buttered on the underside (or a butter wrapped or two) and maybe with some cling film or beeswax wraps. Chill for up to 48 hours.

To reheat and serve, 20 minutes before needed, remove the cling film or wrapper, leave the foil in place and place the dishes directly on the floor of the roasting oven (use the floor grid for ‘e’ AGA’s eg eR7 ad eR3).The heat will turn the residual moisture in the vegetables to steam which will heat them and the butter will melt to lightly glaze the vegetables.

To serve, simply remove the foil and place on serving table or on the table itself, taking care to use heatproof mats as necessary.

The AGA Portmerion or Spode Blue Italian roasting dishes are ideal for this as well as being beautiful enough to put on the table and hard wearing enough to go in the dishwasher as well as the freezer for other recipes.

3. Don't cook straight from the fridge

Cooking from cold will use more energy to heat to the desired temperature. If you cook a large joint of meat direct from the fridge or freezer you need to draw heavily on the cooker’s heat reserves before any cooking actually starts. The best way is take out the meat to room temperature. Make sure to defrost slowly on the kitchen table before you pop it in the oven.

4. Make use of your ovens

An AGA excels itself at Christmas, with its cast-iron ovens that provide radiant heat which gently cooks food locking in flavour and moisture for sumptuous roasts and delicious vegetables. The AGA cookers' simmering and warming ovens come in to their own, as you can slowly cook sides and dessert or keep food warm, giving you more time to relax with your family.

If the simmering oven is completely full of food cooking, allow a longer composite cooking time than for when cooking just a couple of pans, especially in the case of root vegetables. The cooked food will keep hot without spoiling.

5. Warming sauces

Use your simmering and slow cooking ovens as your microwave - jugs of sauces or custard covered with cling film or foil heat beautifully in 20 - 30 mins.

Cartons of custard even heat in their cartons. Snip the corner if you like or place in an ovenproof dish.

AGA Cookery Demonstrations

For more AGA Christmas tips, we are hosting an online cookery demonstration with Penny Zako on Saturday 10th December 2022 from 10am to 11:30am. To book your place for free, please email info@edwardsandgodding.co.uk. All the Zoom details, including the recipes that Penny will be demonstrating will be sent one or two days in advance.