Woodfired Esse Range Cooker

[yamin]

Hi, does anyone have one of these? Wonder if you can help! We are thinking of getting one of the Esse stoves. As you probably know they are heat storage, like Agas (please don't flame me! Read on!). The advantage of the Esse in general is that it can go from running on 'cool', to oven hot in about 40 mins, so although not as convenient as a normal cooker, it does mean that you can have it in your kitchen as the only cooker (it would be for us), but not be boiling hot all summer long (or letting all the heat out of the windows!), as you can run it cool and turn it up as necessary. This is all ok for the gas fired model - nice and clean and easy --------- and lots of fossil fuel! Here is the woodfired one....

http://www.esse.com/cookers/cookers/woodfired.html

I'm assuming you cannot run this one cool in quite the same way, but for all that summer sweating in the kitchen, you get your reward in the 'eco-room' (hopefully!) for burning sustainable fuel ( :?: ).

Not actually sure what I'm asking, but does it seem like a sensible choice? It won't be used to run radiators or provide hot water. Will be main heat source for kitchen and downstairs and all cooking purposes only.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Beautiful! What colour? They're all lovely - I'd like one myself!

How it works it doesn't sound very different to our Rayburn, in as much as it's permanently on "Low", (not overly hot - around 50 degrees in my case) and in theory it should heat up in 40 mins. Mine doesn't, always, it depends how it feels on the day - but that's just because it's old and probably needs new parts.

I'm interested to know how often you have to feed these things with wood. :? We harvest all our own wood here for 5 open fires, I wouldn't really fancy the work of another one just at present. It's a full time job in itself. But if you can get the wood delivered, in appropriately cut sizes, and have them in a nice basket next to it, it must be very convenient. And surely cheaper than oil or gas?

 

[Jon Maine]

We have an Esse ironheart which is basically a woodburner with hobs and oven, it gets quite hot, to hot to use in the summer. It does not regulate air well enough to stay in over night burning i around 3 hours but we are quite happy with it. The model you are looking at is different but if anything should behave much better.

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Good value for money .

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

A close relative has had one of these for the last couple of years. They had some problems with build quality which have not been fully resolved; I don't know if current models have been tweaked to iron out the problems or not.

They use it as main cooking appliance, DHW source and room heater, and seem to get on fairly well with it, but then they are very committed to the whole self-sufficiency dream and have access to large amounts of free wood, plus enough time to process it into burnable sizes. From my personal observations I am not entirely convinced that the Esse delivers the performance that the brochures would have you believe. Indeed, I have decided against fitting one in my own house. Cooking will be handled by a gas hob and electric oven (much more controllable for the keen cook, gets round the 'too hot in summer' problem), room heating will be from a conventional woodburning stove (more efficient at giving out heat to the room than the Esse range), and HW and CH will be handled by our high efficiency condensing boiler. I reckon that having appliances dedicated to each task gives better overall results than one appliance which tries to combine all the functions.

Having said all that, if you love the idea of being 'off grid' for heating and cooking, and have the resouces of time, money and space to accomodate the Esse and its fuel then it probably about as good as you'll get, and they certainly look handsome. And I suppose that if you once buy in to the lifestyle then you'll learn to accomodate its various requirements and shortcomings. A bit like being a dog owner.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Andrew makes a very good point about responsiveness. Abi - I know you're a wonderful cook, you need to find a cooking forum where these machines are talked about, or find a demonstration? I struggle with my Rayburn for roasts, which is a very serious flaw in my opinion. Typically the meat will cook at a lower temperature than roast potatoes, for which you need a very hot oven to crisp them up. When I had an electric oven I'd take the meat out to rest and turn up the temperature for the potatoes, and being an electric oven it responded quickly and never let me down. Perfect crisped roast potatoes, and meat, crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle. Now, I find I'm unable to do that. If I want a good roast I have to take the meat out 40 minutes in advance, turn up the temperature, let the potatoes crisp up and then reheat the meat - this is far from ideal and causes me a good deal of stress. You need to see that your new appliance can go from 180 to 220 in a decent time frame IMO. You also need to know that it doesn't sneakily climb in its temperature, as mine does. This makes something like a fruit cake extremely unpredictable, you put it in at number 4, which you've got to 160, but then half an hour later the temperature has climbed a bit and the cake is burnt on top and raw in the middle. I am begging Chris for an extra electric oven - as also, my Rayburn can't fit it all in when we have guests.

