Various types of solar cookers and How-to's

RustBeltCowgirl

Another browse through archive pages and found this. Another tool in the self-sufficiency arsenal.

https://insteading.com/blog/solar-cooker/

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

This is really cool how it shows/tells you how they work. I was wondering about how the different ones operate. Thanks for sharing @RustBeltCowgirl.

My oldest daughter was trying to make one with all the extra boxes we have currently about. She said the one box would be perfect to make one with. Unfortunately I think a grandparent threw it away while trying to "help clean up" so we never got the chance to try it out.

I'm going to have her try again after we're at our new place.😊

karenjanicki

I think sun cookers are amazing. I have wanted one for quit awhile. That and a rocket stove for cloudier days.

frogvalley

Game on! I've been looking at some boxes and wondering what about alternative uses before pitching it into the recycling stream. Solar cooker sounds like a worthy project.

dipat2005

@RustBeltCowgirl thank you for sharing all of these wonderful ways of solar cooking. I liked to use a Bunsen Burner when I was a Brownie and Girl Scout. I used it again when I taught Cub Scouts. An efficient way to cook and easy to make.

water2world

@RustBeltCowgirl Thanks for posting this link. I have thought about getting one, now I may even try to make one! Project on its way!

RustBeltCowgirl

@water2world I'm planning to try baking a pie in one over July 4th weekend. Cheap aluminum oven liners from Dollar Tree as the reflective material. I will put it behind the "lab", no one will even notice it.

annbeck62

Great idea to play around with and test out. It could come in really handy.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

@RustBeltCowgirl I love pie. I actually refer pie to cake and most everything else. 🥧

I'd love to hear how the pie on July 4th weekend turns out. Please keep us updated.😊

water2world

@RustBeltCowgirl How did your solar oven pie work out? I have been anxious to hear!!

shllnzl

I bought a Sun Oven that I need to try out. I will not, however, spend $50 for a cookbook. I will have to read recipes from their website and/or figure things out on my own.

water2world

@shllnzl I understand---$50 is a lot for a cookbook, especially when you will probably have to make adjustments for your oven and outside temps etc.

RustBeltCowgirl

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/900393#Comment_900393

Got busy with a ton of other stuff. Will have to find a better time to do it. Isn't it amazing, you think you have a long weekend to do stuff and it's over in a blink.

soeasytocraft

What a fun share!

I have been so happy to have a Sun Oven during this horrible heat wave we are not used to! It's been fun cooking instead of dreading heating up the house even more than it already is. I've made crackers, loafs, cooked cabbage, potatoes and other veggies. Boiled water for tea and warmed up our leftovers. Its been fantastic! My very favourite was yesterday when I roasted a 6 plus pound chicken! So moist and browned nicely!

It was a gift as a hobby idea but has been very practical this summer with all its hot sunshine!

marjstratton

I have been playing with the idea of making a solar cooker for years. Haven't gotten around to it yet, but sounds like an interesting project. I saw Sun Oven and thought it sounded like a great idea and not having to fiddle with figuring out how to make one, so I bought a Sun Oven. And I like the idea that they donate so much. Still have to try it out. Problem is it seems that every time I plan on getting it set up, it either gets cloudy or the smoke from the wild fires gets so thick that there isn't much sun to work with.

karenjanicki

Thanks for sharing! Solar cooker is on my list.

VermontCathy

I remember seeing an article in a magazine aimed at teens many years ago. Something to do with Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts.

The article was about cooking with the sun. It covered three-foot and four-foot diamater solar parabolic dish mirrors made from cardboard and aluminum foil, a hotdog cooker that was a curved polished surface sitting under a suspended hot dog, and a solar oven made from a glass lid, some insulation, and a black interior.

There are many such options floating around. I'd like to see more discussion of them here, especially the homemade varieties.

water2world

@soeasytocraft A 6lb chicken wow--I'm impressed! I would have been afraid to try that, thinking I would have had parts raw!

Sounds like you are getting a lot of use with your Sun Oven! Encouragement for me!