solar cooker/oven?

[Serendipity]

anyone use one? i started to look into it as i live in AZ and it seems practical, but i'm just looking for real life people who use one to share their experiences/tips/advice.

TIA:

[Jyotsna]

Hi,

My sister uses her's nearly every day, and it's important to know a few things:

1. You need to tend to it all day, moving it with the sun.

2. Soak beans for 2 days before attempting to cook them. They will cook fast, and you will get more protein out of them.

3. Have fun with a solar cooker. My son and I built one last year, and we cooked all types of foods in it. We haven't bought the fancy type, because we don't have the money yet, but when we do, we will buy the Sun Oven. http://www.sunoven.com/usa.asp

It's used all over the world, in India, South America, Israel, ect ect ect. The reason it is so important around the world is that people can't find adequete wood to burn anymore, to start a cook fire hot enough to cook food.

But the Sun Oven (or any good solar oven) will cook without wood, or gas, or electricity.

Good luck!

[bwylde]

I am so interested in this but we can't afford a good one. We tried making one last year but it didn't turn out. I may have to salvage for better materials .

[loraxc]

How practical is this really? Does it bake bread well? What about pizza?

I live in FL and hate heating up my house in summer. I am also home all day and have a sunny yard. The idea is very interesting to me, but that's a high initial cost...

[earth]

sun ovens are fantastic!!!!!!

hi, i live in upper michigan, about 15 miles from lake superior, and i use a sun oven from may 1st untill oct 1st and unless it's raining i'm cooking in it. i have the "sun oven" and i have a "solar chef" i've cooked bread into with no problem,it just dosen't get quite a brown as a regular oven, the only thing that you can't cook well in it is pasta, it gets mushy, lasanga is fine just put everything together and put it in the oven, things take longer to cook then what most of us are use to. i make a dessert dish in the morning, then i put lunch in when that is done then about an hou later i put supper in, my dh loves chicken and rice done in the sun oven, i adjust the oven about every hour so your not standing over it all day. i've been using my ovens for 14 years now and jut dearly love them.