Authentic tips on the efficient usage of Solar Cookers

The use of solar energy offers enormous potential for natural resource, climate protection and for the expansion of renewable energies on the road to future-oriented energy supply. ‘’The sun-that power plant in the sky-bathes Earth with ample energy to fulfill all the world’s power needs many times over. It won’t run out, and it’s free!” is a famous quote that signifies the importance of solar energy.

There are many guidelines to be adhered to when we decide to use the solar cooker for the first time. A solar oven can efficiently work at a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Choosing the apt cookware:

The correct material to be selected for solar cookware is Steel coated with enamel. The construction should be perfect, and we have to choose the exact design and colour.

Never underestimate the power of Sun. Using proper standard safety equipment is very important. Both the inner and outer surfaces of the cooker become quite hot and can cause burns. We should use gloves, and dark glasses as some cookers having parabolic design are more reflective.

Using hot water – We all know the laws of thermodynamics, right? It is always advisable to proceed from lower temperature to higher temperature. A sudden rise in temperature is not recommended, the transition should be slow and gradual. Suppose we want to heat milk or prepare a porridge kind of dish, then all the ingredients should be taken out from the fridge in advance so that they will reach the room temperature. This process makes cooking easier, isn’t it?

Supposing we use the ratio of 3:1 while cooking rice in a regular cooker, then we have to add only 50% of the water that is, only one and a half glasses. We should always avoid excess water because the lids of solar cookers are sealed, and there will be no water loss due to evaporation.
Foods rich in moisture are to be preferred.

In case we can’t spend hours and hours on researching the ways to accelerate cooking in the solar cooker, the best idea is to preheat the cooker and cookware. The preheating process can achieve ambient temperature.

Trapping the heat effectively:

• The lids of the containers and cookers should be airtight to avoid the loss of heat.
• Once we start cooking, we should avoid opening the lids often.
• We should take utmost care of the solar heat seal. The cooking efficiency will be reduced if the solar heat seal is broken.
• Once we start cooking, the solar cooker cavity must remain closed. Opening it might hamper the chances of cooking at its best.

Sunshine in the atmosphere and the trapped heat in the cooker together provide best results, that is, yummy food!

We know that tiles absorb heat quickly and they can retain heat as well. So, we can keep the solar cooker on a flat black slab to increase the temperature and to improve heat transfer.

Cooking in shadows and obstacles should be avoided.
The most important factor is the presence of abundant sunshine. Clouds and humid conditions will deplete our hopes of solar cooking.

So, let us also contribute to saving the environment, let’s go green and use solar cookware.