A Solar Cooker - The Healthy Option

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They use no fuel and they cost nothing to run. This has humanitarian groups around the world claiming they help slow deforestation and desertification caused by the need for firewood to cook food.

The only thing you need is sunlight and for the solar cooker to be facing the sun before use. Apart from that, it is not much different from a conventional oven.

The only disadvantage of solar cooking is that it provides the hottest food during the hottest part of the day, when people are less inclined to eat a hot meal.

However, the health benefits of solar energy used in this way means that people can cook their food without fear of contamination.

The 'Minimum' Solar Box Cooker

A solar box cooker is an insulated box with a transparent top and a reflective lid. The top can be removed to allow pots of food to be placed inside. The box usually has one or more reflectors with aluminum foil or similar material to bounce extra light into the inside of the box.

Cooking containers and the inside bottom of the cooker should be dark-colored or black. The inside walls should be reflective to reduce radiative heat loss and bounce the light towards the pots and the dark bottom, which is in contact with the pots.

The inside insulator for the solar box cooker has to be able to withstand temperatures up to 150° C (302 °F) without melting.

Materials such as newspapers, wool, dry grass, sheets of cardboard, rags etc. can be used to insulate the walls of the cooker. However, most of the heat escapes through the top glass or plastic, so not much insulation in the walls is necessary.

The transparent top can be made from an oven cooking bag, which is light, cheap, and easy to work with, but not so durable. Or glass, which is durable but hard to work with. The choice is yours.

If dark pots and/or bottom trays cannot be located, these can be darkened either with flat-black spray paint (one that is non-toxic when dry) or black tempera paint.

The solar box cooker won't reach a temperature as hot as a standard oven, but it should be hot enough to cook food over a somewhat longer period of time. It should be remembered that food containing moisture cannot get much hotter than 100 °C (212 °F) in any case, so it is not necessary to cook at the high temperatures indicated in standard cookbooks.

Health Benefits Of Solar Energy

Because the food does not reach too high a temperature, it won't burn, so can be safely left in the cooker all day. It is best to start cooking before midday.

However, depending on the latitude and weather, food can be cooked either early or later in the day. The cooker can be used to warm food and drinks and can also be used to pasteurize water or milk.

Solar box cookers can be made from locally available materials or be manufactured in a factory for sale.

The health benefits of solar energy cannot be ignored. These simple and useful appliances are seen in growing numbers in almost every country of the world. And that can only be a good thing!

Do You Want To Buy A Solar Cooker? If you are interested in a solar cooker then OK Solar stock them. OK Solar are one of the largest solar companies in the world and will deliver worldwide.

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