Wonderbag, thermal cooker- powerless cooking

I was reading an article that listed X things that every prepper forgets. On the list was the Wonderbag. I have never heard of such a thing. The Wonderbag was founded in South Africa and cooks without electricity. Claims state that it cooks like a crockpot. Instructions state: cook your food in a pot, bring it to a boil then place it in the Wonderbag and the food will keep cooking.

Wonderbag Non-Electric Portable Slow Cooker with Recipe Cookbook, Red Batik: Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

I mentioned this amazing invention to my cooking instructor @tacmotusn, he pointed out that I could simply make my own.

(*not a huge box just one that will fit the pot)

This is great knowledge. If one does not have lots of fuel for cooking, one can use this insulated method to prepare meals. It is not as fast but it gets the job done.



As @tacmotusn pointed out, you may have to play with things a bit to get it right but the general concept is there. Anyone have experience with insulated cooking?

 

Hay box cooking was used in my part of Texas quite a bit when I was a kid. A lot of different styles of pots and insulating materials used. Meals were started at home then placed in the hay box and taken to the fields to finish cooking for dinner. Tea and water were kept cool in Mason jars wrapped in wet burlap. No roach coaches on those old truck farms. A real treat was to go to town for a blue plate lunch once in a while.

 

Sam's club has some insulated large bags, usually near the checkout counters. They work great for keeping cold and frozen items cold or frozen for several hours. I'd bet they would work!

Kajun

 

You might try one of these , moto.

 

Perhaps, if I think about it, when I use it again, I will think to document it. I have used it a few times to keep a meal hot. But there is really nowhere else for the heat to go. With mine, you heat the stone separately by oven or in the coals of a fire, and set it under the pot, then seal it. It has kept chilli piping hot for many hours, and the stone could always be reheated if needed.

 

I know I can supposedly bake with this thing. It would all depend upon the size of the meat, and the heat in the stone. Variables.

 

And that is what the instructions say, as well.

 

Instructions on use.

 

@ghrit that was my concern also. Could this powerless cooking really cook. I would like to try rice first and move up. I am going to try the sleeping bag way that @tacmotusn mentioned because the original wonderbag is $50+. The instructions say bring to a rolling boil but never says to boil for X minutes then wrap up. So I will try the simplest first.

@kellory nice LL Bean cooker/cooler. Bean is the best.

 

A serious search turned up one of these sold used on ebay in aug 2014. otherwise defunct product

 

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5337639227&icep_item=301447034437

 

Otherwise defunct product !!!
I rest my case. LL bean no longer lists this item. Okay, so occasionally an old one, new in box and cracked, or old one may pop up. It is no longer being manufactured.

 

Perhaps. LL Bean is not the manufacturer. They were just a distributer. There is a 1(800) number listed on the box and paperwork, to the company that DID make it. That would be where I would start if I wanted one.

 

Kellory, I am a long way from being an idiot. I did a company search for Dynatec international inc, salt lake city, utah. ph 801-873-9500. No recent company info. Since you seemed to question the search I made I went back and scanned the first 6 pages of results, which only had partial match results. I found indirect results mentioning the company as listed in full circa 1986, and 2001. IT IS A FREAKIN DEFUNCT COMPANY. I am done. Feel free to pursue this dead horse to hell and back.

 

good. At least you were thorough. I have has this one for many years, and have no idea idea of their current standing. But then again, I'm neither buy nor selling mine. I would, however, expect to find someone selling something similar. If not the same product.
On the other hand, hot rock cooking is common for pizza. There are sets made for fondue, and stoneware made for cooking steaks. Or Even in use for chafing dishes.
It also would not take a genius, to fit a metal can around a stockpot, insulate it. And cut an piece of stone to fit inside it. Even if I had to make the outer pot with sheet metal and rivots, it couldn't take more than a day to create. (Assuming proper materials are on hand)

 

See Thermos Cooking Basics | Thermos Cooking
Discover Thermos Cooking as a Preparedness Tool | PreparednessMama

Emergency Cooking Methods: Cooking with a Thermos

Nothing new here - use a wide mouth thermos for this kind of "hay box" cooking Works great fro rice, beans, stwes and so on.

 

Sounds like World War cooking in boxes of straw.

 

Great links, thanks for posting. I don't have a metal thermos but it maybe worth getting one if I can cook in it.

I don't know about beans though, beans take a long while to cook.