Ever Tried Cooking with a Solar Oven?

[Stephaniecafe]

DH just bought me one a couple of weeks ago and I have used it every day! I love it and was wondering if anyone had some good tips or ideas! I have used it for cooking casseroles, breads and cake. I can't seem to get it to brown things very well because it is contained, like a green house. So the moisture gets trapped. Hmmm. Anyone ever used the stoneware in a solar oven either?

 

[KellyTheChef]

Uh....never even heard of one!! Oops!

Glad you are having fun with it!

 

[lkprescott]

DH just bought me one a couple of weeks ago and I have used it every day! I love it and was wondering if anyone had some good tips or ideas! I have used it for cooking casseroles, breads and cake. I can't seem to get it to brown things very well because it is contained, like a green house. So the moisture gets trapped. Hmmm. Anyone ever used the stoneware in a solar oven either?

I would LOVE a solar oven! What brand did you get? Our local recycling center sells them... I've often thought about it.

I would think some of our stoneware may work.. though I wonder if it would get to temperature fast enough to cook in a reasonable amount of time?

As for browning.. could you put it in the broiler to brown?

 

[Stephaniecafe]

The brand I got is called a Global ( www.sunovens.com). DH found a retailer local. The site has some good ideas and great ovens. I didn't realize they are used all over the world! I love that it is a clean free energy source and in less than a year it will pay for itself for what I'm saving in electric bills. It gets so hot here and heating up the house and then cooling it is expensive! I think I will try heating the stone in the microwave first and then putting it in the solar oven. Solar ovens don't have a broiler, so I may just have to have anemic bread and enjoy it. :yuck:Hmmm. Oh hey, interesting fact, it doesn't have to be hot to use a sun oven, just sunny. They use them at base camps on Mt Everest all the time, so even in the cold winter in PA, as long as it is sunny, or partly sunny, you can still cook. Cool eh?

 

[ChefBeckyD]

The brand I got is called a Global ( www.sunovens.com). DH found a retailer local. The site has some good ideas and great ovens. I didn't realize they are used all over the world! I love that it is a clean free energy source and in less than a year it will pay for itself for what I'm saving in electric bills. It gets so hot here and heating up the house and then cooling it is expensive! I think I will try heating the stone in the microwave first and then putting it in the solar oven. Solar ovens don't have a broiler, so I may just have to have anemic bread and enjoy it. :yuck:Hmmm. Oh hey, interesting fact, it doesn't have to be hot to use a sun oven, just sunny. They use them at base camps on Mt Everest all the time, so even in the cold winter in PA, as long as it is sunny, or partly sunny, you can still cook. Cool eh?

That explains why I've never seen them around here!

During the Fall, Winter, and Spring months, part of the weather report is a count of how many days we have been without sun. I'm guessing there are no retailers in these parts!

 

[Stephaniecafe]

Yea, sun is key. It is raining here today... as weird as that is! It's monsoon so we get these freak storms like two weeks out of the year. It started today. I will not even be able to test any ideas until it clears up. :cry: But, that gives me time to get more input. They actually heat up pretty quick an I don't need more than 2 hours of sun to get a meal cooked. But, alas, today is not that day...

 

[lkprescott]

The brand I got is called a Global ( www.sunovens.com). DH found a retailer local. The site has some good ideas and great ovens. I didn't realize they are used all over the world! I love that it is a clean free energy source and in less than a year it will pay for itself for what I'm saving in electric bills. It gets so hot here and heating up the house and then cooling it is expensive! I think I will try heating the stone in the microwave first and then putting it in the solar oven. Solar ovens don't have a broiler, so I may just have to have anemic bread and enjoy it. :yuck:Hmmm. Oh hey, interesting fact, it doesn't have to be hot to use a sun oven, just sunny. They use them at base camps on Mt Everest all the time, so even in the cold winter in PA, as long as it is sunny, or partly sunny, you can still cook. Cool eh?

I meant using the broiler in the oven in your kitchen, to finish off for color. Would use the oven but hopefully not for long enough to heat up the kitchen, which I TOTALLY understand. I can barely boil a pot of water without a major heat shift up! LOL... preheating the stone in the microwave makes a lot of sense.

Oh, I saw a great article in Wired how solar ovens are helping folks in various third world areas. They usually use wood fires to cook and have a lot of respiratory problems for it... solar ovens have been helping them cook without the health risks or the emissions of burning wood. What a win-win!

