Thermal Cooker

[China Connection]

Thermal Cooker
by Carolyn Shearlock

Wow. I love my thermal cooker. It has made getting dinner SO much less hectic. Why didn’t I get one years ago?

What’s a Thermal Cooker?

A thermal cooker is basically a non-electric crock pot. It’s sort of a really big Thermos, but with a removable interior pan (or two). In short, you start your food cooking on the stove – browning meat, onions, whatever and then adding your other ingredients – and then put the pan(s) into the thermal cooker, put the lid down and let it sit for up to 8 hours.

The food cooks while you’re doing whatever else you want to, and all you do at dinner time is serve up.

Okay – that is a bit of an oversimplification. There are different techniques for different types of food. Some cook in the thermal cooker, others are cooked ahead of time and stay warm in the thermal cooker, and others may require a bit of “finish up” after cooking in the thermal cooker.

You may have seen pieces that I’ve written before about “Thermos Cooking” for rice and dried beans; this takes it to a whole new level of cooking a whole meal.

So What’s the Big Deal?

For me, the big deal is that I can cook whenever it’s convenient for me during the day, and it’s ready when we want to eat.

We tend to do things around the boat in the morning and then do bigger projects or things off the boat in the afternoon. I like to enjoy happy hour with Dave, or maybe we have friends over or go to their boat. For all these reasons, late afternoon is just a really hectic time for me to cook.

In the past, that means that usually I start dinner after we’ve had a drink for happy hour, and then we end up eating at 8 or so. But that’s not good for Dave’s acid reflux. So I try to have dinner earlier, and would manage to do it for a few days . . . then we’d get working on something in the afternoon and we’d revert back to the old patterns.

I’d seen thermal cookers in the past (a reader wrote me about one and I posted it here) and thought one could help, but they were really expensive for something that I didn’t really know if I’d find useful. The other option that I saw was the Wonderbag (read about it here) and while they were cheaper, they took a LOT of space to store.

Then around Christmas, I saw someone post on Facebook about the Saratoga Jack’s thermal cooker they’d just bought. There were several things about it that really appealed to me, including that it was cheaper (admittedly, still not cheap). I bought one.

All I can say is that I absolutely love it! I use it three or four times a week, particularly on days when I know we have something planned for the afternoon. I’m no longer constantly thinking about when I do have to be done with this in order to start dinner.

Other Benefits

In addition to letting me start dinner whenever I feel like it (more on this below), the thermal cooker has other benefits:

Saves propane or other stove fuel as you use retained heat to do most of the cooking.
Less heat in the boat on hot days.
Less humidity in the boat since the lid fits very tightly as the food is cooking.
I can leave the boat while the meal is cooking – whether for socializing, snorkeling, exploring ashore or even errands
Great underway – start dinner before we leave, plop the cooker in the sink underway so it doesn’t slide, and open up to a ready meal or, on a longer passage, much shorter time spent with a pan on the stove
Perfect for taking to potlucks – outside is cool and there’s a nice locking carry handle
You can also use it for taking cold foods to a potluck by putting ice in the bottom pan and the food in the top pan – great way to transport salads or serve things like Jello.
The Basic Technique

Thermal cookers work on a simple principle of having food that is hot through surrounded by hot liquid continuing to cook. The secrets to success include:

Having the food thoroughly hot through (watch out if you start with frozen meat or vegetables)
Sufficient liquid boiling in the pan
Very quick transition from the stove to being in the thermal cooker with the lid on
The fuller the thermal cooker, the less the food will cool down and the better it will cook. But because it does cool off slightly over time, food doesn’t over cook (unlike what can happen with a crock pot).

Here’s how it works in pictures. I’m making meat for tacos (pulled beef) in the big pan and dried white beans for the next day in the little pan (this was the first day I used it; I learned to put more water in both pans so there was more “hot mass” and less air space):

Thermal Cooker: I absolutely love my thermal cooker -- start dinner on the stove when it's convenient then transfer the pans to the thermal cooker and let it continue to cook 4 to 8 hours without having to tend to it. Use less stove fuel and don't heat up the cooking area. Best thing: go have fun and come home to a fully-cooked dinner!
Bringing both up to a full boil — I like to boil on the stove for about 10 minutes so that it’s not just the liquid that’s hot, but the food in the liquid too. There’s only one lid with the set, but my 8″ round silicone trivet perfectly fits the small pan (buy one here):

Thermal Cooker: I absolutely love my thermal cooker -- start dinner on the stove when it's convenient then transfer the pans to the thermal cooker and let it continue to cook 4 to 8 hours without having to tend to it. Use less stove fuel and don't heat up the cooking area. Best thing: go have fun and come home to a fully-cooked dinner!
Now it’s time to work quickly to get the pans into the thermal unit while they’re still as hot as possible. Take the lids off and put the small pan inside the big one:

