Lissa Estes and Colleen Cole taught about different ways to cook with out electricity. Here is the information they shared.
Alternate
fuels: unleaded gasoline, Coleman white gas, natural gas, propane, butane,
wood, charcoal, alcohol, used or new cooking oil, candles, paraffin.
No Cook
Be
sure to check your pantry and just check around your kitchen, you will find
plenty of food for a day or two without having to cook: fruit, cereal, nuts,
bread, veggies, crackers, chips, cheese, canned tuna, canned fruit/veggies,
dried fruit, sprouts, sauerkraut.
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| No cooking needed foods. |
Fuel Efficient Cooking
Solar:
long, slow cooking, use like a crockpot. Food cooks at 180 degrees, food will
cook evenly, does not need added fat or water. Best if aimed at sun and
adjusted throughout the day. DIY or
purchased
Wonder
Oven: principle is insulation, use like a crockpot. Boil food for 5-10 minutes,
then place in Wonder Oven and allow to finish cooking. (See Shalyse)
Thermos:
bring to boil, then finish cooking over time.
Rocket
Stove: brick or cement block. Uses small pieces of scrap wood or twigs. Makes a
quick hot fire with very little fuel. There are many types of purchased rocket
stoves, some are able to charge cell phones. (See Coleen)
Sterno:
Very low heat potential, use for reheating, or very quick cooking. Use a
reusable foil windscreen.
Tuna
can with homemade fuel; cardboard and paraffin, cooking oil and wick. Add a
shade for light.
Hibachi:
alcohol and cotton balls, medium heat for a short amount of time. Use for quick
cooking think pieces of marinated meat, or for reheating
Wood:
use appropriate amount of fuel, best
used when fire has burned down to coals
Pellet
stove: good for 72 hour kits, medium heat that does not last long. Good for
reheating, rehydrating noodle soup, making oatmeal, making hot water for
cocoa/herb tea
BBQ
grill: charcoal, propane: large piece of equipment, can be used for long slow
cooking as well as quick hot cooking. Try out recipes and know your grill. Use
direct as well as indirect heat.
Box
Oven - cardboard lined with foil: uses
charcoal. Good for baking bread, cookies, cake, biscuits, muffins. Be sure to
vent the bottom for air flow. Needs a rack and needs to be on a flat surface.
Charcoal briquettes have a general rating of 1 per 25 degrees (although I
always seem to need more). Start charcoal in a starter chimney, or make one out
of a #10 can. Put some newspaper in the bottom with a little cooking oil on the
paper to keep it burning longer. Can also use foil pans, aluminum pie pans. Try
making a window using turkey oven bags taped with aluminum tape. Can use wire
to make a rack, or use cans to hold the rack. (See Coleen Cole for sales data
on charcoal)
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| Solar oven made from a car window shield! |
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| A solar oven that can be purchased online. |
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| Another way to cook food. |
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| Carrot cake that Lissa cooked in her Dutch Oven. |
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| Lissa's Dutch Oven bread! We posted the recipe for everyone under resipes. |
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| Other methods for cooking. |
Best
Ingredients
Parmesan
cheese and bacon bits! They fix almost any meal!!!
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| Lissa mentioned if cooking pasta it's best to use the thinnest pasta for quick cooking. |
Keep in mind
Food
cooks at 180 degrees.
Determine
how long the situation is likely to last. Assess if you have time and a place
to prepare, cook and clean up a meal. Are you bugging in or bugging out?
Use
fresh, then frig, then freezer, then canned. Use no cook, then renewable fuel,
then limited fuel. Your frig and freezer are connected even if they have two
doors, keep both areas closed as long as possible.
Use
food with high surface area: angel hair pasta, cut foods into small pieces,
always use a lid.
Use
as little fuel as possible: Make the most of your heat source: use ALL the
heat, when you are finished cooking dinner food, heat water to make oatmeal in
a Thermos for breakfast or to wash dishes, or the kids!
Experiment:
make things at home on a day when it does not matter if your experiment does
not work out. Make some notes and determine what works and what your family
likes.
Always
use the rule of three: 3 ways to cook, 3 ways to open cans, 3 ways to start a
fire, 3 meals from which to choose, 3 ways to put out your fire, 3-3-3-3-3.
Resources
Lds.org
So1thing.com
FEMA
Pinterest
Foodstoragemadeeasy.net
Youtube:
sun ovens, rocket stoves, oil lamps, thermos cooking: just follow similar
links. Find your favorite videos,
subscribe to several. Watch many videos and compare, then decide what works for
you.
