My Solar Cooking Project

Some time in July, perhaps a few days after that extraordinarily hot Independence Day barbecue, I decided to take a break from the monotony of studying. Making a more spiritually productive use of my free time, I set out to accomplish one of the something[s] I’ve always wanted to do.

An item I’d always held high on my culinary bucket list was to cook something with a solar oven. Back in college, I researched extensively on the subject, fascinated to the point that I fancied starting a Solar Cooking Club. The idea of 20 people hanging out on a sunny lawn with hammocks, and frisbees while chocolate chip cookies baked away in foil-lined cardboard boxes was looking more and more like an ideal Sunday afternoon.

Of course, that never happened; it was hard enough juggling school work, a part-time job, the SBU Tennis Club, and my personal life. Nowadays, however, my life is going at a much more manageable albeit mundane pace, which enables me to pursue such ambitions.

The forecast was high 80s and sunny all day, which certainly didn’t hurt my chances of actually producing something edible. With a duffel bag slung on one shoulder and a solar cooker situated on the other, I trekked for about half a mile toward Owl’s Head Park. The wind was not cooperating so I had to do some minor repairs after I scouted out a good location.

I packed 2 room temperature eggs, hot dogs (which I ended up not using), a bottle of tap water, some red twine, a black pot, some paper towels, a plastic bag, and some ice water.

The interior of the inner box is lined with some construction paper. I actually ran out so I had to make some by dyeing halved paper towels in a mixture of black food coloring paste and leftover Jamaican moonshine (I’m not kidding). I also made liberal use of a black Sharpie for corners and edges.

I figured keeping the ambient temperature around the pot high would help things but now I wonder if it would’ve been better to line the sides with foil instead…

Water and eggs went into the pot — both at room temperature — and then I fastened the lid down with some plastic twine. Then I put that in a clear plastic bag and tied it tight. That went into the black box covered by the Frankensteined Ziplock bag. After that, it was just a matter of finding the right angle to the sun, and readjusting the box every 30 minutes.

The wind and inclination put too much stress on some of the flaps so I supported it with some sticks lying around.

Then I ducked out under a shady pine tree. Forgot my chair so I just sat on a sheet of paper towel.

About an hour into it, I was bored snotless so I started counting pine cones and picking out pine nuts from fallen ones.

Almost two hours later, impatience was gnawing away at my resolve to play it safe. I had to see. So I pulled out the bag and could see a ton of condensation on it (picture 3). I opened the bag and found big drops of water on the lid of the pot. All good signs.

If only you could tell if they were cooked just by looking at them… There was a lot of steam when I first opened the lid and the eggs were very hot to the touch. I actually smiled when they burned my fingertips.

Just for good measure, I took them out for a spin on the lid. They certainly rotated a lot faster than raw eggs. Don’t laugh but… I was getting really excited at this point.

The smell was dead on. I heard soaking them in water washes away some of that smell so I tried to peel them as fast as I could and then put them back in water. But the whites kept sticking to the shell and I noticed they were really soft to the touch.

And this was when I learned that egg yolks cooked faster than whites. I still ate it but didn’t bother with the second one.

Eggs get solid at 158F so I know the water got to be at least 158 degrees, which is higher than the upper limit of the ‘danger zone.’ I’m assuming they spent at least 30 minutes at that temperature. Given that it only takes 3 and 1/2 minutes at 140F to pasteurize an egg, this meant that they were  safe to eat. Of course, texturally, it’s another story.

Despite the jiggly whites, I’m going to call this one a success. Up top!

And remember: for better peace of mind, always do your best to follow through on all of your endeavors, pursuits, and ambitions. Once you start weeding out the what-ifs in your system, your focus becomes much sharper. There is nothing so empowering as having closure.