Save Time, Fuel and a Burned Pot Bottom!

Posted by Camp Trainer on Jan 28, 2009 in Tips and Strategies • No comments • 493 views

It’s a cold blustery day and you’re anxious for a hot meal. You boil water on your gasoline stove, then place spaghetti noodles in your largest pot, taking care to stir constantly so the noodles won’t burn. You know that if you stop stirring and cover the pot, the pasta will boil faster.

However, it may also burn and stick to the pot bottom. But if you continue to stir the uncovered food, heat will escape into the air and the spaghetti will take much longer to cook.

But if you continue to stir the uncovered food, heat will escape into the air and the spaghetti will take much longer to cook. What to do?

Bring the water to a rolling boil and add the uncooked spaghetti. Turn down the heat to medium and stir until all the noodles are absorbed into the water.
Turn off the stove. Cover the pot and set it on a closed-cell foam pad.
Immediately cover the pot with an insulated tea cozy or sweater or jackets (not nylon - it melts). Pile additional clothes on top to keep the heat in.
Entertain yourself for 20 minutes while the spaghetti slow cooks in its own heat. “Cozy cooking” saves time, stove fuel, and burned pot bottom! Use this procedure whenever you make rice, soup, or hot cereal.

Tip: Make insulated cozies to fit all your pots. I prefer 2-piece model (top hat and pot band) as it is more versatile and energy-efficient than a one-piece model. The encircling band keeps the pot from losing heat to a cold wind when you remove the cover to stir your food.

This saves considerable cooking time and fuel on cold, blustery days. Fitted cozies are essential for winter camping, camping trips above the tree line, and whenever you must cook a lot of food for a large group. A skillet-cover cozy keeps heat in when you steam-cook pita pizza, bagels and tortilla burritos.

Make a fitted cozy for your teakettle as well. The spout pokes through a slit that’s controlled by a velcro tab. Fresh coffee will stay hot for about an hour in a cozy-covered kettle if you place the kettle on an insulated foam pad or fabric pot holder.

Cozy fabrics: Nylon or acrylics catch fire or metl! Cotton and wool work well. Insulated ironing board material is satisfactory. An old welding blanket is the best material of all because it won’t melt or catch fire.

Watch the video for a detailed explanation on insulation and cozies.