The pictures I did take highlighted things I was interested in particular, such as side or back access into the cooking area. This seems like a great design option to me as I get tired of the brightness and heat I'm exposed to while getting in and out of my ovens.
The other oven I was particularly interested in was one made with a fresnel lens, often recovered from projection TVs. The advantage of such a solar cooker is that enormous energy is concentrated in a small space, making it possible to cook foods that need intense heat. Slow cooking is fine, but sometimes a girl just wants to do a stirfry!
The disadvantages of this kind of cooker are that it is big, it is very hot, and it can start a fire if not tilted out of the sun's direct rays. The gentleman demonstrating this oven likes to show that it can ignite a piece of 2x4 in just a couple of seconds. Obviously not for use by children or pyromaniacs.
One other oven that intrigued me was a slimline model that apparently folds down to nothing. The oven is really just the panels and then the food is cooked in a metal pot inside a tempered glass bowl with a lid. In the world of commercial solar ovens, it's relatively inexpensive and highly portable.
Of course, there are also plenty of plans online for those who wish to construct their own solar oven. Buy or make yourself one and start cooking with free energy!
PS: It was nice to finally meet NancyG, a fellow McDougaller whom I've crossed paths with online for several years. While visiting with her, who should drop by but Gabrielle, the Solar Oven Chef? You may recall her blog where she posted about cooking with her oven almost every day for a year. Now she blogs over at the Sun Oven website.
Wow! Looks like lots of folks are getting interested. Can't wait to see what you do -- soon. No pressure.
ReplyDeleteSoon? Hahaha, Sharlene. We have so many projects going on already, I don't anticipate any quick action on building a solar oven, especially since I already have two that work just fine!
ReplyDeletei am thinking about that Hot Pot that Bruce who had the fresnel had on display. Bruce said that I could probably use a small flat pan in it in either with the glass or a Reynolds cooking bag...which would be much smaller to take out in the truck camper! Loved meeting you, had fun that weekend!!! Good photos! Actually for you one of the parabolics would work better unless you are a pyromanic!!! lol! The people next to me were doing stir fries all day long, although I didn't eat any. I handed people walking over to mine paper towels to get the grease off their arms! He is definitely not McDougall!:)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links in this post & the last one. Just what I need to hook up virtualy with solar oven'ners is there a term for people who cook with solar?
ReplyDeleteHuman creativity never ceases to amaze me! what a variety of solar ovens there are in the world. I really have to get to this event next year ...
ReplyDeletePelenaka, someon ehas probably come up with some clever snappy word or phrase to describe solar cookers, the human users not the instruments!
thanks for the pics,
shamba
Nancy - Yeah, it's really compact. The solar cooker, that is. The bowl/pot it comes with is not, but if you used a smaller pan or cooking bag, that would take up very little space.
ReplyDeleteWhen we get around to it, I'll have to see which my sweetie would rather build: a fresnel cooker or parabolic. He's gonna do the work, so he should have a say. LOL
pelenaka - you're welcome. I can't think of any special term except maybe "solar chefs." But, would "chef" be the right term for those who just throw frozen food or a few potatoes out in the solar oven?
Any ideas anyone?
Shamba - yes, you do need to make it down here for the event. :)
Thanks for the pictures! I need to start more solar cooking again. The wind is so darn high though - it has been blowing chairs across our yard in the past weeks.
ReplyDelete