Thermal cooking

A modern thermal cooker uses the concept of the hay box where by placing hay or straw around a cooking pot of heated food the meal continues to cook without fuel. In the mid 1990s the thermal cooker developed in Asia. It consisted of two pots, one within the other. The inner pot made from stainless steel was used to bring the food up to the boil and the outer, twin walled with a vacuum between the walls, was used as the container to keep the cooking process continuing. These cookers had a particular appeal to Cantonese cooks from Guangdong in Southern China where many dishes require prolonged braising or simmering. To use the thermal cooker the food is put into the inner pot and brought to the boil, simmered for about 10 minutes and then placed in the outer pot for continued cooking. There are a number of thermal cookers on the market. Some use insulation material between the outer pot walls, others, use a vacuum. Thermal cookers with two inner pots allow you to cook two items at the same time, such as curry and rice. All thermal cookers are capable of cooking many dishes from soups to puddings. Cakes and bread can also be cooked by partly submerging the cake/bread tin in boiling water.