Coolbox Cooker

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talking about energy usage and other green issues the other day,mum told me about strawbox or haybox cooking . basically part cooking something like stew for example, and then putting in a box lined with hay/straw to continue cooking. the hay obviously acting to insulate and thus using less energy to cook. anyway being fresh out of hay and staw, i started looking round for bits to make something similar for her....i wanted to know if it worked too :smile:
used a coolbox, which was a good start, it basically being an insulated box. lined it with some polystyrene, leaving just enough room for the container i was going to use for the 'stew'. said space lined with tinfoil, more polystyrene on top, then the coolbox lid.
works great! :thumbsup: so far mum has cooked stew, soup and rice pudding in it. cooking times take a bit of experimentation, but basically prep in the morning and it's cooked by tea time :ohmy:


cheers, velocidad :tongue:
 

Abitrary

New Member
velocidad said:
basically part cooking something like stew for example, and then putting in a box

Sounds like a less risky crockpot. How much do you have to cook it for originally though?

Could you, in the morning for example, boil a kettle and pour it over some raw chicken and vegetables, and then put it in the box to make a stew?
 
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velocidad

velocidad

Veteran
meat i'm not sure about, mum is vegi. but bring to boil and simmer for few mins before transfer to coolbox cooker seems to work well for veg. reckon if you cooked meat as you would before putting in a slow cooker that would be about right.

cheers, velocidad;)
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Great idea! Even less power than a crockpot I guess, because if I remember right you still had to start the stuff off the same way to put in the crockpot...

Also, you're not leaving something electrical on and bubbling away in an empty house, if you all have to go out...
 

Fnaar

Smutmaster General
Location
Thumberland
Someone mentioned recently, and I do a lot, things which cook with hot water (pasta, veggies, boiled eggs, rice etc) to heat through to start them off, then turn power off with lid on tight and let it cook without further gas or lecky. I have rice down to a T now (or to an R if you like) ... cover it with water, boil for a few mins, lid on, leave for 12-15 mins ...perfect...the art is in getting the right amount of water for the amount of rice at the start.
The coolbox cooker sounds good... might give it a go...
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Fnaar said:
Someone mentioned recently, and I do a lot, things which cook with hot water (pasta, veggies, boiled eggs, rice etc) to heat through to start them off, then turn power off with lid on tight and let it cook without further gas or lecky. I have rice down to a T now (or to an R if you like) ... cover it with water, boil for a few mins, lid on, leave for 12-15 mins ...perfect...the art is in getting the right amount of water for the amount of rice at the start.
The coolbox cooker sounds good... might give it a go...

Yes, I need to perfect that - my electric hob plates hold the heat so well once hot, the problem is putting the lid on and it boiling over - there's a fine art to turning it down just right.

What I do do though, is use the residual heat, once I've served up, to heat water for the washing up...
 
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velocidad

velocidad

Veteran
i'll give that rice thing a go, cheers fnaar.

coolbox cooker also good for keeping one thing warm while you finish cooking something else. i hope to make a slightly bigger one for the velocifamily to use.


cheers, velocidad.
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
My Mum has a straw box for this purpose, and on Christmas Day has brought down a peice of Gammon in it, still nice and hot, nearly 2 hours later. Don't know how much time she cooked it for first though or how long it was in there in total.
 
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velocidad

velocidad

Veteran
summerdays said:
My Mum has a straw box for this purpose, and on Christmas Day has brought down a peice of Gammon in it, still nice and hot, nearly 2 hours later. Don't know how much time she cooked it for first though or how long it was in there in total.
is your mums actually an old fashioned box with straw, or a modern day thing like the coolbox? does she use it a lot, what sort of things does she cook, any heat retention cooking tips?

cheers, velocidad :biggrin:
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Dammit. I remeber seeing a programme about hayboxes and there was some tip I remember, because it was a bit surprising... Can't blooming well remember what it was now! Might have been something like dampening the hay or something....

A quick google throws up a lot of links - this guy has had more of less the same idea as you. I like the idea of being self-sufficient-ish!

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/hayboxcooker.htm
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
Oh my. Just got to the page on growing and spinning your own cotton... I could be here for some time...
 

frog

Guest
Had a recipe for Japanese Rice which I lost years ago. But from memory.

Long grain rice - two tablespoons per person
7.5 fluid oz of water for each portion
Wash the rice until the water runs clear - takes ages but needs the starch washing out.
Put in sauce pan which has a good fitting lid and bring to the boil.
Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 mins. Turn off heat and leave for 15 mins.
All the water has been absorbed and the rice is lovely and fluffy.

Might have got the rice qty out a bit though. :biggrin:
 
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velocidad

velocidad

Veteran
Arch said:
Dammit. I remeber seeing a programme about hayboxes and there was some tip I remember, because it was a bit surprising... Can't blooming well remember what it was now! Might have been something like dampening the hay or something....

A quick google throws up a lot of links - this guy has had more of less the same idea as you. I like the idea of being self-sufficient-ish!

http://www.selfsufficientish.com/hayboxcooker.htm

thats a great site, self sufficient-ish, now we could all do that ;). the 'it's not easy been green' forum ( born from the program of the same name) may be of interest to you arch. i've just joined it, tons of info about green things. nice and friendly too. i thought of you when i saw someone offering free wool in the swap/need/want type section of the forum, think it's gone now though ( huh, now i tell you! :biggrin:)

cheers, velocidad
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
velocidad said:
thats a great site, self sufficient-ish, now we could all do that ;). the 'it's not easy been green' forum ( born from the program of the same name) may be of interest to you arch. i've just joined it, tons of info about green things. nice and friendly too. i thought of you when i saw someone offering free wool in the swap/need/want type section of the forum, think it's gone now though ( huh, now i tell you! :biggrin:)

cheers, velocidad


oh, I've been meaning to look at that site, keep forgetting, cheers for the reminder....

<bumbles off to have a look>
 
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