Thermos Cooking

[carstenb]

while not thermos cooking, when I cook potatoes, I bring them to a boil, take them off the heat, wrap in a duvee or blanket and let them sit for about 1/2 hour. perfect potatoes every time

[sparrowhawk1]

I put this on other posts and its not a thermos but it works so incredibly well I can't believe its not more popular.The other day I cooked 1 pound of beans in beef broth with about 2 pounds of cuck roast.pressure cooked for about 35 minutes then put it in the thermal cooker and



the next day the pot was too hot to touch. The beans are cooked to perfection and the meat fell apart. I made the thermal cooker with a styrofoam cooler that I was going to throw away and an old blanket

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by carstenb

while not thermos cooking, when I cook potatoes, I bring them to a boil, take them off the heat, wrap in a duvee or blanket and let them sit for about 1/2 hour. perfect potatoes every time

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

I put this on other posts and its not a thermos but it works so incredibly well I can't believe its not more popular.The other day I cooked 1 pound of beans in beef broth with about 2 pounds of cuck roast.pressure cooked for about 35 minutes then put it in the thermal cooker and the next day the pot was too hot to touch. The beans are cooked to perfection and the meat fell apart. I made the thermal cooker with a styrofoam cooler that I was going to throw away and an old blanket

This is all the inexpensive Wonderbag and expensive stainless steel thermal cookers do, retain the heat and cook the contents slowly . Insulating does work brilliantly (nice photo Sparrowhawk, such an easy and inexpensive alternative).

The thermos is just a subset of that idea, but what I think it is brilliant for is for items that don't need sautéing or preheating, just boiling water poured over them to cook. Although the soup I tried worked extremely well, the thermos was no better (and in fact would have been worse with heat loss) compared to simply well insulating the original pot it was cooked in and letting that sit.

I am hooked on the thermos for three things I have tried so far - quinoa, oatmeal and pearl barley. I don't think anything else would be as easy and efficient as a thermos for this. I only needed to boil the kettle and no preheating of the thermos was required for a great result.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Test report 6:

BROWN LENTILS
I am now more confident about cooking in a thermos and I want to pursue the "just pour boiling water over the ingredients in an unheated thermos and let it stand" method, eliminating the need for heating anything in a pot separately first.

Wasting gas and water preheating the thermos for 5 minutes first with boiling water, (as is recommended for food that takes longer to cook) doesn't have a lot of appeal either as it means the kettle needs to be boiled twice, so from now on I will test things out without doing this. It certainly works for quinoa, oats and barley.

I expect a few failures , but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Brown lentils were my first failure. I pre-soaked a cup of small brown lentils overnight as I knew that would significantly reduce cooking time. After draining and adding boiling water, I wrapped the thermos to insulate it and I let it sit for 2 hours (timing was just guesswork). I hoped the combination of presoak and insulation would be enough to cook the lentils.

I really resisted the urge to peak earlier. Hard, as patience is not one of my fortes . At the two hour mark I eagerly opened the thermos. The lentils were undercooked and there was no point leaving it longer as the water was too cold after the initial addition of all the cold wet lentils.

Back to the drawing board .

[SaltyMonkey]

Oh how did I miss this wonderful thread. Keep it up. So many interesting recipes.

Thanks

[Blue Crab]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

...
I really resisted the urge to peak earlier. Hard, as patience is not one of my fortes . At the two hour mark I eagerly opened the thermos. The lentils were undercooked and there was no point leaving it longer as the water was too cold after the initial addition of all the cold wet lentils.

Back to the drawing board .

It gets easier when yer git to yer 50s, Lassie. Good thread! As Ross Perot once famously said, "I'm all ears."

[Seaworthy Lass]

Armed with experience from the first trial, I simply popped 3 eggs (at room temperature of 21°C) in the base of a cold Stanley thermos (710 ml, wide mouthed), filled the thermos with boiling water and let it sit for an hour and a half wrapped in a blanket.

Water temperature when opened was 77°C (interesting only for those concerned by salmonella ). Eggs were perfectly hardboiled. I give my thermos the thumbs up for eggs as well .

Now, what to do with the eggs today? Using them for nibbles with pre dinner drinks in the cockpit appealed.

The easy options are chopping or mashing them and mixing with a couple of tablespoons of Greek yoghurt (or mayonnaise) with Dijon mustard or a with a teaspoon of curry powder and cumin seeds, both seasoned with freshly cracked salt and pepper.

I had a little time on my hands though, so I mixed up a batch of my version of tapenade. It went down very well as a dip combined with yoghurt and the eggs .

EGGS WITH TAPENADE

Tapenade:
½ cup (100 g) good quality kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
25 g anchovy fillets, drained (½ small tin)
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tblsp capers, rinsed and drained
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tblsp lemon juice
1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

100-200 g thick Greek yoghurt (or a couple of heaped tblsp mayonnaise)
3 eggs, hardboiled, cooled and roughly chopped

- Reserve a little of the parsley and yolks for topping.
- Chop all the tapenade ingredients together for a few minutes, slowly adding the lemon juice and oil. Using a mortar and pestle is even better. Don't churn the life out of it by using a food processor.
- Fold the mixture into the yoghurt with the chopped eggs
- Serve as a dip topped with the extra parsley and yolks or spread in sandwiches or on toast.