 

[chefbritt]

I made my own solar oven as a science project when I was a kid. I loved that thing! I never cooked a meal in it, but I would melt marshmellows and chocolate for s'mores and heat up other snacks and things, and it was awesome. It heated up so quickly. But honestly, I've never thought of purchasing and using a real one. I'm interested to see what you're results will be Stephanie, let us know!

 

[CookingwithMary]

I use ours infrequently, but always works. Homemade box with mylar linging. The cooking pot is an old brown enameled pan, Teflon lined, with aluminum lid. Spray painted the lid with flat black heat proof paint (sold for bbqs, etc). Sliced sweet potatoes, cooked all day, are fabulous. Also don't overlook meat dishes where the meat is browned on the conventional stove first, then the whole dish is finished with solar power.

 

[chefjeanine]

That explains why I've never seen them around here!

During the Fall, Winter, and Spring months, part of the weather report is a count of how many days we have been without sun. I'm guessing there are no retailers in these parts!

I was going to comment on this earlier. Being from one of the least sunny states in the union, I don't think these are ever going to go over well in Michigan.

 

[Stephaniecafe]

Okay, so I found out from a solar cooking book that if I leave a little crack in the lid, the moisture will escape and the bread should brown. It's sunny today so I am totally trying it! We'll see. Oh, and Mary aka Gwen, your oven sounds like one I have used for a while! I love that thing! The reflective stuff on this new one is more like a mirror and metal, so it is really strong. It has a carrying feature and is really light so I love that I can take it camping! We have so many no burn days in our mountains that it will make it perfect! Oh and Smores! Britt, Great idea! We'll let you know!

 

[Stephaniecafe]

I meant using the broiler in the oven in your kitchen, to finish off for color. Would use the oven but hopefully not for long enough to heat up the kitchen, which I TOTALLY understand. I can barely boil a pot of water without a major heat shift up! LOL... preheating the stone in the microwave makes a lot of sense.

Oh, I saw a great article in Wired how solar ovens are helping folks in various third world areas. They usually use wood fires to cook and have a lot of respiratory problems for it... solar ovens have been helping them cook without the health risks or the emissions of burning wood. What a win-win![/QUOTE]
I read about a village in Africa who used the solar oven to bake breads and they saved since they no longer had to find wood etc. they put that effort toward selling the baked goods and where able to build a school house for the children. It made me feel really blessed for my life here. I think I for one, take it for granted! They can pasturize water, and medical tools. They have even been using them for canning food. It has really been a huge blessing. It made me want to simplify my life a little and be more aware of the world around me. Very inspiring. http://www.sunoven.com/usa.asp is the actual website. It has all the info.

I found that if I don't lock the lid, I get browned bread. Made two loaves today and they turned out perfect! Thanks everyone for the ideas!

 

[byrd1956]

I made my own solar oven as a science project when I was a kid. I loved that thing! I never cooked a meal in it, but I would melt marshmellows and chocolate for s'mores and heat up other snacks and things, and it was awesome. It heated up so quickly. But honestly, I've never thought of purchasing and using a real one. I'm interested to see what you're results will be Stephanie, let us know!

never heard of a solar oven...but in Girl Scouts we made Buddy-Burners out of large cans with a small can under it. The small can had coiled cardboard w/wax and a wick. (not very environmentally friendly) Bacon and eggs tasted great cooked on them!!

 

[Stephaniecafe]

We used buddy burners too! It was part of certification. I got my bead for my necklace or whatever it was... can't remember now. Think how it would be if you lived somewhere where the fuel was hard to find or worse... dung! I wouldn't want that on my bacon and eggs! I don't have that problem here, but I love supporting a company who thinks global and sends these sun ovens all over the world. Makes me feel like I am doing something, however small it may be.

 

[Stephaniecafe]

Hey, I just found out I can use the solar oven for indoor cooking on cloudy days! Heat water to boil, add the rice or lentils or whatever, and then put in a covered pot. Put the covered pot in the solar oven with a blanket over it, close it, and 1 hour later, rice is cooked... lentils take 2-3 hours. Is that crazy?! And the temp. stays high enough to not cause food born illness.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

never heard of a solar oven...but in Girl Scouts we made Buddy-Burners out of large cans with a small can under it. The small can had coiled cardboard w/wax and a wick. (not very environmentally friendly) Bacon and eggs tasted great cooked on them!!

We made those at the camp where I was a counselor. Except, we didn't have small cans under them. They had holes punched near the cooking surface of the can, and a door cut in the bottom - and we had to gather leaves, twigs and small sticks, and then use that as the fuel for the stove.

I have all kinds of great memories using those - it was so much fun!