Thermal Cooker: I absolutely love my thermal cooker -- start dinner on the stove when it's convenient then transfer the pans to the thermal cooker and let it continue to cook 4 to 8 hours without having to tend to it. Use less stove fuel and don't heat up the cooking area. Best thing: go have fun and come home to a fully-cooked dinner!
Put the stainless lid over both (keep the big burner on until this step is done):

Thermal Cooker: I absolutely love my thermal cooker -- start dinner on the stove when it's convenient then transfer the pans to the thermal cooker and let it continue to cook 4 to 8 hours without having to tend to it. Use less stove fuel and don't heat up the cooking area. Best thing: go have fun and come home to a fully-cooked dinner!
Thermal Cooker: I absolutely love my thermal cooker -- start dinner on the stove when it's convenient then transfer the pans to the thermal cooker and let it continue to cook 4 to 8 hours without having to tend to it. Use less stove fuel and don't heat up the cooking area. Best thing: go have fun and come home to a fully-cooked dinner!
Slip the pans into the thermal container:

Thermal Cooker: I absolutely love my thermal cooker -- start dinner on the stove when it's convenient then transfer the pans to the thermal cooker and let it continue to cook 4 to 8 hours without having to tend to it. Use less stove fuel and don't heat up the cooking area. Best thing: go have fun and come home to a fully-cooked dinner!
Put the latching lid on and place where it won’t be knocked over for 4 to 8 hours (I usually put it in the sink or wedge it on the floor):

Forgot to take pics of the finished dinner, but here’s the next night with white chili (using those white beans) and “recipe-ready” red beans for the next day’s Red Beans & Rice:

Thermal Cooker: I absolutely love my thermal cooker -- start dinner on the stove when it's convenient then transfer the pans to the thermal cooker and let it continue to cook 4 to 8 hours without having to tend to it. Use less stove fuel and don't heat up the cooking area. Best thing: go have fun and come home to a fully-cooked dinner!
Starting Dinner When I Feel Like It

Some days, I may start dinner at 9 AM, others at 1 or 2 in the afternoon. How’s that work?

I’ve learned that if I let something cook a little longer on the stove, it needs less time in the thermal cooker. So if life interferes and I start cooking later than usual, I just let it go maybe 30 minutes on the stove and then put it in the cooker. If things really get out of hand, I can even cook dinner completely on the stove in late afternoon, then slip it into the thermal cooker (say while we have a sundowner with friends) and just keep it hot until dinner time.

I wouldn’t say that it exactly takes less actual time in the galley – I still do the same prep work – but the fact that I don’t have to “babysit” a lit stove and can do the prep when it suits me is HUGE.

What Cooks Well in the Thermal Cooker?

Anything that cooks in liquid or has liquid absorbed (such as rice dishes) is a candidate for the thermal cooker. Things that I’ve done and had great results:

Chili – regular and white
Pot Roast
Soups
Red Beans & Rice
Jambalaya
Gumbo
Mexican-style taco meat (more like pulled beef, pork or chicken – all of which are also good)
Spanish Rice
Unstuffed Cabbage
Spaghetti Sauce
Swiss Steak
Pork Chops (I cook in marinating liquid in thermal cooker until tender, then briefly in oven with BBQ sauce – based on this recipe)
Curries (do rice in the top if desired)
Corned Beef
Ham & Beans
Sloppy Joes
Cooking the beef for Tropical Beef (see recipe in The Boat Galley Cookbook); I finished it with the veggies and thickening sauce on the stove
Things I’ve done in the top half:

Rice
Dried beans
Boiled potatoes and sweet potatoes
Hard-cooked eggs (boil water then put eggs in when you take the boiling water off the stove)
Spaghetti squash (cooked in boiling water)
Thermal Cooker Techniques

I’ve only scratched the surface of what can be done in the thermal cooker, basically doing things that have plenty of liquid. The Saratoga Jack’s thermal cooker came with basic information on how to use it and a few recipes.

I also bought a thermal cooking cookbook which gave me far more in-depth information and ideas of other things to try – I find the book useful more for the techniques than the exact recipes. I found that I read through it more than using it as a reference, and thus the Kindle version (quite a bit cheaper) was just fine:

Let’s Make Sense of Thermal Cooking
NOTE: The author comes to thermal cooking as a prepper and she’s fairly religious, both of which she discusses in the opening chapters of her book; some of her recipe plans are for food storage/prepping as well but can easily be adapted to other situations. Information on buying and using the thermal cooker starts in Chapter 5, “The Basics of Thermal Cooking” with a wide variety of techniques and recipes in the following chapters – she even tells how to make bread in the thermal cooker (I haven’t tried it yet).

