TWO THINGS I’VE LEARNED ABOUT SOLAR COOKING
Here are the two things I’ve learned about solar cooking:
1) It is as easy as just setting a pot full of food in the sun.
Being able to cook a meal using only the power of solar energy directly from the source is absolutely amazing. A solar cooker set outside on a sunny day will heat up to 300°F – 400 ° F, plenty hot enough to cook almost anything.
Here are a few tips for solar cooking:
- In most cases, it is best to pre-heat the solar oven so it will be hot when the food is put in the oven.
- If the door steams up, open it quickly to wipe away the steam.
- Try not to open the door of the cooker very often. Opening the door will cause a drop in temperature of about 25°
- Use dark colored pots and pans. This helps to absorb the heat. Do not use bright shiny pans as this causes the light to reflect back out from the pans.
To learn more about how to use a solar cooker, see Solar Cooking Tips and Techniques.
2) It is NOT just as easy as setting a pot full of food in the sun.
While it is easy to cook in a solar oven, there are a few points to keep in mind.
- The oven must be kept turned and focused into the sun for the best results. This requires one to monitor the oven to make adjustments as needed.
- Cloudy and rainy days can often interrupt plans for a solar cooked meal. Be sure to check out the weather forecast to be sure the day will be sunny.
- High winds can often be a problem. A high wind can catch the reflector panels and flip it over.
After 7 years of solar cooking, I have learned that I can cook almost anything in my solar ovens. And I have quite a number of different styles. Each style and type of solar cooker has it good points and bad points. The best cooker is simply the one the suits my needs best at that particular time.
As I continue to learn to use my cookers to the fullest, I will continue to share my recipes and my tips. So if you have something to share with us, please leave a comment so that we will all benefit.
This is the last part of a 5 part series. To start at the beginning, please see My First Solar Oven.
A solar oven? that’s cool!
how long does it take to cook things?
Hi, Solar cooking is really great. the time it takes to cook depends on what you are cooking and the type of cooker you use. But in general, using a box cooker, it takes about as long as a slow oven or crock pot. Brownies take about 2 hrs, cookies about 1 hr. A small roast takes 4-5 hrs, a pot of beans takes 5 – 6 hours. A parabolic cooker heats to a very high temp and you can pop corn, grill steaks, and fry. Thanks for the post.