Thermos Cooking

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

I suspect it's the type of rice. I was using the standard long grain white rice available in any Greek supermarket. Did you try soaking the basmati?

It was actually just ordinary long grain rice in my Basmati labelled jar .

I actually had a third trial as well this morning using short grain rice. I even preheated the thermos to give it a kick start. Results were even more pathetic.

I haven't tried soaking the rice. I have bad memories of trying to cook pre-soaked lentils in the thermos. I have spat the dummy .

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

It was actually just ordinary long grain rice in my Basmati labelled jar .

I actually had a third trial as well this morning using short grain rice. I even preheated the thermos to give it a kick start. Results were even more pathetic.

I haven't tried soaking the rice. I have bad memories of trying to cook pre-soaked lentils in the thermos. I have spat the dummy .

It's very odd - the only variable is the size of thermos, you wouldn't think it would make that much difference and if any, mine shouldn't work due to the bigger air space.

[sparrowhawk1]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

It was actually just ordinary long grain rice in my Basmati labelled jar .

I actually had a third trial as well this morning using short grain rice. I even preheated the thermos to give it a kick start. Results were even more pathetic.

I haven't tried soaking the rice. I have bad memories of trying to cook pre-soaked lentils in the thermos. I have spat the dummy .

If your thermos is big enough I would try two cups of rice and three and a half cups water. Mass makes a huge difference. When I use my pressure cooker in my insulated cooker it will only stay hot for a couple hours if it's one quarter full but if filled up half way it will be too hot to touch the next day.

[sparrowhawk1]

My fool proof way of cooking rice is to have a glass bowl that fits inside the pressure cooker. I put just under 1 cup of rice and one and a half cups water and bring it to pressure, turn down heat and then time for 13 minutes, turn off the heat let cool down. I can also cook a sweet potato at the same time. if it's a big one I'll cut it in half. comes out perfect every time. The glass bowl also has a Tupperware lid so I can stick the leftovers in the fridge, nothing to clean up. edit - I put an inch of water in the bottom of the pressure cooker before starting. And I use chopsticks to keep the bowl off the bottom of the pressure cooker so doesn't rattle

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

If your thermos is big enough I would try two cups of rice and three and a half cups water. Mass makes a huge difference. When I use my pressure cooker in my insulated cooker it will only stay hot for a couple hours if it's one quarter full but if filled up half way it will be too hot to touch the next day.

Just two of us on board. One cup of rice already makes about twice as much as we need (and rice is one thing that shouldn't be kept 24 hours), so even if I had a larger thermos it wouldn't help.

Many thanks for your pressure cooker suggestions on cooking rice. Simply bringing rice to the boil and simmering it about 10 minutes then wrapping the pot in a blanket for half an hour also cooks it beautifully. Seems almost anything works except for my sized thermos LOL.

[sparrowhawk1]

I'm going to experiment with cutting my cooking time down and using my insulated cooker. But I have to say one of my favorite meals is to stir fry some vegetables add meat at the right time and then add pre cooked rice. it's quick easy and a single pot meal

[Blue Crab]

A big thermos is a real good thing, know what I'm sayin?

[sparrowhawk1]

Sorry to hijack your thread but I just cooked rice as mentioned earlier but I did it for 6 minutes under pressure and put it in my insulated cooker. 3 hours later pressure cooker is still too hot to touch and the rice is still hot and cooked perfectly. I think it only needed like a half an hour at the most. I just wasn't ready to eat which is the other benefit, it will keep the food hot until you're ready. I also mixed in about a cup of sprouted chickpeas at the start and they were cooked perfectly too

[Seaworthy Lass]

I have never used 'Peeled Hard Wheat' before (possibly the same as hulled durum wheat) or seen it on any Greek taverna menus, but it seems to be readily available here in even the tiniest of grocery stores, so it's obviously popular. It is a cheap, nutritious grain with nearly 14g of protein per 100g according to the packet (as much as quinoa, in contrast to white rice that only has about 2.7 g).

Not to be daunted by the rice failure and having run out of pearl barley, I bought a pack of wheat and put it through its paces in the thermos.

This is how the Greek packaging and raw grains look:

[Seaworthy Lass]

I'm very pleased to report that it was a success .

I popped a cup of hard wheat and two cups of boiling water into a cold 710 ml wide mouthed thermos, sealed it, gave it a good shake and wrapped it in a blanket.

