OT - Wonderbag April 23, 2014, 01:00:12 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145890Recent discussion on thermal cookers, wanted to share something different. Just learned of a different slow cooker, its called a Wonderbag. The Amazon link is:Has anyone used this, how does it compare to say a Nissan Thermal Cooker? The person that told me about the Wonderbag uses it for making rice and to raise her breads, and another uses for all slow cooking methods.Melinda 2011 27' MB http://wovenjourney.blogspot.com
Re: OT - Wonderbag Reply #1 – April 23, 2014, 01:21:11 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145891Melinda, I haven't done a direct comparison, but based on what I've read I can guess that the Wonderbag is much less efficient an insulator, and thus will not keep foods safely hot for nearly as long, as a vacuum-insulated thermal cooker. Also, it's very bulky once you put a pot inside, which could be a drawback for RVers. (Or maybe not; perhaps you could just put the whole business in the sink.)On the other hand, the Wonderbag is relatively inexpensive to buy, and if you have a sewing machine, you can easily make your own... so it may be worth a try. Just be sure to carefully monitor temperatures and make sure they stay above 160° F.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels
Re: OT - Wonderbag Reply #2 – April 23, 2014, 01:40:35 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145892I gave this method some thought when I first saw it a few years ago. It is a modern-day version of the old "hay bale" method. My personal conclusion was that it takes up way more room than I am willing to cede to it, and the price is astronomical. Granted you are getting two for the price of one, but the second one is donated to a place/person not of your choice. Plus being of a fairly skeptical nature, I question how/when/where the donations are made. Maybe all of this comes clear if/when the product is ordered.Obviously I can't speak to its efficacy in any given situation, but I use Reflectix in this manner to retain heat when I do this sort of thing. I am using it at this very moment to incubate my yogurt. I form a cylinder with it and put it around the yogurt container, clipping it together with binder clips at the top and bottom, fashioning a "top" out of another piece of Reflectix. I use pet bed warmers to provide heat at the top and bottom. The warmers require three minutes of microwave preheating (each), and they are still quite warm when the three-hour incubation period is up. This produces perfect (in my opinion) yogurt. The Reflectix flattens down to almost nothing and can be stored up against the side of any cabinet without interfering with storage room.There are many other methods of providing a bit of heat to help a food like this along, but I have not tried it with anything other than yogurt. I use my Nissan-Thermos vacuum bottles quite successfully for other foods.Every time I think I am going to succumb to the siren of one of the expensive official Nissan Thermal Cookers, I find that what I am doing now suits my needs better and takes up a lot less room. I am put off by the instructions that say things like "if the food isn't done enough or loses temperature, take it out and reboil it for a while and then put it back", and then picturing this exercise in reality. This means keeping tabs on the temperature, which means exposing the food to the air when removing the cover, which slows down the overall process because there is no way to generate replacement heat like is possible when you peek at food in a pan on the stove.Would love to hear from anyone who has done this on a regular basis, and your satisfaction with the process. I have been cooking this way for quite a few years (yogurt production by various methods going back to the 60's), have tried a number of methods, and have settled into the Nissan-Thermos vacuum bottle method as the most useful for my needs - other than for the yogurt making.YMMV!Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: OT - Wonderbag Reply #3 – April 23, 2014, 01:55:15 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145893During the early 1920s, my grandfather converted a Model T into a 'camper' to make the twice-a-year trips from the oil fields in Kern County to Washington state and back to allow my grandmother, mother and aunt to spend summers in Vaughn rather than in Maricopa! (If you are familiar with Maricopa, you know this was a wise decision; unfortunately, grandfather's summers were spent on the hot oil lease!) The trip took at least two weeks, camping each night along the way. My grandfather built two hay boxes (http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/haybox-cooking-zmaz80jfzraw.aspx#axzz2zjP5oRMY ), one for 'cooking' and one for 'refrigeration'. The big Dutch oven rode in one, and a covered Graniteware pot for 'cold stuff' in the other. Food would be cooked in the DO over a campfire in the morning, then placed in the straw; ditto milk, butter, eggs, cheese in the 'cold pot'. (My mother remembered the eggs being cushioned on top in a 'sack towel'.)A thermal cooker, Wonderbag, and a haybox all work on the same principle, i.e., cooking by retained heat. I know that the thermal cooker offers excellent insulation, and the haybox can also is reported to work very well, but, like Andy, I'm not sure how well polystyrene beads would safely insulate the contents of even a heavy pot over the cooking period required for many foods. Glad I have my Thermos Nissan thermal cooker! ;-)Joan
Re: OT - Wonderbag Reply #4 – April 23, 2014, 02:36:39 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145894"I am put off by the instructions that say things like "if the food isn't done enough or loses temperature, take it out and reboil it for a while and then put it back." " ---- Judie, just my take on this, but I think that the problems described by some people when using a thermal cooker may be the results of not following the 'rules' of thermal cooking, i.e., assuming that it works just like a crock pot/slow cooker and/or that what works in a slow cooker in the way of specific foods and types of prep can be translated directly to a thermal cooker; not the case. For example, I think that most unsatisfactory thermal cooker outcomes may result from doing or not doing the following:Not filling the inner container to at least 2/3 full; 3/4 is much better.Using too-large pieces of meat (and/or vegetables); large pieces, particularly meats, can cook unevenly.Not bringing the contents to a full boil and keeping at least a 'slow boil' for about 10 minutes (a little less depending on the contents) before sealing up the pot(s).In my experience, thermal cookers work very well for 'soupy-stewy stuff'; I leave the 'big chunk cooking' for other methods.As ever, YMMV.Joan
Re: OT - Wonderbag Reply #5 – April 24, 2014, 01:48:22 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145922Thanks Andy, Joan and Judie for your response on this I used to use my Nissan Thermo cooker all the time until I got my Sun Oven. The Sun Oven is occupying my front passenger seat...and have no plans to stop using it, but was intrigued by the concept of Wonderbag, I guess. Its not all its cracked up to be. I'm glad I asked.Judie, I have totally forgotten using Reflectix for this.. long ago used it for yogurt as well. And Joan, what a clever idea. Seeing the dutch oven in the picture brought back memories of old, but I had not heard the term HayBox. The concept is great. And yes, Andy, I do believe one could make one, but I think I will pass. ;-)Thank you. Melinda
Re: OT - Wonderbag Reply #6 – April 24, 2014, 01:58:16 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145923Melinda -How about a short treatise on how/when you use your Sun Oven, and your satisfaction level with it. I've used just the power of the bright California sun to make yogurt - and to green up alfalfa sprouts - but have lusted after, but never tried, a Sun Oven.Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
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