The Art And History Of Solar Cooking
Solar cooking has been around for quite a long time. It is reported that Swiss naturalist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure invented the solar panel cooker in 1767. Today solar cookers look a bit different but the same principle still applies.
Although this form of cooking is relatively unknown, it has been the primary source of cooking by communities of people in remote and impoverished locations for many years. Solar heating systems are often the only way these communities get to enjoy some luxuries. The building and use of solar cookers is also a remedy to helping communities of people in 3rd world countries by humanitarian organizations where conventional means of cooking is not available because due to the lack of wood and other cooking fuels, or where the use of those fuels put a hardship on the local environment or eco systems. The basic concept of solar cooking is harnessing the energy of the sun with energy reflective materials such as aluminum foil, and then directing the energy back into a focused cooking area. The Solar kettle looks much like a radar dish; the dish is positioned to direct reflected energy from the sun to the bottom of a kettle that is suspended over the dish. The sun's heat takes the cool water up to boiling point. Some people have even used this technique to steam food over a solar cooker.
The typical solar cooker device ranges from reflective devices that can heat water, roast meats and other foods, to solar cooking pots and kettles. There are even some solar cooking devices that closely resemble that of a large magnifying glass. This over sized magnifying glass is held on a stand and adjusted to focus the sun as a concentrated beam directly into a cooking vessel. The construction of these solar cooking devices can be made from simple purchased items, or reclaimed parts and materials that are inexpensive and surprisingly efficient, much like do it yourself solar panels. Panel solar cookers are simplistic in design and this simple mechanism converts hundreds of watts of sunlight into heat and can cook one or two pots of food at a time. The basic design of a panel solar cooker consists of pasting a reflective material, such as aluminum foil, onto a cut and folded backing, usually corrugated cardboard. It is lightweight and folds for storage. The Sacramento Company Solar Cookers International developed “CooKit”, its version of this solar cooking device in 1994.
In the right geographic region campers could easily fashion a solar cooking device from seemingly the simplest items on hand; such as some aluminum foil or other shinny reflective item that is held in place with rocks or even a few small tree branches pushed into the ground. This rudimentary solar cooker has the power to harness enough energy from the sun to heat water and even cook moderate portions of food in a relatively short time.
