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Tape a few cardboard boxes together with a flap to reflect sun rays. Cover the boxes in tin foil. Invert a foil-covered cardboard box on the inside of the taped boxes. Place your dish (everything from blueberry pies, main dishes, veggies, etc.) on top of the inverted box. Cover with a sheet of plexiglass. The oven gets to a temp of 275 degrees. Slow cooking, but it works.
The only thing you have to do is rotate the box every half hour to follow the movement of the sun.
There's a lady in town who uses these ovens when camping. She gives classes in how to build a solar oven(s) & cook with them. I'm going to take the class; it should be fun and good info to store away!
You can use the oven year round, not just during summertime.
Has anyone tried anything similar? I'd love to hear your experiences if you have ~
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It's definitely slow cooking. Apparently a chicken breast can take a few hours to cook and if the sky clouds over you're screwed.
I would really prefer to cook over a wood coal pit. That's still pretty close to a zero-net carbon. Tree grows, fixes carbon from the atmosphere, tree is cut down, wood is burned, some of the carbon is released back into the atmosphere, steak is grilled (quickly), another tree grows and fixes carbon from the atmosphere.*
*Note: I'm still not certain that human carbon emissions significantly affect atmospheric composition, but I'm 100% that burning wood to cook food does essentially nothing.
"Solar Oven" demonstrations show that with a cardboard box, some aluminum foil, a piece of glass, enough time, and the right atmospheric conditions, you can cook food with the sun.
But I have never seen anyone explain why you would want to do this.
But I have never seen anyone explain why you would want to do this.
Just something to keep in mind in case you ever need it, I guess. It's pretty easy to do. The lady who was interviewed on tv cooked by this method when she went camping with her grandkids. Apparently they enjoy it `
Paint the cardboard black and it works slightly better. Still slow and unpredictable up here in the North...but it is a handy thing to know about. You could heat up water with it in an emergency to have safe drinking water, for example.
I have a Tulsi hybrid solar oven, and also an improvised solar oven/heater made from a sun deflector shade meant for truck/car windows to keep heat down inside a vehicle. The reflector one is pretty simple, but needs an oven bag to cook successfully, while the Tulsi does well all the time. Cooking in a solar oven takes a little getting used to, as there are some differences from traditional cooking. But it's worth the effort when you taste the results! Plus it's really great camping, I love it!
I have a Sun Oven and when the sun is strong, it heats to 350-375 degrees very quickly. I've made roasts, baked bread, potatoes, cakes, etc. in it. It doesn;t take any longer to cook in it than in my regular oven.
I love it because it doesn't heat up the cabin in the summertime.
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