Three Options for a Thermal Cooker

A bunch of different companies make thermal cookers. Through readers and my own experience, here are the three I’m familiar with:

Saratoga Jack’s: This is what I bought. Foam insulated, which is not as good as vacuum insulation but works if you’re in a warm climate and take care to fill it full. In addition to the lower price, I like that it has two pans – one nests into the top half of the other like a double boiler. I can either cook two things (often I make rice or potatoes as a side dish or for a salad the next day, or I’ll cook dried beans to use in another dish the next day) or just fill the top with boiling water (I use it for dishes). This really helps to have enough “hot mass” in the thermal cooker when only making enough of the main dish for two people. Comes in a 5.5 liter size (mine) or 7 liters. Both have a heavy bottom on the larger pan (good when browning meats, etc. plus retains more heat); for the 7 liter unit, the deluxe version also has a heavy bottom on the small pan (there’s no deluxe version of the 5.5 liter model).
You can buy them on Amazon or on the Saratoga Jack’s website. When I last looked, Saratoga Jack’s had considerably higher shipping charges which more than offset the slightly lower price.

Saratoga Jack’s 5.5 Liter Thermal Cooker on Amazon (Update: The 5.5 Liter size is frequently unavailable on Amazon.)
Saratoga Jack’s 7 Liter Thermal Cooker on Amazon
Saratoga Jack’s 7 Liter Deluxe Thermal Cooker (both pans have heavy bottoms) on Amazon
Thermos: Comes in three sizes and is vacuum insulated (a plus) but only has one interior pan (a minus in my opinion). Read Cathy Draeper’s recommendation. They are expensive with high shipping in addition.
Thermos 5 Quart, 6 Liter and 8.5 Quart Thermal Cookers
Wonderbag: With a Wonderbag, you use your own pots and place them into the Wonderbag. It’s a big insulated bag and while it works well, it is BIG to store (yes, it can squish down some). I just didn’t have room to store it and I didn’t have a large enough counter or other place to put it in use. The big advantage is that they are considerably less expensive. Read the full review here. Additionally, for every Wonderbag sold in the US, one is donated to a needy family in Africa.
Wonderbag
Other Brands

There are many other brands of thermal cookers; I don’t have experience with all. The biggest things to consider when looking at them:

Size – if it holds way more than you want to make, there will be a lot of air space inside and it won’t cook well
Insulation – vacuum insulation is best, foam second
Number of pans – I find two is great as it gives me more flexibility (if I want to make a large batch, I can use just the bigger one)
Pan bottoms – thicker is better; some will work with induction burners
Size of the whole unit – where will you store it? where will it sit in use? can you put it in the sink or another safe place when using it underway?

 

[China Connection]

Dried Beans in a Thermos
October 6, 2010 by Carolyn Shearlock

Instead of taking along a bunch of canned kidney beans, black beans and so on — with the space and weight they take — use Thermos cooking to prepare dried beans for use in other recipes. If you haven’t heard of Thermos cooking, you can read more about it here. No need for you to spend hours watching a pot on the stove — or put all that heat into the boat.

UPDATE: For larger quantities, and for cooking main dishes, take a look at a thermal cooker (I love mine!).

This makes the equivalent of one typical can of beans, such as kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans – whatever.

Cooking dried beans in a thermos is an easy way to prepare them to use in another recipe - do something else while they cook. Less sodium and easier to store than canned beans.
5 from 2 votes
Dried Beans In A Thermos
Cooking dried beans in a thermos is an easy way to prepare them to use in another recipe – do something else while they cook. Less sodium and easier to store than canned beans.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time
3 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Hold in Thermos for 6 hours total.
6 hrs
Total Time
6 hrs 18 mins
Servings:
4
people
Calories: 116kcalCarbs (g): 21
Ingredients
US Customary – Metric
3/4 cup dried beans
Water
Instructions
Preheat a 16-ounce Thermos by filling it with boiling water. Cap it and let it sit for at least 3 minutes.
While the Thermos is preheating, measure the beans and check through the dried beans for stones or anything else that’s not a dried bean. If the beans were purchased in bulk, rinse them.
Put the beans and 1 cup water into a covered saucepan. Do NOT add salt or salty spices, as these will toughen the beans and increase the cooking time. Bring beans to a boil over high heat and let boil 5 minutes.
Pour the hot water out of the Thermos and save it. Put the boiling beans and water into the Thermos. If the Thermos is not quite full, add some of the reserved water until the water is about 1/2” below where the stopper will be. Let the beans sit in the Thermos for at least 2 hours – this is the equivalent of soaking overnight.
At the end of this time, drain the beans and discard the water. Discarding the water considerably reduces the “gassiness” of the beans but if you’re really short on water, you can re-use it. Be sure to re-stopper the Thermos as soon as you remove the beans to keep the heat in.
Place the beans in a covered pan and add 1 cup water (you can use more of the saved water from when you preheated the Thermos). Still don’t add salt! Boil for 10 minutes.
Pour the beans back into the Thermos, again adding additional boiling water if needed. Put the stopper back on the Thermos and let it sit for at least 3 hours. You’re now “cooking” the beans.
At the end of the time, open the Thermos and try a bean. It should not be hard, although it won’t be as “mushy” as canned beans. Don’t be alarmed by the taste – remember that you haven’t added any salt yet.
If the beans weren’t done, replace the stopper and let them sit for another hour, then try again.
When done, add salt or spices as desired, then use in any recipe in place of one can (15 to 16 ounces) of beans. If the recipe calls for draining the can of beans, discard the water; otherwise include it – or replace it with an equal amount of fresh water if you want to further reduce the beans’ gassiness.
Notes
This recipe is designed for use with a 16-ounce Thermos (find it on Amazon). You can double or triple the recipe in a 34-ounce or 48 ounce Thermos, or if you only want one batch in a larger Thermos, you’ll still need to fill it with water (if you leave the Thermos only half full, it will not cook properly).
For this to work properly, you need a good Thermos. Read about my comparative tests of three different bottles, and what I think are the best Thermos bottles. If you didn’t see steam when you first opened the Thermos, you need to re-heat the beans – and know for future recipes that your bottle doesn’t hold heat well and needs to be frequently reheated.

