SOLAR COOKING, SOLAR OVEN, SOLAR OVENS, COOK WITH THE SUN, SURVIVAL COOKING, SURVIVAL

Welcome to

COOK WITH THE SUN-SOLAR COOKING- SOLAR OVEN INFORMATION

You can cook almost anything with the sun and a "low tech" solar oven!

Homemade solar box cooker (you can make one of these out of plywood or even cardboard) These cookers can reach temperatures in excess of 300 f! This solar oven is constructed of a plywood box within a larger, outer plywood box. The space between the boxes is insulated with approx. 2" of "Perlite", the soil amendment gardeners use, although most people use regular fiberglass insulating material. (this was an experimental material that does work very well) The reflector is an ordinary glass mirror, however, aluminum foil or reflective mylar can be used just as effectively. Covering the oven is 1/4" tempered glass. Lining the inner walls is aluminum roofing type flashing. On the floor of the oven are two flat black cookie sheets with black barbecue type grills that the pots rest upon. The idea is to get the sunlight concentrated into the oven by orienting the box and tilting the reflector. The oven will then quickly heat up because the sun's heat energy is trapped under the glass cover. The black surfaces and the dark food containers absorb the heat. I use black porcelain steel pots, oven cooking bags, and various containers that have been painted black with barbeque paint.

On this day the oven reached 250 F within 35 minutes. This is a perfect "slow cooking" temperature. HERE IS A MEXICAN STYLE DINNER BEING PREPARED IN THE SOLAR OVEN

The SUN OVEN, a commercially made solar oven.

SUN OVEN This concentrator type of oven gets hotter than the conventional box cooker because of the added reflectors. On this day I baked a perfect lasagne!

SOLAR COOKER PLANS (courtesy Solar Cooking Archive)

Solar Cooking BOOKS

Solar ovens - Solar cooking booksclick here

Here are some other solar cookers that I built using household materials.

Here you see (left to right) baked brownie muffins, a ham baking, a tri-tip cooking.

I have cooked many kinds of foods using solar ovens. You just put your food into a pot, aim the box at the sun, and you are all set for solar cooking with the free energy of the sun! The oven will heat up and slowly cook your meal during the sunny day. (like a crock pot does) This is great during the summer because you won't heat up your house, and, of course, there is no fuel that is spent! Here in California, where I live, I have cooked a beef roast on the shortest day of the year where the outside air temp was only 40F. The air temperature is not important. It is the sunlight that is concentrated into the oven that produces the heat. An average temperature of about 250 degrees F is easily achieved! You can cook rice, beans, bake bread, cook soups, steam vegetables, almost any recipe can be used. If the recipe calls for higher temperatures you just increase the cooking time. What a great camping tool this is, too! Imagine returning from a day of hiking, or fishing to find your dinner completely cooked, hot, and ready to eat. You can't beat this "low tech" way of cooking.

Solar Cooking BOOKS

e-mail:drduggee@earthlink.net

HOME

It's a darn shame that you pay so much for electricity when Fred, Patricia, and Richard pay only $30 per month! The shocking truth about your Electric Bill. CLICK HERE for details.

The sun is a powerful source of energy, and warmth. but if you want to spend some time in the shade, consider outdoor umbrellas for your patio or deck. Choose your favorite sunbrella fabric which is created specially stain-proof and fade resistant.

Last updated by Doug Edwards on March 2008