Saturday School: Sun Oven

Saturday School:  How to use a Sun Oven

These things are great!  I love them and would recommend one to anyone.  They require no fuel, only sunshine!  They are easily set up and taken down.

Alternative Cooking Method:  Sun Oven

PROS:  no fuel--uses the energy from the sun; can cook or bake; easy to use

CONS:  can only use when it is sunny; cooking times are longer than cooking or baking on/in a conventional stove/oven; buying commercial is expensive (but with regular use eventually you’ll recoup the cost in savings from not using your electricity--so this is only a con if you don’t use your sun oven very often); can’t fry with sun ovens.  If it is windy, the reflectors move--best to not use it when it is windy.  Only smaller pots and pans fit into the sun oven.

To set up:  put the sun oven in the yard where it will get sun (where it will cast a shadow during the whole cooking time).  Open up the reflector panels and lock into place.  Lock the glass into place to preheat the oven.  Position the oven to where the shadows are equal on both sides.  If the sun is lower in the sky--use the leg in the back to tilt the oven toward the sun.

To cook or bake in the sun oven:  Preheat the oven to the temp you want (up to about 350*).  Open the glass lid and place the pot/pan containing the food to be cooked onto the swing tray.  The swing tray can be removed, but it is nice to have if you will need to reposition the oven often.  Close and lock the glass lid back down.  Reposition the oven again to face the sun (if you will be repositioning it every 20-40 minutes) or to the position it will be midway through the cooking time, if you won’t be able to reposition the oven every 30-40 minutes.  Reposition as necessary.  Most food, if done this way, will take on average 2-3 times longer to cook than it would if you were doing it on the stove or in the oven in the house (or depending on the type of food 30-60 minutes longer than regular stovetop/oven times).  

To slow-cook in the sun oven:  Same as above, except you don’t reposition as often or at all--put it in the position of midway cooking time as stated above.

Of course the sun oven won’t fry foods, but baked goods turn out great as do stove-top cooked foods.  Reheat foods in the sun oven instead of the microwave or oven.

One of my favorite things about the sun oven:  I can start with completely frozen chicken, cook it in the sun oven for several hours and end up with moist delicious chicken ready to eat as is or to shred, or otherwise use in other recipes.  I often put just a little bit of water in the pot (just enough to cover the bottom), along with any seasonings I want sprinkled on top of the chicken:  taco, Mrs. Dash, etc.  MMM!

Things I have made and liked in the sun oven:  homemade bread--it browns nicely and is moist and delicious (not soggy, not dry); soups, chilis, cobbler, lasagne, brats, cookies, enchiladas, casseroles, pulled pork, and more.  I have also used it simply to reheat food.

See how nicely the sun oven browns the bread--on all sides.  This loaf was made with red wheat flour.

Recipe adjustments:  you won’t need as much liquid as you would on the stove-top (like a crockpot, it doesn’t lose the liquid as readily); the time to cook/bake will need to be lengthened depending on repositioning, amount of times you open the glass lid (each time, like a crockpot, will add about 15-20 minutes to the cook time-this is an estimation).

Cookware:  Dark!  Dark cookware helps absorb the heat.  You can also use glass-which is nice since you can see the food--if using glass it is best if the food is dark in color though so it will help absorb the heat.  Light /shiny colored cookware reflects the heat, which makes it hard for the food to cook.

Be sure to use hotpads to open the glass and remove the cookware, it will be hot!

Take down:  once you have finished cooking, let the oven cool down, wipe it out with a damp cloth and let dry.  Close glass lid.  Unlock reflectors and fold down.  Latch.  Remove to your storage area.

Have I convinced you yet about how wonderful these things are?  You can buy or make your own--there are many resources online that teach how to make a solar oven out of cardboard boxes, or more sturdy ones out of wood.  See also my post a while ago on making one out of a car windshield reflector screen.