How to Make a Cooking Box (Hay Box / Hay bag)
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Contents
How To Make a Cooking Box (Hay Box / Hay bag)
Short Description
- Problem: Lack of wood or of cooking fuel, low energy cooking
- Idea: Bringing the food to the boiling or cooking temperature as usual and right after the first boil putting the pot in an insulated box where the food keeps on cooking
- Difficulty: easy. Important: no vapour shoud come out of the cooking pot
- Price Range: depending on material used, normally cheap
- Material Needed: A box or a basket with at least 10 cm space between the pot and the box walls, insulation material ( wood ashes, hay, straw, newspapers, wool, cotton...) fabric bags for the insulation material, tape to stop vapour from the cooking pot.
- Geographic Area: global
- Competencies: no special competencies
- How Many people? One person
- How Long does it take? half a day
Description
Bringing the food to the boiling or cooking temperature as usual and right after the first boil putting the pot in an insulated box where the food keeps on cooking. The insulation keeps the heat in the cooking box. It is good for food like rice, beans, cooked vegetables, food that stays long in a closed pot. It takes longer to cook, but it reduces extremely the amount of wood to cook the same amount of food.
Difficulties
Important: no vapour shoud come out of the cooking pot, because the vapour would enter the insulation material and reduce the efficiency of the hay box. Wet insulation doesn't insulate anymore. When the insulation became wet by accident, you should let it dry in the sun before using the box again.