Nutrition Facts
Dried Beans In A Thermos
Amount Per Serving
Calories 116
% Daily Value*
Fat 0g0%
Saturated Fat 0g0%
Cholesterol 0mg0%
Sodium 4mg0%
Potassium 468mg13%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 5g20%
Sugar 0g0%
Protein 7g14%
Vitamin C 1.6mg2%
Calcium 29mg3%
Iron 2.3mg13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

[China Connection]

Very Cool Tip: Thermos Cooking


About 12 minutes long


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w65rLIs9LA



TheModernSurvivalist
42.6K subscribers
My Two Books In Amazon!!
"The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse"
http://www.amazon.com/dp/9870563457?t...
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1482...

Website:
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[China Connection]

Why I love Thermal Cooking


I was introduced to thermal cooking when I was a university student in Australia. The technology is popular throughout Asia, so it is readily available in Australian cooking and outdoor shops. My spouse and I would prepare food in the morning and then go to our lectures. Hours later, we would arrive home to a hot meal. We just had to open the lid and serve. Since then, I have used thermal cooking to make soups, stews, porridges, rice, yoghurt, whole chicken and other things that benefit from long, slow cooking. I’ve even used it to keep leftover solar-cooked food hot for hours.

This post consists of 3 parts

What is thermal cooking?
The most common modern thermal cookers
Why do I love thermal cooking?
WHAT IS THERMAL COOKING?
Thermal cooking is a form of slow cooking done with retained heat. If you have ever turned off the stove to allow the food to finish cooking on the “leftover” heat, you have engaged in a simple form of thermal cooking. With some simple tools, this technique can be harnessed to make cooking easy, inexpensive and very fuel-efficient.


Thermal cooking has a long history in many parts of the world, including China, Japan, Australia, Norway, the UK and the US. A common name for this has been “haybox” or “haybasket” cooking. This name comes from the tradition of filling a box or basket with hay or cloth before putting your pot or casserole in it. The tools for thermal cooking look quite different today, but they still have the same purpose – to retain the heat in your cooking pot for hours!


“Haybox cookery” by Eleanour Sinclair Rohde (1939). The book advises the reader on thermal cooking techniques during World War II.

In the 1930s thermal cooking was widely appreciated – even the British army made use of it

Advice that is applicable even to modern-day thermal cooking.
THE MOST COMMON MODERN THERMAL COOKERS

The new Mr D thermal cooker. Vacuum-insulated outer container with foldable handles. The inner pot has a cast-iron heat retention ring. Retains heat for 7 hours when full.

The old Mr D thermal cooker. Very good, if somewhat generic model. It is made from a robust combination of vacuum-insulated stainless steel and a durable plastic base. Retains heat for 6-8 hours when full.

Inexpensive foam-insulated thermal cooker. Good for cooking rice. Retains heat for 1-2 hours when full.

“Haybasket”-style homemade thermal cooker. Retains heat for 3-4 hours when full.

Thermal cookers made of cloth and insulating materials. They can sometimes double as a pillow or furniture. Retains heat for 3-5 hours when full.
WHY DO I LOVE THERMAL COOKING?
I love the simplicity and low-maintenance of thermal cooking. You may spend 10-20 minutes preparing a dish (chopping veggies, browning onion, etc.), but once the dish is in the pot and boiling, you can transfer it to the insulated container. From that point on it takes care of itself. No pots to mind, no risk of burning your food, no fuss and no power/fuel consumption.

You can go about your day – go to university, work for a few hours, go for a run or catch up on your favorite TV show. When it is time to eat, you simply open the lid and serve. That is wonderfully convenient when you are tired after a long day of working or studying.

But what I love the most is that the food is always tasty. Meat becomes tender, even if you are using a cheap, tough cut. Lentils and beans develop that melt-in-your mouth texture. Flavours are allowed the time to develop. This results in a delicious meal with very little effort. I’ll take a thermal-cooked stew over a microwaved instant meal any day.

https://nomadpolymath.com/2018/02/15/why-i-love-thermal-cooking/

 

[China Connection]

As can be seen one can heat up something like a small serve of rice etc bring it to the boil and put it in an open Thermos and have a cooked meal with a very small fire. However no Thermos no can do.


