Do you feel your carbon footprint is a little large these days? Looking to fit into something sleeker and slimmer for the summer? Do you love nachos but find microwaves slightly creepy? Then welcome to solar cooking—homemade-solar-oven-style. All you need is a couple cardboard boxes, aluminum foil, white glue, a large oven bag (available in most major grocery stores), some scissors and a bit of free time.
The easiest kind of solar oven to build is a box cooker—basically a reflective, insulated box topped with a plastic window that lets in the sunlight and keeps in the heat. Once assembled, your handy, lightweight, transportable solar oven can, according to the experts, be used to cook just about anything: vegetables, roasted nuts, cookies, even a whole turkey—given you have the patience of a Guns ’N Roses fan.
In addition to being a fun arts-and-crafts project—and a great way to make grilled cheese if your gas gets cut off—solar ovens have real make-the-world-a-better-place potential. Solar cooking has gained attention as a powerful tool in the developing world, especially in situations like refugee camps.
Even in the comfort of home, cookin’ by the sun has its advantages. Beyond conserving energy, moderate cooking temperatures preserve nutrients in food and eliminate the need for stirring because there’s no risk of burning. You can literally set it and forget it, making it ideal for camping. Plus no flame means safer food prep for you and the environment.
As for me, I wasn’t quite ready to tackle Thanksgiving with all the trimmings. But I was ready to melt some cheese: nachos were the perfect trial food for my little hot box. I laid down some chips, threw on the cheese, placed the bowl in my solar cooker, made sure there was plenty of sunlight and then headed inside to read about last night’s episode of LOST on the Internet. In a half-hour, the cheese had melted and I had a scrumptious snack.
With all the advantages, it’s astounding that we aren’t promoting this free, clean energy source both at home and abroad. Maybe in 100 years things will be different and Girl Scouts will gather around the box cooker to tell ghost stories in the bright, afternoon sun. It might not have quite the same charm—but I’m pretty sure my box cooker could make a mean s’more.
For more information on solar cooking and instructions on how to build your very own box cooker (for under $10), visit Solarcooking.wikia.com.
