Parabolic solar cooker or do-it-yourself solar oven, it is a valid alternative to the use of fossil fuels.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThe fight against pollution also goes through the kitchen. To be able to enjoy tasty dishes environmentally friendly and with zero emissions, it is enough to rely once again on our friend the sun.
For years, attempts have proliferated from various parts of the world use solar energy for cooking, with particularly interesting consequences and applications for developing countries.
It is especially in these areas of the world that solar cooking would represent one concrete alternative to the consumption of fossil fuels which would help avoid the deforestation, to reduce harmful emissions and, since it does not generate smoke, to protect the health of women and children.
The solution was already there twenty years ago: a German engineer, Dieter Seifert, introduced it, together with an Altotting Help and Vocational Training Group, but despite the many good intentions, and the countless variants developed in the meantime, the solar kitchen it still remains an instrument that is struggling to take off in the West. Among the most disadvantaged populations, however, where theclean energy is the only possible one, and thanks also to the commitment of numerous humanitarian organizations, solar cooking is gaining ground, slowly overcoming even the resistant cultural moves initially of the local populations who, how to blame them, were wary of such a strange and shiny instrument . Just watch this video to realize the potential that the sun can offer for culinary purposes:
PARABOLIC SOLAR COOKING
The mechanism of this type of cooker is quite simple: it is essentially a parabola in metal material that allows, by concentrating the sun's rays and reflecting them on an aluminum surface, to convert energy into heat. In practice he manages to concentrate and let the sun's rays flow onto a support, in which the pot full of food is placed. The heat is distributed throughout the container (which must be black in order to obtain greater caloric absorption) and is then able to cook all types of food in the different cooking modes: frying, baking, boiling and more. To be clear, he can easily prepare a coffee maker for 6 people in 10 minutes, 5 kilos of baked potatoes in an hour, biscuits in 45 minutes, a paella for 10 people in 90 minutes without any CO2 emissions.
Advantages:
- low cost (the prefabricated kit to build the dish it goes from 160 to 335 Euros approximately based on the diameter of the model chosen);
- low weight and easy transport;
- simple assembly;
- poor maintenance
Disadvantages:
It can only be used in the open air, but it represents a valid alternative to the barbecue, if nothing else it would also save us the effort (and I, personally, I would buy it immediately for this reason) of lighting the fire with charcoal.
SOLAR OVEN
Despite the name, the solar oven also serves as a normal kitchen: in short, the shape changes, but the underlying principle remains the same. In essence, it is a cardboard box lined with reflective material contained in another cardboard box which serves as an insulator but which, being transparent, allows the sun's rays to be channeled.
Advantages:
- takes up little space;
- it is cheaper because it is particularly suitable for do-it-yourself (On the internet there are numerous links on the self-production of the different variants, from the stove to the box, complete with a step-by-step guide and testimonials from those who have tried their hand at the operation. //solarcooking.org/ which contains an archive of truly amazing projects, photos and information.
Both appliances are ideally suited for cooking numerous foods, from soups to meat, roasts, up to even pizza. For details and recipes, I refer you to the next episode, just long enough to get equipped by purchasing a beautiful solar kitchen to be placed on the balcony. In addition to arousing the amazement of all the neighbors, convinced that they have fallen behind in terms of satellite television, you will thus contribute to save gas and to decrease the relative environmental impact. To break the expectation of my sunny “noon as a cook”, you can always try to build yourself a nice oven, at least, if it comes out badly, you can always use it as an armchair for sunbathing. But do you want to put? Nothing to do with the original eco-parties in the garden with which to "feed" relatives and friends at no cost.
