Electrickit Conversions
Some thoughts on using an Electrickit converted Aga
I had a fascinating session with Paul Stonehouse, a very experienced Eletrickit engineer, the other day and learned so much about his cooker.
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The Electrickit cooks in pretty much the same was as a traditional Aga, with a few exceptions.
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The biggest difference in cooking between it and a traditional Aga, is that the electric element is installed between the top and bottom ovens.
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This means that the floor of the top oven is very hot, as is the roof of the bottom oven.
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The thermostat controls the temperature of the top oven, and the bottom oven runs at about 65-70% of the heat of the top oven.
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When you set the temperature of the ovens, they will reach full heat in about an hour and a half from cold. Many owners prefer to keep the ovens on, at a lower temperature, all the time, so that the kitchen is warm and cosy and the ovens will heat up to full much faster.
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To grill, or brown the top of a dish, turn the oven temperature up by 10-15C or just open the top oven door for a minutes, then put the dish or grill against the roof of the bottom oven – turning up the heat means the element boosts heat and the top of the bottom oven gets very hot.
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If the oven temperature is set to over 180C, the bottom oven will act in the same way as the traditional Aga simmering oven – until you turn it up and then it will become very hot at the top.
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To cook pastry in the Aga way without baking blind, use the cold plain shelf on the lowest runners in the top oven instead of cooking directly on the floor of the top oven – the floor of the oven is too hot to cook pastry at any temperature over 180.
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If you don’t want to turn the hotplates on, use the floor of the top oven as a hotplate.
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If you want to protect any dishes from the intense heat of the floor of the top oven, use the cold plain shelf BELOW the dish, to shield some of the heat coming from the element.
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PS. Here is a brief comparison chart, with details from manufacturers' websites for Esse, ElectricKit and eControl conversions.
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And a really helpful link to Rural Ranges, who ae ElectrciKit experts