Solar cooking resources and photos
/Ready to give solar cooking a go? Here are some additional resources that might come in handy for finding out more about buying, constructing and/or cooking with solar cookers.
Online resources
Among the many articles, blogs and sites, I suggest checking out solarcookers.org to find out about different types of solar cookers, plans for making them and the use of solar cookers that is literally saving lives in other countries.
Books
Our solar box cooker was built based primarily on the instructions from the book "The Carbon-Free Home" by Stephen and Rebekah Hren, which is available for loan from Wodonga library.
You can even get solar cookbooks. I have two in my collection - they also have designs for making solar cookers, explanations of the different types of cookers, tips for cooking techniques and yes, recipes!
Photos of our box cooker
I've briefly described our solar cooker's construction and use here and here. Below are some photos to try to help illustrate how it was done and how we use it.
To create an insulated oven (so that the heat is trapped and cooks your food), this design uses two cardboard boxes, one inside the other, with scrunched up newspaper in the 'walls' and 'floor'.
The inside of the boxes and the cardboard reflector are covered with aluminium foil, to help concentrate the sun into the box and assist with even cooking.
The top 'window' is an oven bag, which allows the sun in, but does a surprisingly good job of keeping the heat inside the box.
Some coathanger wire and cardboard stays allow the reflector to be adjusted to the height of the sun. And when not in use, the reflector folds down on the top and helps to protect the oven bag.
Below, the oven and cooking dish are 'pre-heating' - note the oven thermometer in the dish, so we know when it's ready to cook. As you have to take the lid off to access the oven, it's good to move quickly so as to lose as little heat as possible when adding or checking your cooking.
And the vegetables are roasting!
Tell me you're not tempted to give this a go! It's not hard and great fun ... I'd love to hear from you if you give it a try.
