Thermos Cooking

There are not many feelings I enjoy more than the one I get when I’m cooking a meal over a camp fire. However, sometimes it is not always practical or indeed possible to keep a fire burning. For example, if you are about to set off on a long hike from your camp. You do not want to keep having to relight a fire each time you want a warm snack. Thermos cooking can be a great solution for you to consider.

What is a Thermos?

A Thermos is a container (flask) that is designed to keep cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot. It does this by having two shiny glass walls that do not allow air in between them.

What Is Thermos Cooking?

Thermos cooking is exactly what it says it is. It is cooking using your thermos instead of a sustained fire. All you need in addition to your thermos is some boiling water and your ingredients to be cooked.

Your water can be boiled using a small fire which only needs to burn long enough to get the water boiling, on a wood burning stove or any other method of heating you deem appropriate to your situation.

A wide-mouth thermos works best for meals.

Advantages of Thermos Cooking

It uses very low amounts of fuel. Once your water is boiling, there is no need to keep your fire burning so fuel usage is minimal.

It is hard to overcook food in a thermos. Anything cooked will usually taste pretty good.

A thermos is portable. You can carry it with you anywhere.

Very little effort is required after the initial preparation of the ingredients.

It is easy to do.

Disadvantages of Thermos Cooking

It takes quite a long time for a meal to be ready. Forward planning is essential with thermos cooking. The thermos may need a good few hours before your food is ready to eat.

A thermos is not self-heating so you will need extra materials or equipment to get the thermos and water used heated up to start the process.

Limited options for meal choices. Some foods work better than others for thermos cooking. An extra consideration is what food you can actually fit inside a thermos in the first place.

Food Choices For Thermos Cooking

Certain foods are better suited for thermos cooking:

Rice

Soups

Stews

Chilli

Thinly sliced meats

Broths

Pasta

Vegetables

Oatmeal

Lentils

Foods that do not cook so well in a thermos

Beans. Larger beans such as dried limas would need to be precooked on a stove before being finished off in a thermos.

Anything with cheese in. Cheese will stick to the inside of the thermos and is very difficult to remove.

Any meals that require lots of ingredients to be added at different times. Heat escapes each time you open your thermos, so the odd peek to check how things are progressing is fine. However, repeatedly opening to add ingredients will affect temperature.

Foods that can’t be bought to a full boil before adding to the thermos.

Here are a couple of recipes that work well with thermos cooking:

Oatmeal

What you need

Oats

Boiling water

Salt or sugar to your taste

Dried fruit or nuts of your own preference

How to cook

Preheat your thermos by adding boiling water and sealing for 10 minutes After 10 minutes empty the water out of the thermos Put your oats inside Add boiling water – 1 cup for every cup of oats used Seal your thermos Leave for at least 10 minutes Before eating add the salt/sugar and dried fruit or nuts

Your thermos will keep your oats warm for hours once they are ready.

Bread Pudding

What you need

A quarter of a cup of dried raisins

An eighth of a teaspoon of Cinnamon

2 tablespoons of honey

3 slices of bread which has been cut into cubes

1 can of evaporated milk

Nutmeg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

How to cook