Also if you cook a meal and you could eat some straight away but keep some hot in a Thermos for a another meal later on. Also on the same fire make tea for later. So get a lot out of one small burn. As well you do not want to be creating nice cooking smells to advertise you have food.

 

[Toy Maker]

Nice idea! Thanks

 

[WalknTrot]

I've heated things up to boiling temp in the crockpot, (usually beans) then shut it off and covered/insulated with thick bath towels. It will hold on "hot" all day. Same idea.

 

[Millwright]

I haven't seen any of those devices on the shelf here.

Maybe Americans are generally of a different mindset, they want things cooked right now.


WALA!!!....the Instapot.

 

[hiwall]

A thermal cooker is a good addition to solar oven. Use the solar oven in the peak mid-day times and place the cooked food in the thermal cooker to be enjoyed in the evening.

 

[Freeholder]

A thermal cooker is a good addition to solar oven. Use the solar oven in the peak mid-day times and place the cooked food in the thermal cooker to be enjoyed in the evening.

It's also a good addition to a rocket stove or other outdoor fire. Uses a lot less wood to bring a pot of something up to boiling and pop it in the thermal cooker, than to keep a fire going all day so your food can simmer. Also it won't scorch in the thermal cooker, where you'd have to constantly watch it over a fire.

And with the solar cooker, it means you don't have to hover over the cooker, readjusting it to follow the sun all day.

There are a lot of advantages to one of these. I really need to use mine more often, although in the summer we don't eat a lot of hot food. Fall is coming, though....

Kathleen

 

[Rabbit]

This is just a variation of a hay box cooker. I've thought of making one using the innards of a bean bag chair as the insulation instead of hay. Very cool.

 

[Dennis Olson]

CC, I don’t understand your apparent obsession with cooking, to the exclusion of most other aspects of prepping.

 

[jazzy]

ivehad a thermal cooker for about 3 years and i LOVE it. smartest thing i ever got. stainless exterior pot with a stainless interior pot. i brting my food up to a boil for aobut 10 min, longer if it has raw mean, then i do maybe 15 min. put the inside pot in the holder, close the lid and walk away til dinner time. easy to clean, this is great.
it is good in the summer warm months when i dont want the kitchen heated up, it uses very little fuel, can take it camping just fine. yeah its like a non elextric crock pot and this thing is great to have. i may get a 2nd one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010SKVXES/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

have not tried the thermos cooking, i need to try that too.
thanks CC!

 

[Freeholder]

CC, I don’t understand your apparent obsession with cooking, to the exclusion of most other aspects of prepping.

Suspect he's gone without enough to eat more than a time or two, Dennis. Have you ever read the Little House on the Prairie books? Laura Ingalls Wilder went hungry a few times, and nearly starved to death at least one winter; most winters in her childhood they got down to not much of anything by the time the next year's crops started coming in (corn meal mush, maybe some beans). You can really see that fixation on food all through her stories.

Kathleen

 

[Dennis Olson]

No, neither the “Little House” series nor the ”Nancy Drew” series excited me. But then, I’m male. Even more, I was never into farming or homesteading. I never felt that living in 1855 was a positive.

 

[summerthyme]

It's not the "living in 1855" part that most of us who do the homestead life want. We enjoy the idea of being as self sufficient as possible (I actually shop less than some of my Amish neighbors!). There's nothing quite like knowing if the stores shut down for 6 months, we wouldn't miss much of anything...

I will say that there does seem to be a genetic component to it... in the words of Almanzo Wilder (Laura Ingalls Wilder's farmer husband), "what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh". After being adopted by born and bred city folks (who were, admittedly, self sufficient types in their own way... built their own first house from the ground up, Mom sewed all our clothes, as well as fancy sewing for the town rich folks), I was always interested in animals, growing food, etc.

Married a farmer when I was 16, and never looked back. The ides of living even the suburban lifestyle I grew up with gives me the willies.

And while I certainly never went hungry as a kid (my dad had a very good job), my biological father was from Ireland...it makes me wonder about genetic memory, because I've always been determined to never depend on anyone or any outside entity for our food. <shrug>. There are probably worse obsessions.

And I NEVER want to be forced into a situation where we have to eat bugs!

Summerthyme

 

[nomifyle]

CC, I don’t understand your apparent obsession with cooking, to the exclusion of most other aspects of prepping.

I'm kinda obsessed with it too. Although I've only been hungry once that I can remember, I was in my early 20's, my husband left me and I had no food in the house. And I was living in Oklahoma City far from family. I can't remember if I had no money, but I remember finding a can of soup and from that day forward I've never had an empty larder.

