Behind the Brand AGA

As this icon of the kitchen celebrates its 100th anniversary, Jenny Oldaker explores how the AGA has become a covetable symbol of country living and inspired a legion of devoted fans along the way

- Jenny Oldaker

Few brands of cooker can lay claim to resuscitating lambs or hatching ostrich eggs alongside their day job, but the AGA is no ordinary cooker. Not only does this iconic oven make succulent stews and terrific toast, but its function goes above and beyond its cooking capabilities drying logs, seeds or flowers, airing clothes and warming the home alongside its livestockreviving abilities). It’s little wonder that this multi-purpose mainstay of the kitchen has endured over the years; the cooker has managed to retain the essence of its original style and function while steadily evolving to preserve its relevance for contemporary cooks.

The AGA today is a recognisable descendent of the first AGA cooker, which was created by Swedish physicist Dr Gustaf Dalén in 1922. Having been blinded in an accident at work, it was during his recovery at home that he was struck by the poor performance of the range used by his exhausted wife, which was dirty, time-consuming and troublesome to cook on. He resolved to create a clean, easy-to-use and economical cooker and the result was the very first AGA the name is an acronym of Aktiebolaget Gasaccumulator, the company for which Dalén worked). The invention was based on the principle of heat storage, combining a heat source, hotplates and ovens in one unit, and it was an immediate hit with the buying public.