Solar Cooking - A Hot Idea!
by Kat Maudru
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posted Oct 26 2011 7:33PM
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 Solar cooking is the simplest, safest, most convenient way to cook food without consuming fuels or heating up the kitchen. The first solar cooker we know of was invented by Horace de Saussure, a Swiss naturalist experimenting as early as 1767. A solar cooker is like a hot box, in which we can cook our food without any cooking gas or kerosene, electricity, coal or wood. Solar cooking is not only fun but it's a great educational tool. Solar box cookers, constructed using cardboard, newspaper, aluminum foil, and a piece of glass will typically cook at temperatures between 225 - 275 F. Box solar cookers have the advantage of slow, even cooking of large quantities of food. Variations include slanting the face toward the sun and the number of reflectors. With box cookers, the food will cook more quickly if it is divided into several smaller pots instead of having it all in one large pot. A good first food to try is a small quantity of rice, since it is fairly easy to cook and looks very different cooked than it does raw. Chicken or fish is also very easy to cook. There's no need to rotate the oven to follow the sun, though it will improve cooking times. Bon Appetit!
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