I have a wonder bag (haybox) https://www.amazon.com/Wonderbag-Non-Electric-Portable-Cooker. for about three years. I've never used it but will give it a try when the weather cools off. When we were without power for 4 days back in May, I saw big holes in my food pantry, food that was easily and quickly prepared. I filled those holes. When I use one can of that food I replace it as soon as possible.

I've wanted a thermos cooker for several years but just never got around to buying one, looks like they have come down in price. I think I'll try getting something started in my crockpot and then put it in the wonder bag to complete the cooking.

Judy

 

[naturallysweet]

I'm sure this works great for areas were you actually see the sun in the winter. I'm in the one, I once mistook the sun for UFO because I hadn't seen it in months.

 

[summerthyme]

I'm sure this works great for areas were you actually see the sun in the winter. I'm in the one, I once mistook the sun for UFO because I hadn't seen it in months.

No, these aren't solar cookers. They depend on residual heat in the food (which is first heated on a fire, stove, or in a solar oven if you do get sun) .

Summerthyme

 

[Freeholder]

It's not the "living in 1855" part that most of us who do the homestead life want. We enjoy the idea of being as self sufficient as possible (I actually shop less than some of my Amish neighbors!). There's nothing quite like knowing if the stores shut down for 6 months, we wouldn't miss much of anything...

I will say that there does seem to be a genetic component to it... in the words of Almanzo Wilder (Laura Ingalls Wilder's farmer husband), "what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh". After being adopted by born and bred city folks (who were, admittedly, self sufficient types in their own way... built their own first house from the ground up, Mom sewed all our clothes, as well as fancy sewing for the town rich folks), I was always interested in animals, growing food, etc.

Married a farmer when I was 16, and never looked back. The ides of living even the suburban lifestyle I grew up with gives me the willies.

And while I certainly never went hungry as a kid (my dad had a very good job), my biological father was from Ireland...it makes me wonder about genetic memory, because I've always been determined to never depend on anyone or any outside entity for our food. <shrug>. There are probably worse obsessions.

And I NEVER want to be forced into a situation where we have to eat bugs!

Summerthyme

Ditto on the bugs, LOL! CC keeps talking about that, and I AM NOT GOING THERE!!

I grew up very rural and have lived only a few years in a city, and hated it. I like some space around me. And I don't like being dependent on the grocery stores for our food. Growing up, almost all of our meat came from hunting and fishing, and we always had a garden, and picked wild berries. When we moved from Alaska back to Oregon, we got fruit from my great-grandmother's old orchard, which was still producing enough for several families. But there have been times when we had little money and a very restricted diet (lots of beans and rice and cornmeal). So I guess I have kind of a fixation on making sure we always have enough food on hand to last us a while, too.

Kathleen

 

[China Connection]

Um Dennis wants me to talk more about maggots by the sound of things. Soon be maggot season again meaning spring here in Australia. Have to make an all weather fly house.


At the moment I am preparing for a banking holiday for when Deutsche Bank folds and sets off a banking holiday around the world.


It won't take that long for shops to close and utilities to get turned off. Who wants to work for no pay?


So how do you cook your rice etc? Problem when the gas and electricity shuts down.

The next problem is fuel meaning wood etc. Take a six month shutdown where you want to eat two or three times a day and have a cup of tea. That is a lot of wood.

So one has to think of how one is going to handle such a situation.


I like the small Thermos idea. Meals will have to be kept small etc, anyway....

 

[China Connection]

https://wickedwalkabout.com/travel-camping-reviews/thermal-cookers-aldi-dream-pot-shuttle-chef/

Best Thermal Cooker Review
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What is a Thermal Cooker?
Thermal cooking is quite different from using pressure cookers or electric slow cookers.

Our Thermal Cooker, a Thermos Shuttle Chef, is the one piece of cooking equipment that is an absolute winner with our family – At home, in our caravan, on road trips or even a day trip, out camping and at events. It can even be used to transport cold items safely.
We use our thermal cooker constantly
Think of a thermal cooker as a giant stainless steel vacuum flask, such as the famous Thermos brand. Food is cooked in the inner pot for around 15-20 minutes at home on a stove top (gas or electric), on a camp stove or (some brands) even over a fire. It is then transferred to the insulated outer pot, closed up and left to cook for up to 8 hours without any further attention being required.

Spaghetti Bolognese and chilli con carne are two of the things that we love to get cooking when we are about to go on the road or even as a quick meal to prepare when coming home after work.

Getting it started cooking in the morning then leave it to soak up the delicious juices and cook all by itself during the day, ready and delicious for the evening – fantastic.
No electricity needed… prepare the food and leave it be.

It is impossible to burn food in a thermal cooker and meals do not dry out when left for hours.

