Cooking With Solar Energy

Make old fashioned sun teas or let the sun cook your meals in a solar stove...naturally.

Prepare food and beverages using sunshine.

Sunshine teas and dried foods were just the start. Cooking with solar energy has become much more uptown with the onset of solar cookers. They're easy to make or you can purchase a ready made model with the accessories There are two different types of solar cookers and they use different methods to generate heat. A third method combines the 1st and 2nd to achieve a hybrid that can achieve a higher and more reliable temperature.

• Parabolic cookers ~ This type of cooker concentrates the heat of the sun using reflectors. A dark pot is placed in the center of a cone of reflective material or another reflector and as the sun strikes the reflective material the magnified heat rays are directed toward the pot.


• Hot Box cookers ~ The hot box method uses an insulated box with an interior painted black to absorb heat. A window covered with transparent material (oven bags, glass, etc.) lets the sun in and prevents the heat from escaping, making for a more "oven like" cooker. Food is placed in a dark, covered pot and the pot goes into the oven.


• Hybrid ~ Parabolic cookers experience significant heat loss due to the absence of insulation. Hot box cookers are limited by the amount of direct sunshine that can enter the oven through the window. Combining the best of parabolic and hot box techniques addresses many of the limitations of each and produces a more reliable cooker. Hybrid solar cookers are composed of the insulated box (hot box) with reflectors (parabolic) that magnify the temperature within the box.

Cooking with solar energy has all kinds of benefits for you and the environment.

• No energy cost, the sun provides clean energy free of charge.


• Food will not burn although in some cases it will overcook..


• More flavour and nutrition are preserved when cooking with solar energy.


• Very little water is required when using a solar cooker.


• No fumes are emitted when solar cooking methods are used.


• Safe for use on boats and areas where fires are not permitted.


• No fire hazard.


• Useful in remote places like camping, boating or at the cottage.


• Cook your meals without overheating your living space.


• A solar cooker is relatively simple to make.

This video, entitled "Engineers Without Borders" shows a broad perspective of solar cookers designed for a competition. Have a Look.

Disadvantages of Cooking with Solar Energy

• A solar oven only works when the sun is shining. A UV index of 7 or higher results in the best success. If a cloud cover obscures the sun your meal could be delayed for hours..or it may not cook at all.


• Food safety issues can occur with some foods due to fluctuating temperatures on hazy or intermittently cloudy days or in areas where sunlight is restricted or inhibited. Food temperatures should not hover between 40 and 140 degrees Farenheit for long periods of time.


• Reliable cooking of full meals requires unlimited access to unrestricted sunshine for several hours. 5 to 6 hours ideally.


• Because meals must be cooked during the mid day, for several hours, using solar energy to cook weekday meals would be impractical for most families.


• Repositioning (angling oven toward the sun) is often required to ensure adequate cooking temperatures.

Solar Stove Safety Tips

• Use sunglasses whenever you open the solar oven, the reflected light can be very intense.



• Although the solar oven is safe for kids to use, much like using a microwave oven, the vessel and the food can be VERY HOT once the cooking has begun. Care must be taken when removing it from the oven.



• Just like when you use the regular oven, protect countertops and tabletops by placing pots on hot pads or other protective material.

As a rule of thumb, recipes that do well in a slow cooker will do very well in a solar cooker. Some models can even bake!

~ SUN TEA ~

Fill a 2 litre clear jar with cold water and add 4 to 8 teabags

~ any tea bags will do ~

Sit the jar in a sunny spot for several hours - til the tea has a nice color.

Remove the tea bags and refrigerate the tea.

Pour over ice and serve with sugar, honey or lemon if desired. We like it plain or sometimes lightly sweetened with fruit juice.

Without paying a penny for power you, even the kids can cook deluxe meals. Just assemble the uncooked food, spices and sauces in dark colored pots, cover with dark lids and place in the oven. Close the window and point it toward the sun and the temperature in the box begins to rise. How high depends on the clarity of your sun (no haze), your location on the earth, the time of year (winter less, summer more), the particular design of your solar cooker, etc.. Under ideal conditions oven temperatures can exceed 350 degrees F.

~ Ready Made Solar Oven ~ Get an easy start to your summer solar cooking. Click on the picture for more information or to purchase.

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