When you’re cooking outdoors, your options are usually limited to using portable gas stoves or the more traditional (and responsibly cared-for) campfire. But sometimes campfires aren’t allowed; and although you can recycle used gas canisters at some outdoor stores, the process still creates waste … and it’s never fun running out of your fuel in the middle of a meal.
Now there’s another option – cooking with the power of the sun.
The GoSun Stove is not only a fantastic solar oven, but the company itself has a lot of heart! The stove was created with the idea of renewable energy solutions free from fossil fuels.
What makes this company truly special is their commitment to combatting global warming. In addition to cooking without any fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses, 20 trees are planted with every GoSun stove sold through their partnership with Trees for the Future. You can find the GoSun stoves in more than 40 countries and the company estimates it’s planted more than 10,000 trees since 2013.
When I first got my GoSun I did a lot of reading, because it seemed very different than any stove/oven I had used before — but after a bit of research I found the GoSun Stove incredibly easy to use. Simply point the stove’s solar panels towards the sun and presto, you are ready to cook. As with any new gadget, there’s a learning curve, but I found that curve was very small. With the help of their online community, I felt like I had a lot of ideas right out of the gate. Also included was a very simple graph within the solar stove’s instructions that shows cooking times based on food type and cloud coverage – so you’re definitely not flying blind on this one.
I really wanted to give the GoSun a true test, so I cooked a variety of meals – and was even able to bake! Every meal was a true success and the more I cooked, the better I got with seasonings and cook times. The stove even cooks amazingly well even on a cloudy day. You’ll spend a bit more time cooking, but the stove itself heats up just as it would in full sun.
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- Salmon, mushrooms, broccoli, green onions, with seasoning.
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- Finished meal: Salmon, mushrooms, broccoli, green onions. Cooking time for entire meal was 18 minutes with full sun. Everything was perfectly cooked and very flavorful.
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- Scrambled Eggs with potatoes, onion, thyme and garlic.
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- The finished meal: Eggs with potatoes, onion, thyme and garlic. It was delicious! Cooking time for the eggs was 15 minutes, the root vegetables was 35 minutes with full sun.
I did my test cooking with the GoSun Sport, ($279.00) which cooks up to 40oz of food or up to 3 lbs. The Gosun Sport weighs 7lbs and is large when you think of backpacking, but it’s perfect for car camping … or if you are using a pack llama to carry your gear. When doing my testing, my complete meals were easily two portions. If I cooked only a side-dish it was easily 4-6 servings. If I cooked only a main dish I could get 2-4 servings. I even baked gingerbread and brownies, which were perfectly moist! I was incredibly impressed with the amount of food that can be cooked in the long, tube-like oven.
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- Red lentils with seasonings, cooked on a cloudy day. The cooking time was 40 minutes. Everything was perfectly moist with full flavors.
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- Eggs, spinach and cooked tomatoes. Cooking time was 15 minutes for the eggs and 22 minutes for the vegetables, with full sun.
What you can expect with the GoSun:
- An easy to setup solar stove/oven alternative
- Easy to use including simple instructions in a graph form showing cooking times based on full or partial sun.
- A tube shaped ‘oven’ for cooking your meals. (Its seems really odd at first but could not be easier to use)
- An online Facebook community that shares their cooking successes and tips.
- An amazing meal from simply harnessing the power of the sun.
The lineup of GoSun solar cookers offers a stove for every need; from the cooking novice to the professional chief. They have even redesigned the smallest of their stoves, The GoSun mini, (Perfect for backpacking) Is expected to be released on April 22, Earth Day, 2016 via a crowdfunding campaign. With an added accessory you can even boil water.
If you are like me, love to cook when out camping, and appreciate the energy independence, then I would definitely suggest getting a GoSun solar stove! They are easy to use, and eco friendly. Not to mention a great conversation piece on all your camping trips!
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- Perfectly moist fudge brownies! Cooking time 25 minutes in full sun.
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- Delicious gingerbread, cooked to perfection! Cooking time 20 minutes in full sun.
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Tags: Camping stove, cooking with the sun, Earth friendly cooking, GoSun solar stove, Solar Stove