Economical and uses less energy – once the initial cooking time is done, no more heat source is required.
So simple to use and so many different meals can be made in a thermal cooker.
As useful at home as it is on the road or camping.
Safe to leave unattended while food continues to cook inside and be ready when you are.
Why do we use a Thermal Cooker?
Cost-effective, safe to leave unattended once the initial cooking process is complete.
No boiling-over or burning of food in the cooking pot.
Keeps food at high temperatures for hours so it is safe to eat.
Camping and caravanning trips – meals are ready when we need them and so easy to prepare. We often free camp, so the cooker is excellent for these times too.
Overnight trips away as well as constant home use.
Fantastic to have hot soup or meal made when at the kids sporting events in winter.
Ours is the Thermos shuttle chef – A quality product that will last our family for many years.
Along with our Kelly Kettle, the Thermal Cooker is always packed when traveling.
Electric Slow Cooker or Thermal Cooker?
Electric slow cookers are fabulous when at home or near a power source, read more about some of the best slow cookers on the market.

Thermal Cookers, (sometimes referred to as Thermo Cookers) however, don’t depend on an electricity source as food can be cooked for the initial period over a gas flame, making them ideal for use when traveling or camping.

Benefits of Thermal Cooking
Less fuel used to cook a meal.
Time-saving – prepare meals early in the day and then forget until ready to finish any preparations.
Portability.
Can also be used as a cooler – add ice to one pot and keep butter, meat, drinks, etc. cold.
Make soups, stews, pot roasts, rice meals, sauces, desserts and even mulled wine!
Compare the features of different brands and models to decide which one suits you best. Thermal cookers with two pots are ideal as a main meal can be prepared in the larger pot and a dessert or another part of the meal prepared in the smaller pot. Some thermal cookers come with just one inner pot, which may be preferable for some people.
Thermal Mass & Heat Retention
Heat retention in a thermal cooker is dependent on thermal mass. Meaning that the more food that is being prepared the longer the heat is retained. Smaller meals will cool faster.

Thermal cookers need to be 75-80% filled to work efficiently. This can pose a problem if only cooking for one or two people, so the size of the thermal cooker needs to be considered. Making meals that can be eaten immediately and the rest then be frozen in portions for another time is a smart way to cook. The best quality cookers are said to only lose around 3-4 degrees per hour.

As Thermal Cookers use the retained heat of the food to continue cooking once placed in the insulated outer pot, it is important to make sure the food is covered in liquid or a sauce so that the heat is equally distributed throughout the cooking process.

Which Thermal Cooker is Best?
Your budget will, of course, play a major part in selecting a slow cooker to suit your needs. Cookers range from a little under $100 up to nearly $500. A less expensive thermal cooker will do the job as many Australian families traveling long-term on road trips have told us when we asked for their views and experiences using the thermal cooking method.

All the top-level cookers with heavy stainless steel based pots are going to perform the best and should last many years. Less expensive models will perform well although they tend to have thinner bases which means it is easier to burn food during the initial cooking on a heat source. Once in the outer pot, the food will not burn.

Consider how many people will the meals be prepared for when deciding on the size needed?
What is your budget?
Two inner pots or one?
Will it be used a lot at home and away?
Or will it be just used for occasional trips?
A number of different brands are on the market –

Thermos
DreamPot
Primus
Billy Boil
Eco Pot
and the list continues…
Thermal Cooker Review
These are some of the best slow cookers for home, on the road, when camping and in a caravan. They are also excellent to use to make a hot batch of soup to take to sporting events with kids or even to keep a cold meal perfect.

Shuttle Chef Thermal Cooker by Thermos
The Thermos Shuttle Chef is the first thing we pack when camping or going away in our caravan. At home, it is used regularly too and has now been in use for over 4 years. It is a top-quality item that will last for many years to come.

The Shuttle Chef has stainless steel pots with a double wall for extra heat retention and thick stainless steel bases which help to prevent food burning or sticking during the initial cooking period. It comes in a few sizes depending on the needs of the user.

Used with care and treated properly, this cooker will definitely last for many years, maybe even generations.

Shuttle Chef Thermal Cooker

Eco Thermo Pot
The Eco Pot is one of Australia’s best selling thermal cookers –

With so many thermal cookers appearing on the market today, selecting the right one can be confusing. And unlike Ecopot, a lot of them haven’t been around for long. Ecopot on the other hand has been developing, and re-engineering the market leader in thermal cookware for years.

Find the Best Price for an Eco Pot Thermal Cooker on eBay

Dream Pot Thermal Cooker
The Dream Pot is extremely popular in Australia and comes in a variety of size options. We have friends who have used theirs on road trips and regularly at home too. It was also well-reviewed by families traveling around Australia when we asked for opinions.

This is another top-quality cooker that will also last many years.

DreamPot Thermal Cooker Australia

Aldi Thermal Cooker
Of the cheaper brands, the Aldi Thermal Cooker has been very popular. We asked a Facebook group of families on the road, traveling Australia what they use and the Aldi cooker was raved about. It costs less than $100.

Aldi Thermal Cooker Instructions
Using an Aldi cooker is the same as using other thermal cookers, the same recipes can be used and the results will be brilliant.

