Cooking | Solarcookerformalawi

Cooking with the ISEC

Trial 1: to check if water would heat up & ensure our diode chain was working (5/5)

We set the pot inside a plastic bucket wrapped in a blanket connected it to the solar panel.

We placed the pot in the bucket surrounded by a 100% polyester blanket.

After about an hour, the water was hot to the touch and there was steam, but no bubbles.

Trial 2: to make rice (5/14)

We let the water heat up for about two hours before we put in the rice.

We added the rice and left it in the insulated cooker for an additional two hours.

After two hours the rice was perfectly cooked and warm. There was no left over water at the bottom.

Both diode chains did not work when attached to the solar panel. We were unable to fry anything that day.

Trial 3: to fry (6/1)

Trail 4: to fry again (6/7)

At 9:40 AM we put four cups of vegetable oil into our pot and sealed it so it could heat up. We checked the pot every 30 minutes because the wires kept coming unattached due to the intense wind. Meanwhile, we soaked the potatoes for four hours as suggested by the Food Network. The wires came undone and were reconnected at 11:20 AM. At 2:00 PM we put in the potatoes and they began to bubble. However, we had to take the pot out of the insulation because the diodes had burned a hole in the wool. The potatoes did not finish frying. If we were to continue we would have to find a different kind of insulation that would not burn since wool and polyester are not good options. In conclusion, our solar cooker worked great for slow cooking but did not work for frying.

Cooking at Home

Nsima is the national dish of Malawi. It is made with corn meal and water and served with vegetables or sauces to add flavor. We decided to practicing making some. We made it first and then decided to put a little twist on it by frying Nsima balls.

Cooking in Malawi

Sheillah, working for Kuyere! in Malawi, has been sending us images and data from her cooking endeavors in Malawi.