Saturday School: Wonder Box Oven

Alternative Cooking Method:  Wonder Box Oven

A wonderbox oven is an insulating oven--meaning it doesn't bring heat to the food and heat it up, but rather it helps food that has already been heated retain that heat and thereby continue to cook.

Pros:  If you have limited fuel or simply don't want to use a lot of fuel in cooking your food, you can bring it to the temperature it is needed to bake/cook (most likely you will need to bring it to a boil for 3-5 minutes), then you transfer your pot with a lid to the wonder box oven and allow the retained heat to continue cooking the food.

Cons:  You will need a different heat source before you can use this method to continue cooking your food.  You will need to make your own.  Finding bean bag stuffing at a store near you may or may not be hard, but it is available on-line  (I got mine from Wal-mart).  I suggest using cotton or denim materials.

Directions for how to make a wonderbox oven are available online.  Here is the website I found very helpful in making my own wonderbox oven (includes pics of the process of making one):  http://www.iwillprepare.com/cooking_files/Wonder_Box.htm

Another great resource is:  http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/fsme/docs/wonderbox.pdf

So after getting the instructions, you will need to make your own pattern.  I used cardboard to make mine.  You will need to measure out the lengths and angle measurements (thought you were done with math and geometry right?).   The bottom pattern I had to tape on a little extra cardboard to get it the right size.

Once you have your pattern, you can then trace and cut your fabric (you will need 4 of both pattern pieces).  Follow the instructions on how & where to start sewing and such.  Leave a wide enough gap to fill both the top and the bottom with bean bag fill.  Be sure to not over-fill, you need to be able to put your pot in it.

Once the bean bag filling is in, you can sew the gap closed.  And you are done, ta da.

The above simply shows that a large pot can fit.  Below is where brown rice was brought to a boil for about 10 minutes, then transferred to the wonderbox oven to continue cooking for another 2-3 hours (even if you leave it longer, it stays warm and doesn't over-cook).

 

There are different types of insulating ovens, wonderbox is just one.  Another can be made easily by using a large icechest/cooler and pillows for insulation.  Either way, it helps cut down on the amount of fuel needed.