 

[Penners]

We had an oil-fired Esse in our last house. Obviously I can't comment on the efficacy of the woodburning system, but I can tell you that our Esse was beautifully built, entirely reliable and the only thing on the planet that Mrs P loved more than me.

Oh, and the dog.

And the kids.

And of course the grandchildren.

And her stainless steel spade.

And her digital radio.

And... oh hell - I reckon I come in somewhere around 47th. (Not bad, though.)

 

[Tom]

When I had an electric oven I'd take the meat out to rest and turn up the temperature for the potatoes, and being an electric oven it responded quickly and never let me down. Perfect crisped roast potatoes, and meat, crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle. Now, I find I'm unable to do that. If I want a good roast I have to take the meat out 40 minutes in advance, turn up the temperature, let the potatoes crisp up and then reheat the meat - this is far from ideal and causes me a good deal of stress.

Joce, when your meat is ready take it out of the main oven and put it in the lower oven to rest. Put your solid tray on a high rung in the main oven and place your tray of potatoes on that. The solid tray keeps all the heat at the top, so your potatoes will cook a lot faster and crisp up better. By the time they're ready, your meat is rested, still hot and ready to carve. Hope this helps

Oh, if you don't have a solid tray (which every Rayburn originally came with) I may have a spare one kicking around. I can have a look around for one, if you like

Jaqy

 

[JoceAndChris]

Yes, it does help a lot! I've been trying to get my head around that solid tray, which I've never used. Thanks!

 

[Tom]

Yes, it does help a lot! I've been trying to get my head around that solid tray, which I've never used. Thanks!

Oh good, you've got one Well, you'd better start using it then :lol:

You can use it as I said for your roast dinners but also for your cakes. If you find your cake is burning because the temperature has gone up, put the solid tray in above the cake. This deflects the heat away (above the cake) and reduces the temperature in the oven...allowing you to continue cooking your cake without it burning

You can also use it as a baking tray for scones, biscuits etc.

Get cooking!!

Jaqy

 

[Penners]

Good grief - this has all got a bit technical!

Any tips on egg boiling? I've just about mastered the toast soldiers.

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: Aw, Penners, you have just shattered my illusions of you whipping up a nice Twice-baked Fig and Vanilla Bombe Alaska for Mrs P on her days off.

Jaqi, how do you know this stuff? It's amazing! Thanks so much, will do as you say and see if I still want an electric oven.

 

[Tom]

Jaqi, how do you know this stuff? It's amazing! Thanks so much, will do as you say and see if I still want an electric oven.

It's just stuff I've read about and learned from my friend over the last few years, really. I never had a range cooker before the Rayburn I have now.

Don't forget to roast your chestnuts directly on the hob (unless you want to do them in the fire). Just put them on the hotplate, close the lids and give them about 5 minutes.....yummy!!

You can also grill food (sausages, chops etc) at the top of a hot oven. Place the food on a grill rack and place in the roasting tin to catch the fat. Do you have a roasting tin? It should be wide enough to fit directly on the rails. Again, I think I have a spare one if you don't have one.

You can also fry food on the oven floor. Use a cast iron dish or a cast iron frying pan with iron handle. You start the frying off on the hob and the place the dish or pan directly on the floor of a hot oven. Grilling and frying is good because any fat splashes carbonise, so there's no mess to clean up

Use the warming oven to warm plates before serving, keep plated meals warm, warm jars for jam or preserve making (I'll be doing my Crab Apple Jelly this week ), raise dough etc.

