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Now, here are some of Smith’s top tips about how to prepare delicious meals in your new solar cooker!
Anything that can be cooked in a slow cooker, including meat, can be cooked in a solar cooker (as long as the sun is out!). You can also make bread and other baked goods, rice, fish, potatoes, and dozens of other dishes. You’ll need to experiment a little with a cooking thermometer, because cooking times will vary depending on the time of year and where you live; most foods will need 2 to 4 hours.
Other points to keep in mind when cooking in a solar oven:
- Be sure to adjust the back leg so there are no shadows in the cooker, and move the cooker every hour or so to face the sun directly.
- Since the cooking temperature is fairly low and the food is in a closed pot, it won’t overcook or dry out if you leave it in too long.
- You can use a candy thermometer or oven thermometer to find out how hot the oven is. This will help you determine cooking time.
- Avoid opening the lid unless absolutely necessary—it’s estimated that every time you open the lid you add 15 minutes to the cooking time.
- Wipe down the interior of the oven after every usage. Keeping the glass lid clean allows as much sunlight in as possible.
- You cannot cook in the oven without a dark pot with a lid. The dark metal of the pot is warmed by the sunlight and transfers its heat to the food.
- Do not allow children to use the solar oven unless they are under direct adult supervision.
Source: cleantechnica
