Celebrate National Outdoors Month this June by creating your very own solar oven! This activity is fun for the whole family. BEF Staffers used the oven we built to cook some delicious cinammon rolls in front of our Portland office. Try melting mozzarella cheese over toast with basil and tomatoes, warming leftovers for lunch, or experimenting with other types of food. Take advantage of the clean, solar energy today!
1. Use a box knife or sharp scissors to cut a flap in the lid of the pizza box. Cut along three sides, leaving about an inch between the sides of the flap and the edges of the lid. Fold the flap out so that it stands up when the box lid is closed. Cover the inner side of the flap with aluminum foil so that the rays from the sun will be reflected off.
2. Use clear plastic wrap to create an airtight window for sunlight to enter into the box. Do this by opening the box and taping a double layer of plastic wrap over the opening you made when you cut the flap in the lid. Leave about an inch of plastic overlap around the sides and tape each side down securely, sealing out air.
3. Line the bottom of the box with aluminum foil to reflect heat and then cover that with black construction paper (black absorbs heat).
4. Now your oven is ready to try out! Take it outside to a sunny spot and adjust the flap until the most sunlight possible is reflecting off the aluminum foil and onto the plastic-covered window. Use a stick or a dowel to prop the flap at the right angle.
Pizza-box solar ovens will reach about 200 °C on a sunny day, so they take longer to heat things up than a conventional oven does. Try melting mozzarella cheese over toast with basil and tomatoes, warming leftovers for lunch, or experimenting with any other food you can think of ideas for.
To build a more advanced homemade oven, visit the Solar Cooking Archives online (http://solarcooking.org/).
June 24, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I love that you are putting ideas like this up! I’ve been researching solar ovens myself and plan to build one soon! The only less than positive comment is your use of plastic wrap – some studies have shown that some of the chemicals/compounds may leach into foods if used when heating foods. It would be ok it the wrap didn’t touch the food, but with just the depth of a pizza box, odds are that the wrap WILL be touching the food. Hmmm, bet some of the folks reading this could offer alternatives… I’m thinking small framed piece of glass or plexiglass?
June 25, 2009 at 8:37 am
Suzanne, thanks for your response! Good point about the plastic wrap. Glass might work, although the pizza box may be a bit too flimsy to hold up the glass. Here are some other solar cooker options that do not involve plastic wrap: http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Solar_cooker_plans