I usually make double the quantity of the base, divide it in two and top it with a little olive oil, then refrigerate and use the mix within the next few days. Having this ready made makes it super quick the next time and the flavours are even better when they have had a chance to blend.

It is also good without the yoghurt just dolloped on slices of hard boiled eggs on crackers or toasted bread or bruschetta. Or add it to pasta or potatoes or smear it lavishly on pizza. The mix is an intense salty, fishy taste sensation .

[onestepcsy37]

Just a reminder for you oatmeal fans. Don't buy regular oatmeal and don't buy instant oatmeal. Buy 'quick' oatmeal. Half cup in a cereal bowl, one cup boiling water from the teakettle, stir, eat. No pot or thermos to wash.

I like mine with cinnamon and dried berries....

[NornaBiron]

After eating some of SWL's thermos cooked barley in a wonderful salad last night and experimenting with basmati rice with her (not entirely successfully) yesterday afternoon, I thought I'd give this thermos cooking lark a go. So this morning I have added 1.5 cups of bog standard long grain white rice and 3 cups of boiling water to a cold thermos, sealed it and tucked it in my Wonderbag for added insulation (which I don't think it really needed) and left it for an hour and a half. The results are perfectly cooked separate grains of rice, no water left at the bottom. Just perfect for stir frying this evening SWL!

Even I, as a complete Wonderbag junky, can see the benefit of using the thermos for things like this. The propane bottle will soon be lasting a year at this rate!

[Blue Crab]

I cannot explain it but my early experiences with a Stanley vacuum bottle left me cold ...yuk yuk. Things changed when I bought genuine Thermos bottles. This video is amusing and instructive, a good combo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSEN...feature=relmfu

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

I cannot explain it but my early experiences with a Stanley vacuum bottle left me cold ...yuk yuk. Things changed when I bought genuine Thermos bottles.]

I've just got a cheap food vacuum flask from a supermarket, cost £5, worked okay with the rice today!

[sparrowhawk1]

I'm so happy with my insulated cooker that I forgot to talk about my past experience with thermos cooking. One thing I've learned is that you need mass. I wanted to just cook a half cup of rice at a time but it doesn't work, I think you need a minimum of 3 cups of hot liquid

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

After eating some of SWL's thermos cooked barley in a wonderful salad last night and experimenting with basmati rice with her (not entirely successfully) yesterday afternoon, I thought I'd give this thermos cooking lark a go. So this morning I have added 1.5 cups of bog standard long grain white rice and 3 cups of boiling water to a cold thermos, sealed it and tucked it in my Wonderbag for added insulation (which I don't think it really needed) and left it for an hour and a half. The results are perfectly cooked separate grains of rice, no water left at the bottom. Just perfect for stir frying this evening SWL!

Even I, as a complete Wonderbag junky, can see the benefit of using the thermos for things like this. The propane bottle will soon be lasting a year at this rate!

We have just come back from a perfect dinner on board NornaB. The rice was used to make fried rice as part of a Chinese feast. Think I have a convert for thermos cooking when it comes to grains .

My failed attempt the day before was simply because I opened the thermos too early. I though an hour would be plenty, but there was still water left at the bottom and the rice had a slight bite to it. Another half hour and it would have been done.

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

I'm so happy with my insulated cooker that I forgot to talk about my past experience with thermos cooking. One thing I've learned is that you need mass. I wanted to just cook a half cup of rice at a time but it doesn't work, I think you need a minimum of 3 cups of hot liquid

I think it depends a lot on the thermos (size and quality of insulation). My 24oz one (710 ml) cooks a cup of oats, barley and quinoa using 2 cups of boiling water without any problems. I don't take any chances though with heat escaping excessively and I wrap the thermos in a blanket.

I have read that Nissan thermoses have the best insulation, possibly followed by Thermos.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

I cannot explain it but my early experiences with a Stanley vacuum bottle left me cold ...yuk yuk. Things changed when I bought genuine Thermos bottles.

I used Thermos vacuum flasks for decades back home very happily, so when looking for a new flask on a Greek island I happily paid what seemed like an arm and a leg for a Thermos. It was a dud. Within minutes of pouring water in the sides were too hot to touch. I took it back and the comical reply was that it was supposed to behave this way - that was why a handle was provided on the flask! I requested the thermos be filled with boiling water and tested out and in the end I was provided with a replacement. Same story again . I gave up.

I have had no problems with the two rugged green Stanleys I purchased since (a standard tall one and a wide mouthed one) .

[Blue Crab]

YMMV.

This morning I put 3 eggs from the fridge in a small wide mouth thermos bottle. Added boiling water. Let sit for about 7 hours: soft "boiled" eggs at best; edible but not primo. Water was still quite warm.

I was after zipless hard cooked eggs.