Whichever thermal cooker model you choose, it is sure to become a favorite way to prepare meals. There is no ‘best’ thermal cooker as the choices vary so much.

https://wickedwalkabout.com/travel-camping-reviews/thermal-cookers-aldi-dream-pot-shuttle-chef/

 

[Michiana MaJo]

I was just browsing on Amazon, first checking out the thermal cookers, then wound up looking at the Wunderbags, too. I am tempted by a WB.....didn't expect to be. I like reading customer reviews, and they kind of sold me.

Still, not ruling out the thermal cooker.... but, seems like they would just take up a lot of room I don't have, amongst all my other appliances!

I'll bring both these items to my daughter's attention, also. (New toys for our collections. Whoopie!

 

[Freeholder]

I was just browsing on Amazon, first checking out the thermal cookers, then wound up looking at the Wunderbags, too. I am tempted by a WB.....didn't expect to be. I like reading customer reviews, and they kind of sold me.

Still, not ruling out the thermal cooker.... but, seems like they would just take up a lot of room I don't have, amongst all my other appliances!

I'll bring both these items to my daughter's attention, also. (New toys for our collections. Whoopie!

I just looked at the Wonder Bags (had never heard of them before yesterday). I'm thinking that if you used it much, the metal thermal cookers would probably last a lot longer, and they don't cost all that much more. One comparison I read, the person commented that their reason for choosing the metal type was that it took up *less* space (which surprised me, but maybe it doesn't squish down much?). Just some things to consider. Also, the metal ones would be easier to clean. I have one of the metal thermal cookers, and it takes about the same amount of space as a big kettle, and could probably replace a medium-sized kettle.

Kathleen

 

[China Connection]

Roman Stainless Steel Vacuum Food Flask - 1500ml

I got a few of these from the hardware shop yesterday. I liked the size. Reasonable quality but not the top of the line. Opened one up after 4 hours and it were still very hot. Said to stay warm up to eight hours.

Bought a Coleman drink flask also said to stay hot for 35 hours.. After 18 hours it is still boiling hot.

 

[nomifyle]

ivehad a thermal cooker for about 3 years and i LOVE it. smartest thing i ever got. stainless exterior pot with a stainless interior pot. i brting my food up to a boil for aobut 10 min, longer if it has raw mean, then i do maybe 15 min. put the inside pot in the holder, close the lid and walk away til dinner time. easy to clean, this is great.
it is good in the summer warm months when i dont want the kitchen heated up, it uses very little fuel, can take it camping just fine. yeah its like a non elextric crock pot and this thing is great to have. i may get a 2nd one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B010SKVXES/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

have not tried the thermos cooking, i need to try that too.
thanks CC!

The one at this link went from $39 to $73 almost over night. I was going to buy at $39, but will be rethinking it. Sad.

Judy

 

[summerthyme]

The one at this link went from $39 to $73 almost over night. I was going to buy at $39, but will be rethinking it. Sad.

Judy

Try logging out of Amazon, clearing cookies and checking the link again. They play games with prices (or it could have something to do with tariffs ftom China, but even so, doubling the price is simpke price gouging.

Or check e-bay... Amazon isn't always the lowest price, often not even close.

Summerthyme

 

[nomifyle]

Try logging out of Amazon, clearing cookies and checking the link again. They play games with prices (or it could have something to do with tariffs ftom China, but even so, doubling the price is simpke price gouging.

Or check e-bay... Amazon isn't always the lowest price, often not even close.

Summerthyme

Thanks, I logged out on amazon and it come back the same price, and ebay was much higher. Maybe there were a lot of orders after this was posted. There is a like new one that is $33, so I'm thinking about getting it. Ebay was way higher.

Judy

 

[Freeholder]

Amazon's prices are definitely not always the lowest. I still use them for convenience, but realize that I may be paying a premium for that at times. Also, if you can wait and be patient for a while, watch the items you are interested in and sometimes there will be a price reduction. You should probably have several different ones to watch in this case, because likely only one at a time will have a price reduction.

Kathleen

 

[nomifyle]

The one at this link went from $39 to $73 almost over night. I was going to buy at $39, but will be rethinking it. Sad.

Judy

I did get this one for the original price that was listed as preowned. It looks like it was never used. I haven't used it yet. I'm going to a pot luck tomorrow and will use if for something.

Judy

 

[China Connection]

I Bought the large size in the Thermos brand food cooker as used in the below video.

Last night I put in chopped up lamb neck chops with rice and onion. 16 hours later I opened and ate everything. Everything I had put in was more than cooked.

I had brought it up to temperature for a few minutes on the stove first. Also I stuck the Thermos into a yogurt warmer unit.

.............................................................................
Making Rice in a Thermos. Cooking in a van. Full time Van life.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QBEjnoAeCE



wandering jimmy
11.3K subscribers
Sucsessfully cooking rice in a thermos!

 

[nomifyle]

I'm using mine for tomorrow at a school reunion. I'm making a cold dish, Ambrosia. Its gonna be hot out, and hopefully the food will be cold.

Judy