At the hour mark it was OK and at an hour and half it was near perfect (texture chewy, but well cooked, without the hard bite at the core that my overcooked rice had). There was a fair bit of liquid left, and with excess water seemingly not being a problem as it is for rice, next time I will just fill the thermos with boiling water so that the heat is retained better (it would be a bigger quantity that would also not be cooled by pouring it into the cup measure first). I'll then leave it for no longer than 1.5 hours and drain it just by partially unscrewing the lid and tipping out the liquid. Unlike rice, I think this is a very forgiving grain, as is pearl barley.

I had to of course taste test some before dinner , so I just tossed a cup of drained cooked wheat with a tablespoon of cranberries and a tablespoon of mixed seeds for some sweetness and colour and crunch and then ground on a little pepper. Yum.

Shaved parmesan, chopped semi dried tomatoes and pine nuts would also be good instead. It would make a more complete dish with a drained tin of tuna or chickpeas thrown in after it was cooked with perhaps a chopped capsicum and a few nuts (and a dash of Tabasco if you like it hot like I do). I bet it would also work well with a packet of Cup-a-Soup added initially with the boiling water and eaten as a thick hearty soup. A super easy meal to make on rough passages.

Crabby, thanks for introducing me to thermos cooking xxx. I am falling in love with this new technique . Amazing this hot snack can easily be made just by boiling a kettle:

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

White rice in the thermos has defeated me

I think rice in the thermos would be a waste of time and use of the thermos. I think a pressure cooker is better. One cup of rice, two cups of water a dash of salt, quick spray of oil (stops foaming). All in a 4 quart pressure cooker heat high for three minutes. Set aside for 15 minutes. DONE!

Though I'm looking forward to trying a Thermos for beans though. I love my Pintos Gallos in the morning.

[Normanby]

I've had great success cooking for one with my Nissan 16oz thermos.

The trick for me was heating the ingredients and water IN the thermos, using one of these:
Korjo - Water Boiler (WB51)

This way, the ingredients, water and the thermos itself are all hot when i put the lid on.
Takes about 4 minutes to come to the boil, the element uses 6 amp hours at 12 volts (through the inverter) - which is less than i expected.

I use a quarter cup of rice, a quarter cup of soup mix (lentils, split peas, barley, etc...) and a cup of water.

With those quantities there's no rinsing or draining - the water is absorbed and the ingredients are soft.

I do this at lunchtime and leave it until dinner, with a good quality thermos the food comes out about 70 degrees centigrade.

I use it as a base; when i spoon the cooked mix into a bowl i can throw in a can of tuna, some chopped veggies, curry powder, powdered coconut cream, salt and pepper. Bewdiful.

Key to keeping the thermos clean is not adding any of the flavouring until after the food is out of the thermos. Keeps the element clean too.

[sparrowhawk1]

[QUOTE="Normanby;1547862"]I've had great success cooking for one with my Nissan 16oz thermos.

The trick for me was heating the ingredients and water IN the thermos, using one of these:
Korjo - Water Boiler (WB51)




Great idea. The one you're using is 220 although you can use it at 110 at lower performance. So I checked Amazon see what they had unfortunately all the immersion heaters got bad reviews. So the obvious advice is to make sure you get a quality item. Also you rated at 6amp hours. Did you mean 6amps? Are you using 110 or 220 Thanks

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

... I bet it would also work well with a packet of Cup-a-Soup added initially with the boiling water and eaten as a thick hearty soup. A super easy meal to make on rough passages.

That's how I make it each time. Lipton Noodle Soup has too much salt I'm sure but once a week, what the hey?

Crabby, thanks for introducing me to thermos cooking xxx. I am falling in love with this new technique . Amazing this hot snack can easily be made just by boiling a kettle:

Geez, Lassie, that I could offer YOU, A REAL COOK, anything at all is gratifying.

Originally Posted by Normanby

... I use a quarter cup of rice, a quarter cup of soup mix (lentils, split peas, barley, etc...) and a cup of water.

With those quantities there's no rinsing or draining - the water is absorbed and the ingredients are soft.

I do this at lunchtime and leave it until dinner, with a good quality thermos the food comes out about 70 degrees centigrade.

I use it as a base; when i spoon the cooked mix into a bowl i can throw in a can of tuna, some chopped veggies, curry powder, powdered coconut cream, salt and pepper. Bewdiful.

Key to keeping the thermos clean is not adding any of the flavouring until after the food is out of the thermos. Keeps the element clean too.

Simple and good is truly Bewdiful.

[w32honu]

I thought cooking rice in a pressure cooker risked clogging the valve?

Interesting thread. Have enjoyed reading it. All of this thermos talk reminds me of.......... What was it?

Oh yes, something to do with buckets.