By Jayelle Bowen
However you want to say it, these are wonderful so here is Jayelle’s guide to them. I am also including a link to a YouTube tutorial on how to make one.
I will show you how to use one of these thermal retention cookers .
Think about this , if people are in food poverty they will most certainly be in fuel poverty.Think about this also, this method uses 5 to 15 minutes of fuel depending on what your cooking , I use this method of cooking all the time and I’ve estimated this saves up 70% of fuel which is a huge saving.If your wondering why I am showing so many, I’ve made loads to give away to people that might need them.
I’ve made them at no cost to as little as £5 on materials. I also have commercially made ones.How ever way you make them, insulation is the key and King.In the first photo I have wonder bags from South Africa and home made ones from a polystyrene cool box to linen baskets filled with cushions, pillows or even duvets.
How to use:
1) fill the pot with as little head space as possible, too much head Space= too much air between the food and the lid which will cool the food down too quickly.
2) the more viscous the sauce\ liquid in the pot, the longer it will stay hot and cook the food..
3) cast iron pots are the best because the hold into the heat for so much longer than a thinner pot. However, saying that, in both Africa, India and in South America where they use this method of cooking they don’t all have cast iron pots ,but they do have lids on their pots that are air tight. Which brings me into my next point:
4) because my cast iron pots are either cheap or second hand they have warped lids that let out steam, which means precious heat for cooking is escaping then cooling it down, so I use foil to cover the lid and trap the steam in.
5) I wrap the pot in a pure cotton towel or linen cloth, not man made materials because they would melt like plastic especially on the base of the pot that has been on a heat source. I wrap the pot not for further insulation, but because I don’t want to melt any materials, especially my wonder bag, plus there is always spillage and I don’t want food in my wonder bag or any thermal cooker, I don’t fancy trying to put a wonder bag in the washing machine it’s quite big.
6) I should have mentioned this first, but you need to hard boil the food for 5 to 15 minutes depending what you are cooking. It’s to both kill any pathogens , and to get heat in to the middle of the food and heat up the pot to slow cook your food.What can you cook in it?Apart from soups and one pot meals I’ve made rice, which is fabulous in these, bread, steamed cakes , rice pudding and over night hot oats.
here is a YouTube link if you would like to try to make your own.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_iM0MUlPM4
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