Thermos Cooking - a quick overview

[TurtleNomad]

The definitive site is:
http://thermoscooking.com/

They recommend the huge, 1 L (32 oz) size industrial work type thermos.

I was interested in cooking just for one person, so went with a much less intimidating "food jar" (16 oz), made by Thermos.
I'm glad I did, since it's far more practical for a (modern) nomad, and much easier to clean.

It was around $16 (give or take a dollar) at Walmart, in their camping section.
Target carries the same model at a higher price, and has some less costly authentic Thermos brand 12 oz food jars.
You'll save a buck or two if you buy one of the 12 oz "kid" jars.

So far, I've tried:

• steel cut oats - worked well, the very first time!
  (I do recommend you try different ratios of water to oats, to see what consistency works best for you. The recommended ratio is 3:1, however I prefer about a 2:1 ratio.)
• mac & cheese - tastes a bit different, but not "bad", and is considerably simpler than nuking
• penne - similar to m&c
• rotini - works best of all the pastas (IMO)
• rice - only tried once, and was my only failure, however I did not follow the pre-heating instructions (just used hot water to "preheat" the thermos, instead of boiling water)

The basic technique is:

• fill the thermos with hot tap water, set it aside to pre warm up
• boil some water
• empty the Thermos, fill with food, add boiling water
• give a couple of shakes, then just leave it.

No stirring, no simmer settings, no nothing-fiddly.
Depending on what you're cooking (e.g. pasta), you may want to shake it again, after a few minutes.

Theoretically, you're supposed to preheat the Thermos with boiling water, however for most things that's not strictly necessary, and adds an extra step.
For rice, you should, and I really need to try it again the "proper" way.

So far, I've found rotini to be the best pasta for Thermos cooking. It must be a geometry thing.

Advantages of thermos cooking:

• fuel efficient!
• easy! you don't have to stir/supervise a pot, just boil, fill, shake, and go about your life
• it's impossible to burn your food!
  yup, Geek/idiot-proof (though it is possible to overcook/soggy-ify your food... I know because I've done it)
• less equipment - you can eat right out of the food jar (ideal for travel/hotel cooking)
• for pasta, it's much easier (and safer) to drain the water than with a regular microwave bowl (and no strainer needed, just be careful how much you crack the cover open)

I'll post up some pictures, soon!

[Bypah]

Nice.
When I was a kid my mother used to do that a lot....
Bur there is one problem if you don't have water available you're done.