Author
John Wray
Founder, John Wray Range Cookers
Working with Aga cookers since 1990
John Wray has been working with Aga cookers since 1990. He took over the family farm at Catterick Village in 1985 and was dairy farming when he bought his first Aga, reconditioned it and sold it on. That single cooker grew into a business, and in time into John Wray Country Stoves.
Over the decades since, John has worked on Aga range cookers of every kind, from traditional solid fuel and oil models through to the electric conversions the workshop fits today. The reconditioning standards he set are still the ones every cooker is held to before it leaves the workshop.
John kept the firm in the family in 2008, when his daughter Katie and son-in-law Stuart joined him. He is now enjoying a well-earned retirement, with the business he started in the hands of the next generation.
11 articles by John Wray
- How to Use an Aga Cooker: A Beginner's Guide to Heat-Storage Cooking A beginner's guide to cooking on an Aga range cooker. The seven principles, the boiling plate, the simmering plate, the four ovens, partial offsetting, shielding, and how modern electric conversions change the rules.
- Parts of an Aga Cooker: A Glossary of Every Component, Plate and Oven A complete glossary of every part of an Aga range cooker, from the boiling and simmering plates to the roasting, baking, simmering and warming ovens. Includes lids, doors, plinth, flue and thermometer.
- How to Turn Off an Aga: A Step-by-Step Guide for Oil, Gas and Electric Models Step-by-step instructions for safely turning off an Aga range cooker, by fuel type. Cool-down timing, summer shutdown, and when to call an engineer. Yorkshire workshop, 30+ years' experience.
- How To Light An Oil-Fired Aga: A Step-by-Step Yorkshire Engineer's Guide Step-by-step lighting instructions for oil-fired Aga range cookers, what a correct flame looks like, common faults, and when to call an OFTEC-registered engineer. Yorkshire workshop, 30+ years' experience.
- How to Clean an Aga Without Damaging Enamel Generally, for cleaning an Aga, you're probably trying to solve one of these problems:
- Sausage and Chestnut Stuffing Recipe for Aga Range Cookers The key is balancing a crisp top with a moist centre, and using the Aga ovens for what they do best: gentle softening in the simmering oven, then a short
- Turkey Roasting Times in Aga Range Cookers Q: What is the 7kg turkey cooking time in an Aga?A: For slow roasting, plan about 10 to 12 hours in the simmering oven after 1 hour in the roasting oven. For
- How to Cook a Turkey for Christmas Whether you're hosting Christmas in Harrogate or filling a family kitchen in the Dales, an Aga cooker makes roasting turkey calm and predictable. Its radiant
- How To Cook A Jacket Potato Q: How long does a jacket potato take in the Aga roasting oven? A: Aim for around 60 minutes at ~220 °C; very large spuds may need up to 75 minutes while
- Best Royal-Inspired Biscuit Recipes for National Biscuit Day Q: Which Aga oven should I use for buttery shortbread?A: Bake in the simmering oven or on a cold shelf in the roasting oven so the dough cooks gently.
- How To Cook Topside Beef In An Aga Cooker Q: What’s the quickest way to cook topside beef in an Aga? A: Start the joint in the roasting oven at 240 to 260 °C for about 12 minutes per 450 g to brown, then
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