Don't forget you can dry your laundry on the top, too! But, be careful about placing things over the gap between the lids as they will scorch....yes, I've done it However, if you fold your sheets and pillow cases and place them on the lids overnight, they'll be dry and pressed by the morning A laundry maid is the best option, though, but I know you don't have the height for one

Oh, yeah, and you can warm up your wax, too....unless you spring a gas leak and the thermocouple goes :evil: :evil: The little man is coming tomorrow to fix mine and I can't wait. My house feels dead without the Rayburn on

There must be a million and one things you can use a Rayburn for...far more versatile than an electric oven

Jaqy

 

[Cloudscape]

I'm realising now that I've only just scratched the surface of what I could be doing with the Rayburn. I didn't know anything about solid shelves or roasting tins that fit the width of the oven.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Me neither. And I profess to be a cook!! Oh well, never to late to learn - loads of useful stuff there Jaqy, thanks!

 

[Tom]

Cloudscape and Joce, this link http://www.jacksonsaga.co.uk/cooking.htmlshows the rack, tins and shelf available for Rayburns. The original ones are aluminium but I should think these 'new' ones are just as good. Glad to be of help

Jaqy

PS I have no connection with the company above.

 

[Feltwell]

A laundry maid is the best option, though, but I know you don't have the height for one

How tall does you laundry maid have to be? Shorter than your butler? Or is this a veiled heightist dig at Yamin? She might be a 6' tall Amazonian type for all you know. :wink:

 

[Feltwell]

and being serious for a mo...... There is an Aga factory shop in Ketley in Telford (one of the Aga sites) if anyone is ever heading up the M54 / A5 and wants to see if any bargains are to be had......

 

[Tom]

A laundry maid is the best option, though, but I know you don't have the height for one

How tall does you laundry maid have to be? Shorter than your butler? Or is this a veiled heightist dig at Yamin? She might be a 6' tall Amazonian type for all you know. :wink:

:lol: :lol: :lol: Nah, I mean like this...........

Oh, look...there's my roasting tin, an open shelf and other bits on the window sill !!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Jaqy

 

[yamin]

Well bugger this stupid 'you've had a reply' system!! Didn't get a single e mail letting me know any of you had replied, and had come on to the site in the deepest dudgeon to whinge and complain about lack of help!!! Here's a winning smile, and a big thank you for all your responses!

Joce - thanks for your praise formy cooking - I'm certainly an enthusiast - I try to be Nigella, but am more Ma Larkin, but hey, how ideal for an Esse??! I was lucky enough to learn all my cooking at my mothers knee, on an Aga, and then had one for 7 years in a house we rented, so I am very familiar with the different cooking methods and tricks of this kind of cooker, but since we are quite close to where these are produced I may well take myself off to see a demo anyway, and possibly pick up more tips. I hope that the heating up time is accurate - thought that may only be if we get the gas one. I take your point re collecting wood - and ours is not free, so we do need to think about it from a convenience point of view.

DWB - WOW! You are the queen of full Rayburn useage - you really 'work it'! I never used my Aga to quite the same extent - though I smiled at the scorch reference - my eldest sister always had scorch marks on the back of her jumpers where she insisted on sitting on the aga rail! We have a laundry maid above our woodburner, and its been fantastic - when we had the Aga and newborn twins it dried all their terry nappies a treat - never had to resort to a disposable!!! Funnily enough a friend of mine is staying in a cottage in Scotland with an aga, and she texted to say she loved the aga, then again to say she didn't., it burnt her cake. When I told her to use the cold tray, she said thats what the recipe said but she didn't understand so she just didn't bother!!

Penners - 47th on list???? Think you forgot Kevin McCloud and Dairy Milk, didn't you? So glad Mrs Penners feels so positive about these - I think they are like marmite - you are either totally in love or you loathe them. I shall have to grow long arms for mine though, an ever increasing-in-size labrador puppy will fight me for the leg room in front of it!

Feltwell - Nah, they were all right, I am roughly the size of a hobbit - from a long line of em........I stand on Mr Yamins shoulders to put the washing on the laundry maid!!!! :lol: