| Average Joe Survivor Average Joe Survivor Home Step One: Air Step Two: Water Step Three: Food Survivor Links Non-Food Items Recipes Cooking Post-TEOTWAWKI Home Defense Back to Average Joe Blackjack |
Cooking after TEOTWAWKI
The end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI), will probably be a "grid down" situation. There
will be no electricity or natural gas, or we may have it intermittently. If you cook with either, it will
be best to have a Plan B. If you cook with propane now, will there be propane when your tank
runs out? Will you be able to afford it? If you can store enough fuel, a generator will make the
electricity to run your range, but as with propane, your fuel will eventually run out. Also, what if
you had to leave your area? The portability of gas/diesel plus the generator may make it too
difficult to transport. You need a Plan B, and C and maybe even D.
Alternatives can be wood, propane, gasoline/Coleman fuel, charcoal, or solar.
Wood/Rocket Stoves
Cooking with wood can be an open fire, a wood burning stove with oven, or a rocket stove. You
may not have heard about the rocket stove before. It's an ingenious invention made to cook a
pot, or heat a griddle. It can be made of bricks, meal buckets, pipes and plaster, or you may buy
a commercial one. The big advantage of the rocket stove is its efficiency. It is primarily used in
third world countries where firewood is scarce. Watch the video linked below to learn more about
them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay8dD2LjdZo
I bought one of these as a Plan D or E
Here's another made of bricks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSMR2ANIZ7E
I bought some fire bricks and can assemble one of these in about 10 minutes if needed.
Coleman Stoves
Propane cookstoves range from small one burner, Coleman two burner, to full size ranges. I own
a Coleman two burner and you would be surprised how long it will cook on a pound canister of
propane. I don't have an oven for mine, but I plan to get one. One of the advantages to it is you
can buy a hose to connect it to larger tanks, making it more economical to operate. Just a few 5
gallon tanks and you can cook for a year. To operate a large oven, you will need a large tank,
such as a 500 or 1000 gallon tanks.
Coleman also makes a dual fuel stove which burns Coleman fuel and regular gasoline. I
purchased one, but I haven't tried it out yet. I can store a fair amount of gasoline, so it is my Plan
C.
Of course I have a BBQ grill, but you can only store so much charcoal. Still, it will be great to grill
occasionally.
Solar Ovens
Lastly, many of you may have heard of solar ovens. They can be purchased commercially, but
you can also make your own out of cardboard and aluminum foil. I built one of these and have
played with it a bit. It doesn't work well in the winter here in Missouri, but it works fine when the
sun is higher and the outside temperature is up a bit. The beauty of it is the sun is free, so there
are no costs once it is built. It could be used to preheat water for soaking beans, make tea, or
cook rice. It will bake breads, although I haven't personally done it. If the sun isn't very bright, it
can cook like a crock pot. If it is hot and bright, it's a hot oven. Here's a couple of videos and
websites to find out more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFMl26gVeTM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA3T10C754o&NR=1
If you are interested in building your own, here are the instructions:
http://www.re-energy.ca/t-i_solarheatbuild-2.shtml
If you're interested in purchasing a commercial model, Google solar ovens. Her is an example:
http://shop.solardirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=65&ref=adwords&gclid=CML
Yw-m8vp8CFQ7yDAodiwEw3A
Cooking your food and doing it economically will be important in the Post-TEOTWAWKI period.
What good is all of that food you have stored if you can't cook it? Get to work on Plan B.
The end of the world as we know it (TEOTWAWKI), will probably be a "grid down" situation. There
will be no electricity or natural gas, or we may have it intermittently. If you cook with either, it will
be best to have a Plan B. If you cook with propane now, will there be propane when your tank
runs out? Will you be able to afford it? If you can store enough fuel, a generator will make the
electricity to run your range, but as with propane, your fuel will eventually run out. Also, what if
you had to leave your area? The portability of gas/diesel plus the generator may make it too
difficult to transport. You need a Plan B, and C and maybe even D.
Alternatives can be wood, propane, gasoline/Coleman fuel, charcoal, or solar.
Wood/Rocket Stoves
Cooking with wood can be an open fire, a wood burning stove with oven, or a rocket stove. You
may not have heard about the rocket stove before. It's an ingenious invention made to cook a
pot, or heat a griddle. It can be made of bricks, meal buckets, pipes and plaster, or you may buy
a commercial one. The big advantage of the rocket stove is its efficiency. It is primarily used in
third world countries where firewood is scarce. Watch the video linked below to learn more about
them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay8dD2LjdZo
I bought one of these as a Plan D or E
Here's another made of bricks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSMR2ANIZ7E
I bought some fire bricks and can assemble one of these in about 10 minutes if needed.
Coleman Stoves
Propane cookstoves range from small one burner, Coleman two burner, to full size ranges. I own
a Coleman two burner and you would be surprised how long it will cook on a pound canister of
propane. I don't have an oven for mine, but I plan to get one. One of the advantages to it is you
can buy a hose to connect it to larger tanks, making it more economical to operate. Just a few 5
gallon tanks and you can cook for a year. To operate a large oven, you will need a large tank,
such as a 500 or 1000 gallon tanks.
Coleman also makes a dual fuel stove which burns Coleman fuel and regular gasoline. I
purchased one, but I haven't tried it out yet. I can store a fair amount of gasoline, so it is my Plan
C.
Of course I have a BBQ grill, but you can only store so much charcoal. Still, it will be great to grill
occasionally.
Solar Ovens
Lastly, many of you may have heard of solar ovens. They can be purchased commercially, but
you can also make your own out of cardboard and aluminum foil. I built one of these and have
played with it a bit. It doesn't work well in the winter here in Missouri, but it works fine when the
sun is higher and the outside temperature is up a bit. The beauty of it is the sun is free, so there
are no costs once it is built. It could be used to preheat water for soaking beans, make tea, or
cook rice. It will bake breads, although I haven't personally done it. If the sun isn't very bright, it
can cook like a crock pot. If it is hot and bright, it's a hot oven. Here's a couple of videos and
websites to find out more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFMl26gVeTM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA3T10C754o&NR=1
If you are interested in building your own, here are the instructions:
http://www.re-energy.ca/t-i_solarheatbuild-2.shtml
If you're interested in purchasing a commercial model, Google solar ovens. Her is an example:
http://shop.solardirect.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=65&ref=adwords&gclid=CML
Yw-m8vp8CFQ7yDAodiwEw3A
Cooking your food and doing it economically will be important in the Post-TEOTWAWKI period.
What good is all of that food you have stored if you can't cook it? Get to work on Plan B.