Thermal cooker Dream-pot

RAS

I know my mother's family used hay box cooking, I think after WW11 when things got really tough. She talk about Scotch Broth, which seemed to be more like a loose veg and lamb stew with pearl barley.

I like the idea of the haybox coffee table. In other contexts a haybox bench might work, as part of a window seat or storage bench?

I have made and used a very simple solar cooker - take one large squareish cardboard box, cut in in half diagonally, the end result is two almost identical pieces each comprising three trianglar sides. Cover with tinfoil on the inside. Point at the sun and place your item to cook in the middle of the cooker - an upturned pot will raise it off the floor. We cooked small cakes on a April afternoon with some cloud.

alltrustgone

Pumpkinlife, thank you for the link - interesting product. I searched on Google and found some useful blog/recipe sites, did a post with the links, but apparently I cannot yet post links. Is this a post count issue? How many posts do you need to be able to do links? - couldn't find answer on Rules section.
ATG

pumpkinlife

ceridwen wrote: »

I'm willing to be a guineapig for such a table and give you my opinion as a consumer:D

But are you willing to donate your breakfast hay?

I am looking into the best insulations at the moment. I need to find a heavy based handleless casserole pan, which will be better than a long handled saucepan. I am considering a roll of that recycled loft insulation to line the box more permananently (on sale in B&Q at the moment), with some hay bags to fit snugly around the pan. Pethaps throw in some foil for good measure? I will let you know how I get on. Perhaps if (or should that be, as?) energy prices continue to rise, there may well be a market for solid ready made ones, perhaps lined with thick loft insulating board?

RAS - did you need to move the solar oven to track the sun, or did you just leave it to get on with it.

Alltrustgone - I believe it is related to number of posts, I couldn't post links in the early days, but I have no idea what the cutoff is.

jcr16

looks very interesting.

im not sure it something i would use daily, but one of those interesting products i would just have to try to see how it worked.

jumblejack

Woohoo!!! Just bought a 5 ltr thermal cooker from eBay for £39.99 with £7.06 postage. As I was seriously considering buying a slow cooker, I feel totally justified in making this equivalent purchase which uses NO electricity though. Cannot wait to get it now!!
I too was considering making my own and was looking for a large blanket box that I could adapt. I prefer this though as it looks great and will be used on a near daily basis. I have even found a recipe for no knead no oven bread in the thermalcookware website!!! YIPPEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Here's the no knead no oven bread recipe (dont know how to do links sorry!)


No Knead and No Oven Bread

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No Knead and No Oven Bread
This recipe is adapted from the now famous no knead bread recipe developed by Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery, Manhattan.
It was first published in the New York Times in November 2006 and has become one of the most talked about recipe on the Internet.
INGREDIENTS:
•!1½ cups of bread flour.
•!1 to 1½ tsp of salt (depending on your taste).
•!⅛ tsp of instant dried yeast.
•!1 cup of tepid water.
You also will need a tin to bake the bread in that will fit into the inner pot of the thermal cooker. A round cake tin will do fine. This tin needs to be greased.
!METHOD:
1.!Mix all the dried ingredients together in a bowl before mixing in the water. You don’t need to beat.
2.!Cover the bowl with cling film. Leave it in a warm place for around 12 hours.
3.!Sprinkle a good layer of flour onto a piece of parchment paper and flour your hands well before scooping the dough out of the bowl and putting it onto the parchment paper.
4.!Spread the dough out a bit and simply fold the dough sides over each other. Then fold the bottom to the top.
5.!Turn the dough over and shape it gently so it fits in the tin before placing it on a trivet in the inner pot and putting the lid on.
6.!Put the inner pot into the outer pot. Shut the lid and leave for 2 hours to rise again.
7.!After two hours remove the inner pot.
8.!Remove the tin from the inner pot and make sure it has risen before covering it with either recycled aluminium foil (Eco care or similar) or baking parchment paper. Remember to make a handle to lift it out once cooked.
9.!Put it back into the inner pot and fill with hot water to come ¾ up the side of the pan before putting on a heat source and bringing it to the boil.
10.!Once boiling turn down to a simmer for 20 minutes.
Put the lid on the inner pot and put the pot into the outer pot for 2 hours.
11.!When cooked remove and turn out onto a rack to cool.

NOTE: This recipe is supplied by Chef Dave Knowles from the UK

jumblejack

I have bought my thermal cooker from eBay recently. It has made a wonderful veggie curry and the nicest, fluffiest rice I gave ever made in my life!!

I can't believe this is the only thread about thermal cookers!!

I was hoping that all you money savers would have jumped on these appliances and hopefully have a few recipes to share!

The only disappointment for me us that you can't slow roast in it (or can you... Let me know how if you know a technique!!)

I am looking forward to baking in it too as I have seen a recipe on the thermalcook website.

I sm also looking forward to making fantastic rice pudding in there.

I really, really, REALLY want another one but have discovered that mine was a rare bargain, £39.99 on eBay. I thought that this was the standard cost but they are quite dear considering how simplistically they are made. I want another so that I can prepare curry/chilli/stew in one and rice/vegetables in the other without fears of burning or drying out if guests are late or we are late back in, etc.

Hope I can drop on another one.....

Seakay

If you Google
haybox recipes
then I'm sure that you will be able to use at least some of them for your thermal cooker

Desperate_Housewife_2-2

this is an interesting idea, I forst came across it reading the tightwad gazette by amy dacyzn. I wonder if anyone has made one out of a coolbox? Would it work?

Seakay

Web pages dedicated to thermal cooking:

http://thermalcooker.wordpress.com/category/thermal-cookers/haybox/

tori.k

I got all excited by the idea of thermal cooking as i love my slow cooker and use it 2/3 times a week over the dark half of the year, but i can't get the math to work in my favour as it cost about 20p in electric per meal in my slow cooker so it be 5+ years before it even paid for itself....maybe if i got DH watching re-runs of bear grylls and started on about 2012 might get one as a gift