Cooking with the sun

[tabatha]

Using the sun’s abundant power could be the solution for people who cannot afford escalating electricity costs. Channelled through simple, curved dishes its’ rays can cook food and boil water.

http://mg.co.za/multimedia/2012-04-25-cooking-with-the-sun/

Neat - wonder how much they are. Would like one.

[gateley]

1. Wouldn't hurt to have one. nt

[Speck Tater]

2. This is new? I had a folding version in the 1950's

We used it for starting camp fires in the Boy Scouts.

Google "solar cooker" to see designs going back in the the last century and before, including plans for one you can make with cardboard and aluminum foil.

[HiPointDem]

3. and has been touted as a solution for the poor of the third world ever since. but somehow...

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. saves women & girls from having to walk for firewood (and be subject to rape)

[HiPointDem]

22. Yeah, the same rationale as in the 60s. Except for the "rape" part, that's new. But

contrary to what seems to be western popular opinion, African/third-world women aren't universally in danger of rape everytime they wander from their hovel in the bush.

Nor do most of them even live in the bush. 72% of the population of sub-saharan africa lives in urban slums.

http://www.cfr.org/africa/urbanization-sub-saharan-africa/p14327

[Liberal_in_LA]

25. I hear ya. thanks for the additional info

[HiPointDem]

26. thanks, but i misread the stat. 72% of *urban* africans live in slums. percent of urbanized

africans is more like 40-50% (e.g. 57% in south africa, 47% in liberia, nigeria, egypt, 12% in uganda, etc.).

[Arkansas Granny]

5. I'm pretty sure I saw plans to make these out of cardboard and aluminum foil in an issue

of "The Mother Earth News" back in the 80's. They also told how to cook in straw boxes and compost heaps, FWIW.

[IDemo]

15. I made one like this and it worked great->

http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Fun-Panel

[freshwest]

7. There are a lot of them demonstrated on youtube, you can make them at home. That and the other kind.

That takes a bit longer but will heat water for washing and bathing, distill water, cook roasts, vegetables, eggs, beans and dehydrate food. There's a world of information out there.

Plus passive methods for heating homes and turbine generators. The solutions are as simple as cardboard and foil to using those controlled by computer chips. It's a shame people have been in hock to the power companies all this time.

[MattBaggins]

12. If solar cookers worked for more than breediing salmonella

people would be using them.

[freshwest]

14. Salmonella lives past the steaming, boiling, grilling and burning point some of these make?

Guess they're trying to kill off the people in the third world with these contrivances. That's not very nice.

No one is suggesting you give up being in hock to utility companies, though. Most of us are. No one's being attacked by these, so be careful with your cooking.

[Speck Tater]

17. Better do some fact checking.

As long at it keeps the pot of stew above 68 °C (154 °F) there's no problem. A decent solar cooker has no trouble getting that hot.

The reason people aren't using them has to do with laziness. You have to go outside to use it, and when the sun is out people stay in their air conditioned spaces. And on a cloudy day, they don't work. That's a pain, and people can't be bothered by anything inconvenient.

[HiPointDem]

23. right, it's a great invention but poor people are lazy. that's the ticket.

edited to remove "african". i thought previous posters had specified african, but that was my misreading.

[IDemo]

18. Water pasteurization, for instance?

http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Water_pasteurization

[4th law of robotics]

27. Yeah, this idea seems to get trotted out every now and then

as if it were A) entirely new and B) totally going to solve all the third worlds problems.

It's a cool idea and has some utility but it has been way overhyped.

I'm more interested in how these humidity-harvesting windmill are going to work out: http://niceartlife.com/?p=2985

Clean water is a bigger concern in the third world than heating sources.

/besides, everyone knows rocket stoves solved all the third-worlds cooking problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_stove

[PoliticAverse]

4. Youtube has lots of videos of solar cookers in operation, also there are lots of plans

for solar cooker construction on the Internet.

They're also sold pre-assembled by several companies in the US.

Pizza box solar oven:

[kestrel91316]

6. Everything you ever wanted to know about solar ovens, brought to you by teh Google:

https://www.google.com/search?aq=f&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=solar+oven

[meow2u3]

8. I wonder if we can recycle satellite TV dishes to make solar cookers

They're both shaped the same way. That would be an excellent idea to put old DirecTV dishes to good use.

[Poll_Blind]

10. Yeah, apparently that works too! Check out my response #9. nt

PB

[Poll_Blind]

9. There are a number of DIY ones you can find demos of on YouTube. Like this one:

(and it's got a sweet song in the background, to boot!)

Search on "Solar Cooker"



PB

[geardaddy]

11. This is the one we use

It's great. You can even cook in the middle of sub-zero winter here in Minnesota.

http://www.solarovens.org/

This is our friend doing a demonstration in January.

[magical thyme]

28. hey, I use that model too!!!!!

I've been solar cooking for 2 years now. I got that one last year and I LOVE it.

For those who are mocking it, it cut my propane bill dramatically. Paid for itself probably in one summer, with me only having a day or two each week to cook, and for only half the summer.

I can cook outside pretty much from March to October on sunny days. I'm pretty far north, so the sun gets too low for the rest of the year to generate enough heat.

And I LOVE the way food comes out. Meat cooks until it falls off the bone, but tender and very flavorful.

[Sheepshank]

13. wasn't this covered in "Men Who Stare at Goats"?

...and wasnt it deemed a failure?

[IDemo]

16. I made some great chicken and red potatoes last weekend

and will likely cook up some split pea or black bean soup tomorrow. If you live in an area with even moderate sunshine, you owe it to yourself to try solar cooking.

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. Solar Cookers International / Solar Cookers World Network - Great Stuff!

Build 'em... Buy 'em... Gift 'em.

http://www.solarcookers.org/index.html

http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_Cookers_World_Network_(Home)

[IDemo]

20. Since health hazards associated with cooking are a source of concern upthread,

When cooking can be deadly

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (CNN) -- An estimated 3 billion people -- nearly half the world's population -- still use an open fire as their primary source of energy for cooking and heating.

But there's a problem: the smoke.

"You have respiratory issues, lung disease, you've got pneumonia, and you've got longer-term issues like cancer and heart disease as well that can result from exposure to indoor air pollution," said Radha Muthiah, executive director of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves.

The World Health Organization says this type of pollution causes nearly 2 million premature deaths each year. That's more than tuberculosis and three times as many as malaria.

more -> http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/07/world/africa/tanzania-stoves/index.html

and,

Solar cooking is the simplest, safest, most convenient way to cook food without consuming fuels or heating up the kitchen. Many people choose to solar cook for these reasons. But for hundreds of millions of people around the world who cook over fires fueled by wood or dung, and who walk for miles to collect wood or spend much of their meager incomes on fuel, solar cooking is more than a women carrying wood choice — it is a blessing. For millions of people who lack access to safe drinking water and become sick or die each year from preventable waterborne illnesses, solar water pasteurization is a life-saving skill. There are numerous reasons to cook the natural way — with the sun.

http://www.solarcookers.org/basics/why.html

[AsahinaKimi]

24. Reminds me of when we would make sun tea..

putting a glass jar filled with water and teabags in the window. Makes great tea.

[Shankapotomus]

29. If you can cook with the sun

why can't you cook with a solar charged battery?

[tabatha]

30. How much is a solar charged battery?

The storage of electricity is the problem.