What's "Aga Cookery"?

[JasonCampbell]

Well, see, like I knew that, but what I wanted to be enlightened on was why the name for appliances, too? Is it an acronym?

Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla.

Metal enamelling factory in Guastalla- roughly translated.

EDIT: And I should point out it's an Italian company, not Scandinavian.

Edited December 30, 2003 by JasonCampbell (log)

[Charlene's Husband]

Well, see, like I knew that, but what I wanted to be enlightened on was why the name for appliances, too? Is it an acronym?

Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla.

Metal enamelling factory in Guastalla- roughly translated.

EDIT: And I should point out it's an Italian company, not Scandinavian.

Oh well, that shows what I know. Nothing. As I'm sure Charlene would verify.

[JasonCampbell]

Well, see, like I knew that, but what I wanted to be enlightened on was why the name for appliances, too? Is it an acronym?

Smalterie Metallurgiche Emiliane Guastalla.

Metal enamelling factory in Guastalla- roughly translated.

EDIT: And I should point out it's an Italian company, not Scandinavian.

Oh well, that shows what I know. Nothing. As I'm sure Charlene would verify.

It doesn't show you know nothing, it shows you don't know S.M.E.G.

[Mabelline]

Ah, but now I do know SMEG. Thanks to you all. But then I'm the child who never asked what BMW stood for till I was like 15.

[Aussie_Gusto]

They were a fairly common oven in Australia prior to the gas and electric stoves.

Some farmhouses still have them as well as an electric cooker. They must have been hard for the women cooking with the hot summers in Australia.

(Gosh I hope the old copper boilers don't become fashionable items again!)

[MobyP]

Charlene's Husband - Welcome! We always welcome those who sound as if they know what they're talking about, even when they don't, or do, depending on the day of the week, their pre-nup agreement, the weather etc. (My own pre-nup states I must admit my infinite wrongness in all things at least four days a week - the other three are negotiable, but I mustn't hold my breath).

And Aussie Gusto - Welcome! The old Swedish-Aussie connection eh? I can't even begin to imagine what the mark-up must've been on an Aga after a 12,000 mile ship journey. Any idea of Aussie prices?

[therese]

On a recent visit to New Zealand I came across a type of upmarket range called Rangemaster. Apparently the same company as Aga, but more conventional fuels and styling (both modern and traditional, so Aga-esque). Nice features, and not so massive as the big pseudo-professional ones, and the NZ prices weren't bad. I looked into getting one for my kitchen remodel here in the U.S., but couldn't find a U.S. dealer for that line (Agas, on the other hand, are not difficult to find) so instead went with a two oven, five burner Frigidaire/Electrolux range (which I'm loving).

My grandmother cooked on a wood/coal-burning range that also served to heat the house. It was the sole source of heat in that part of house, so its being on all the time was hardly considered wasteful. But in the summer it was too hot to use, so she used an electric range that was sometimes also used in the winter if we were cooking for a really big crowd at the holidays.

Rangemaster web site