Wood-burning Range Cooking

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Wood-burning Range Cooking
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blossom

Joined: 06 Dec 2010
Posts: 100
Location: Pays de La Loire, France

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 1:25 pm Post subject: Wood-burning Range Cooking
Please forgive me if this is the wrong forum but... Does anyone else have a wood-burning range (Esse, Rayburn type thing)? What do you find the greatest challenges with cooking?

Harvestmouse

Joined: 05 Jan 2011
Posts: 23
Location: A muddy field in Devon

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 2:41 pm Post subject:

Hello Blossom,

I'm new to this forum, so it's hello from me too

We've just bought an Esse woodburning cooker. It's been installed for just about a month now and we love it. It just does cooking and ambient heating, so no hot water or other radiators.

For cooking, you need to give it time to heat the frame up before you start using the oven or the hot plates, else it struggles to get them really hot. So, light it about an hour before you need it and stoke it up to get it really hot, then it will handle anything. You can then scale the fuel down and it will tick over quite happily. If you've used the hotplates a lot, close them down again when you've finished cooking to let the get really hot again before you put the kettle on!

Use as much of the heat as you can, so plan your cooking. If you've taken the trouble to light it and get it up to speed, then also plan to have something ready to pop in the oven part, like roasties, bread or a rice pudding that you can cook slowly once the main cooking has finished and you're not stoking it up as much.

If you've finished cooking for the day and are going to just let it cool, then put some cold or slightly damp logs in the oven and leave the door open slightly, they'll be bone dry by morning. We also bring any logs in as early as we can and store them indoors or under the cooker, so the cooker isn't using energy to warm them up before burning.

I can honestly say I haven't found cooking on it a challenge, just so long as you let it get to temperature first. I wouldn't be without it now!
During this very cold spell, we've managed to use no gas or electric for cooking or heating the house in the evenings, the ambient heat from the cooker warms the entire house just enough.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 2:57 pm Post subject:
I've no answer to the original question, sorry. Welcome aboard Nutroast while I'm here though.

Mrs R

Joined: 15 Aug 2008
Posts: 7202

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 3:06 pm Post subject:

We have a louis ranger from the windy smithy. It heats up very quickly unlike a proper range so things don't have to be planned quite as thoroughly but it can die just as quickly! My biggest issue is not getting distracted and letting it get beyond The Point of No Return and having to build it up again, meanwhile your loaf's flopped....everything has to be turned around too, and you need to judge where it has to sit in the oven which takes a bit of trial and error. I find it fine, but I'm a suck-it-and-see sort of person, people who need exact measurements, timings and gasmarks might take a while to get it!!

Dee J

Joined: 22 May 2005
Posts: 342
Location: West Devon

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 3:21 pm Post subject:

Main issue - fuel quality.

Our slightly non-standard Rayburn manages OK on grotty wood for the hot water - but can be downright sullen in the cooking department unless it has access to really dry wood (or coal) of just the right size/dryness/heat capacity. Planning and managing fuel stocks seems to be the main skill required - and I'm still learning. I think the new Esses are less trouble as they have a larger firebox and better draft arrangemnets for wood burning.

Good luck

Dee

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9881
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 3:57 pm Post subject:

Nutroast wrote:

Hello Blossom,

I'm new to this forum, so it's hello from me too

We've just bought an Esse woodburning cooker. It's been installed for just about a month now and we love it. It just does cooking and ambient heating, so no hot water or other radiators.

is this an ironheart?

I think we have pretty much decided to go for esse - but we keep changing our minds about whether to go for an ironheart, or the wood fired range. prolly the range

either way we have to save first..

Harvestmouse

Joined: 05 Jan 2011
Posts: 23
Location: A muddy field in Devon

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 5:18 pm Post subject:

Yes, it's the Ironheart. It has a larger box for burning wood and if necessary, you just take it out to burn other solid fuel. That was one of the reasons for not choosing the Rayburn, which it seems you have to alter a bit more to take other fuel. Ours is in the sitting room, so the Ironheart doesn't take over completely. We couldn't fit anything in with more than the one oven anyway.

Even without stoking it up, if it burns until, say, 9 or 10 pm, it will still be hot enough to light up by itself in the morning if you just add more fuel.

If it was in the kitchen, I'd love an Aga, but they don't do a wood burning one any more

Cost is a factor here too!

Talking of cost, we did have to factor in getting the chimney lined to get the draw for the Esse.

PS. We're in Devon too, I'll get my profile sorted out soon.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46211
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 5:22 pm Post subject:
used em ,the big uns need stoking up and burning 24/7 the light steel ones can be lit and used at short notice if full of charcoal when last shut down a fire and some metal work can be very adaptable

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9881
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 7:11 pm Post subject:

Nutroast wrote:

Cost is a factor here too!

Talking of cost, we did have to factor in getting the chimney lined to get the draw for the Esse.

PS. We're in Devon too, I'll get my profile sorted out soon.

yay for another Devonian

it might just be better marketing, but it seems rayburn have just altered their solid fuel range so it can burn wood, ... it comes without the grate and then qualifies for the cheaper VAT rate, and tehre is a market going for the solid fuel grate....

meanwhile esse seem to have worked out that people want to actually burn wood, have designed it so, and even talk about burning pallet wood..

at the mo we have a gas rayburn, and i have learnt to love it and will no doubt have to learn to cook on a wood fired one in a completely different way.

blossom

Joined: 06 Dec 2010
Posts: 100
Location: Pays de La Loire, France

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 11 8:34 pm Post subject:

Ours is the full-sized Esse wood-burner range with a back boiler that gives us loads of hot water and heating via underfloor, a couple of radiators and a heat-exchanging hot air system.

It's gorgeous - I love it. Hardly ever have to de-ash it even though we run it round the clock in the winter months. I agree about the wood though. We now have a moisture meter to check our supplies.

It's been in just over a year now and I've had to learn its foibles. I believe that every one is different due to differing situations. I need to change the way I operate it if it's windy or if it's a different wood. I've had to work hard to learn all about the different woods and what they're good for. I've finally worked out what it takes to get a good pizza oven going.

My main niggle at the moment is doing a roast. If you do a Hugh Fernley Wittingstall sizzle, it's quite hard to then drop the temp for the slow cook and yet still roast the potatoes in a high heat. Anyone got any tips?

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46211
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 12:20 am Post subject:
for a slow steady burn oak ,blackthorn and other prunus are good burners and make good coal ,chestnut is very hot , dry birch is ok if quick to burn ,softwoods can be great if they are used in the correct fire ,offcuts of free things are good fuel

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9881
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 11:30 am Post subject:

blossom wrote:

is this your only oven?

green with envy as i want what you have. though we wont be having underfloor heating as we have solid floors, low ceilings etc

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 4:02 pm Post subject:
Mochyn also has an Esse, when she re-surfaces she may be able to say something about it.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 4:05 pm Post subject:

vegplot wrote:

Mochyn also has an Esse, when she re-surfaces she may be able to say something about it.

Is this a clue about the 'Where's Mochyn?' thread? She's gone to live under the sea.

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 11 4:16 pm Post subject:
Extreme knitting, freediver style.

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