My new favourite piece of kitchenware is my Thermal Cooker. It looks like a giant thermos and works like a slow cooker, but without needing to be plugged in.
I first came across this handy kitchen appliance at the caravan and camping expo. I was very skeptical about how effective it would be and about a couple of the claims made by the salesman.
How it works
Essentially, you load the pot up like a normal slow cooker. You whack it on the stove for about 15 minutes to get heat all through the dish (you can heat it for less time if you don’t have meat in it, I have found). Then you put on the lid and put it into the outer flask. Close it all up and leave it for however long you need to for the recipe you are using. At the end of that time, or whenever you get back to it, the food is cooked and hot/warm and delicious!
The Thermal Cooker uses it’s own heat to continue cooking the food. Claims are that you can’t overcook anything using it and you can’t burn anything using it. So far, I have found this to be true.
What can cook in it?
So far I have only used mine to cook main meals. However, you can cook bread, desserts and porridge in it, among other things. You can put ingredients in the night before, heat, set and forget and wake up to a warm, cooked porridge or loaf of bread the next morning!
Where can you use it?
Basically anywhere. Most people buy this for use when travelling but I use mine at home all the time as well. I cook a slow cooker meal at least once a week so the meal is ready to go the minute we walk in the door after school and sports activities. On more than on occasion, I have come home to find that there was a power outage during the day, or my cleaner unplugged the slow cooker to use the power point, and all we have on offer is raw meat. With my thermal cooker, I don’t have to worry about that any more.
When we travelled to Sydney last school holidays, I put a risotto in as we were leaving home mid afternoon and threw the thermal cooker in the boot. Later that night, I was able to feed us all a warm, healthy, home-cooked meal on the road, rather than resorting to fast food or servo take away.
I’m looking forward to using it when we head to the snow in a month or so. We will be camping at the bottom of the mountain. Coming back to a ready-made hot meal after a long day in the cold will be heaven!
Which one is best?
My research into these suggests that all brands are much of a muchness in terms of how well they work. The difference lies in the accessories and what’s available. I picked up one of these second-hand, with the full range of accessories, for just $55, although I actually haven’t used anything except the main pot yet.
Cleaning it
Cleaning the inner pots and accessories is really easy. At home, they can be thrown into the dishwasher and clean up beautifully with Tri Nature Citrus Dishwasher Powder. On the road, Tri Nature Chamomile Dishwashing Liquid and some warm water is all you need to bring the insides back to new! If the outside of the inner pots ever get blackened, Tri Nature Ultra Cream Cleanser is your best option. Put a little on a cloth and rub it on for a minute, then rinse off and you’re back to shiny again.