“Cooking With Thermo Nuclear Power”

“Using the Sun for Cooking Great Meals—Solar Ovens”

We have a long lasting energy source that works all day long. And it’s doesn’t cost a dime to use, and it works wonders for cooking wonderful hot meals. And with energy costs skyrocketing with electricity and gas getting more expensive using the sun to cook our meals makes a lots of sense. And this is nothing new using the sun to cook our meals has been around for years. And now solar oven technology has been perfected to a point that anyone can cook a great meal in no time by just using the sun. And not just soups and stews but also bread, rolls, muffins, and all kinds of other delicious food.

There are lots of solar ovens on the market, some as expensive as $300 and others in the $100 to $200 range, and some are even less expensive. And there are lots of inexpensive and free plans for building a solar ovens that can be found. And the cooking temperatures can reach as high as 300 to 400 degrees or higher with these wonderful solar ovens, so don’t have to be cooking all day long, that’s not always true. In fact some solar oven cooking times with certain foods are comparable to regular ovens. And the outdoor temperature doesn’t need to be hot or even warm, it can be 30 below and bright and still be able to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Most of the time solar cooking is kind of like using a crockpot or dutch oven so it’s nothing new. And large amounts of food can be cooked, from one serving up to 6 or 8 servings or even more depending upon the solar oven.

For more images of solar ovens - Google “Pictures of Solar Ovens”

Plus it doesn’t always have to be totally bright outside to use a solar oven. It can be a bit overcast, as long as shadows are cast a solar oven will work. But of course if it’s raining or completely overcast and there are no shadows being cast of any kind then a regular oven will have to be used. But in most locations bright sunny days are the norm, and with global warming one thing we have is lots of sun.
One thing that has to be done is to go out and adjust the position of the oven a couple times as the sun moves across the sky. That’s if a person wants to keep the oven temperature pretty stable for the whole cooking process. But if a person want’s to be lazy they can set up the oven in the morning and position it for the middle of the swing of the sun. That way the oven with catch sun most of the suns rays, and then just let the oven sit for the rest of the day and allowing the residual heat in the oven will do the rest of the cooking. That way nothing really has to be done, just set the oven once and forget it.

Also using the sun for cooking is a good idea for emergencies. All the electricity might be out, the gas might not be working but our old standby the sun will be working no matter what. That way if you have food that needs to be cooked a person can still have a hot meal, and not be wondering how they are going to survive. And there is nothing like having a hot meal to make a person feel better.
Plus solar ovens don’t use wood or other fuels which pollute the atmosphere with harmful carbon. And a solar oven can be used for heating water for bathing and for cleaning. Plus solar ovens can be use for sterilizing medical equipment, and they can also be used for drying food and for canning. And solar ovens can be used to sterilize water thus making it possible to have clean drinking water.
About 25% of our energy budget across the world is used for cooking. And wouldn’t it be nice to lower the electric and gas bill? And if a person lives in a hot climate like I do in the summer, then cooking outside and not heating up the house is a great idea.

And lots of different types of foods can be prepared using a solar oven: such as cakes, breads, cookies, corn on the cob, puddings, beans, pasta, chicken, roasts, fish, seafood, greens, teas, coffee… just about anything a person might want and more.

Solar ovens can be bought on-line and they can also be found on ebay and amazon. And there are lots of great segments on youtube about making your own solar oven and how to cook using a solar oven. And if you google “Plans for Making a Solar Oven” lots of inexpensive and free plans for making solar ovens will come up. And solar ovens can be a simple as a cardboard box and some aluminum foil… find all these great plans on-line.

Plus solar ovens if used correctly are very safe and easy to use.

Enjoy Cooking with a Solar Oven!

Dr. Paul Haider - Master Herbalist