Solar Cooking

 

The availability of fuel for cooking has become a major problem in many developing countries. Increased use of charcoal made from native wood can cause deforestation and loss of agricultural land, and most developing countries lack the fuel distribution system necessary for the use of kerosene, gasoline, or liquefied petroleum gas.

For example, devastating earthquakes made Haiti’s previous power infrastructure problems even worse. According to the World Bank, Haitians meet about 70 percent of their power needs by burning firewood or charcoal. Since the island has been heavily deforested, Haitians must travel long distances to gather firewood for daily cooking. Charcoal is an option, but in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation, its cost can eat away at a family’s budget. After the earthquake, resources of all kinds were harder to get and more expensive. Solar energy, by contrast, is abundant and available.

Tips for Cooking with a Solar Oven:

1. Think dark! Use black metal pans and dark brown glass dishes. Never use light colored cookware. A canning jar painted flat black works fine to boil water.
2. Use an oven thermometer. It will help you figure out how long to cook things.
3. Use black cast iron if you're cooking something that must be stirred. It won't lose as much heat when you open the lid.
4. Don't add water when roasting vegetables. Use a pan with a lid and they'll cook in their own juices.
5. When baking potatoes, rub with oil and put in a pot with a lid. Don't wrap with aluminum.
6. Bake bread in dark glass dishes with lids. If you use a cookie sheet, it won't have a nice crust.
7. When baking cookies: chocolate cooks fastest, then peanut butter, then sugar cookies. Use a dark cookie sheet!
8. Marinate meats in advance. Place on a rack in a cast iron pot.
9. One pot meals are great! Cut everything up, throw it into the pot, put a lid on and walk away.
10. Remember-food won't burn in a solar oven. It might lose too much water, though, if you cook it too long.

Making a Solar Oven

Materials

• Tri-fold presentation board
• Sharp knife or scissors to cut board
• Wide, heavy-weight aluminum foil
• Glue stick and clear packing tape
• Clear plastic bags
• Cooking pot
•   *Optional Use pizza boxes covered with foil to make mini-ovens
  

Procedure.

• Cut board according to the diagram above.
• Lightly score new fold lines before folding.
• Use tape to reinforce folds and to straighten pre-fold on wings.
• Cover entire board front with aluminum foil, taping or gluing securely.
• Slide points of wings into slits as shown in the diagram.
• Enclose cooking pot in plastic bag and place in middle of oven.