The last type of cooking fuel we will discus is reflected heat, specifically sunlight and candles. When used properly they create almost a convection style oven and cooks your food like a convection oven with equally dispersed heat and no hot spots. Best of all these heat sources are either free or super inexpensive.
early and take advantage of all the sun you can get to ensure your food gets cooked. When using a solar oven it is best to use dark colored pans as they will help to absorb the suns heat. If you use light colored shiny cookware it would reflect the light out of the oven and counter act the reflectors on the oven that are trying to reflect the heat into the oven. Cast iron pans would not be recommended for use in these ovens since they are so thick it will be harder for them to heat up properly and quickly. Some solar ovens can also dehydrate foods and even pasteurize water. What can you cook in a solar oven? Anything! I read an article where a woman took a 30 day cooking challenge and didn't use electricity to cook. During this time she used her solar oven to essentially make a Thanksgiving style dinner. She roasted a 16 lb. turkey, made bread, and a dessert. The sides she made using other cooking methods. She started the turkey about 10:30 in the morning and it was finished around 3. That's not too bad for a solar oven. That's pretty close to about the same time as it would regularly take to cook a 20 lb. turkey. When we did our cooking without power demonstrations a few years ago, in just a little over an hour and a half, we made bread, orange rolls and even roasted a chicken with vegetables in our solar ovens. Sun ovens are expensive, you can make your own but I will say that they won't be as versatile or able to cook as well as a manufactured one.
SOLAR OVENS- There are many advantages to using solar energy to cook and not just during an emergency. One of the biggest advantages is that it doesn't require any actual fuel so while the stove itself is an initial investment after that it is free to use. It works best on sunny days when the UV index reaches about 7, however it will definitely work even at lower UV indexes it will just take a little longer to cook your meal. Another thing to consider is that during an emergency you will want to try to conserve as much of your fuel as possible, so learning how to harness the power of the sun to cook will give you a great advantage in this area. During the summer months if you don't like cooking or baking because it heats up your house too much a solar oven will help take care of this since it is all done outside. One of the downsides to using solar energy is that you need to plan in advance so you can get your solar oven up and heating
early and take advantage of all the sun you can get to ensure your food gets cooked. When using a solar oven it is best to use dark colored pans as they will help to absorb the suns heat. If you use light colored shiny cookware it would reflect the light out of the oven and counter act the reflectors on the oven that are trying to reflect the heat into the oven. Cast iron pans would not be recommended for use in these ovens since they are so thick it will be harder for them to heat up properly and quickly. Some solar ovens can also dehydrate foods and even pasteurize water. What can you cook in a solar oven? Anything! I read an article where a woman took a 30 day cooking challenge and didn't use electricity to cook. During this time she used her solar oven to essentially make a Thanksgiving style dinner. She roasted a 16 lb. turkey, made bread, and a dessert. The sides she made using other cooking methods. She started the turkey about 10:30 in the morning and it was finished around 3. That's not too bad for a solar oven. That's pretty close to about the same time as it would regularly take to cook a 20 lb. turkey. When we did our cooking without power demonstrations a few years ago, in just a little over an hour and a half, we made bread, orange rolls and even roasted a chicken with vegetables in our solar ovens. Sun ovens are expensive, you can make your own but I will say that they won't be as versatile or able to cook as well as a manufactured one. Pros-portable, no fire hazard or smoke or toxic fumes, cooking skills are easily mastered even a child can do it, food doesn't need constant tending so it can be left unattended for long periods of time, dependable and require very little maintenance
Cons-expensive, doesn't work as well on stormy, overcast or windy days, temperatures can't be as readily controlled as on a conventional oven, cooks at lower temperatures so food will take longer to cook and temperamental foods such as bread will not bake as consistently well.
TEA LIGHTS- Cooking with candles sounds a little crazy but it can definitely be accomplished. Depending on the environment they are used in they can either be used as a "warmer" like caterers use them or you can use them to actually bake and even boil water. There are ovens that are specifically made to work with candles such as the HERC oven. You can also make your own stove with things you probably already have around your house. One big benefit to using candles
is they store indefinitely and don't pose any flammable risk like many other fuel sources and they are super cheap. Make sure you buy unscented ones so the fumes don't become toxic to you. There are some tricks and techniques to using this type of fuel source. To minimize the smoke and to get the best flame for cooking make sure you clip the candle wick down to only 1/4". For the most part they don't have to be constantly supervised and do have minimal risk of flare ups so you can cook just about anything that can fit in a casserole dish or medium to large sized pot. In the HERC oven the way that it works is: you have trays at the bottom of the oven that you load the candles into. There are 2 different sizes so depending on the one you get will depend on how many candles you use. The small one takes 10 candles and the big one take 20. Inside the actual oven are quarry rocks that are made into tiles. These rocks heat up from the candles and create the convection environment to bake. The whole oven breaks down flat and has a nice carrying case to store it all in and take wherever you may need it. All of it is machine washable except for the glass. Of course in an emergency you will most likely be washing it all by hand. It doesn't need to be washed all the time but it should be cleaned occasionally just like a regular oven. It is a great alternative for cooking indoors without producing a lot of heat or creating a smoky environment.
For creating a stove top there are a few
DIY ways out there each one has their good sides and down sides. For the most part all you need is something to put under the candles to catch any wax drippings, a roasting rack or oven rack of some kind, and something to prop the rack on. The biggest thing to keep in mind is that the closer you have your cookware to the heat source the better it will work and the faster it will heat up your food or boil your water. One other thing is you need to make sure that the candles have plenty of oxygen to keep them burning. Depending on what you are cooking or whether you are just trying to heat something will determine just how many candles you will need. With the stove shown in the second picture they were able to boil water in 20 minutes with just 7 candles. Yes, it does take longer with just candles but it important to diversify your storage and know how to cook using several methods so you can stretch you fuel supply as far as you can. 
Pros-simple and convenient, can easily feed a large family depending on size you buy, safe to use indoors, candles are versatile so they can be used for more than just a cooking heat source, can also be used to keep food warm if needed, easy clean up, wax can be repurposed to be used as a fire starter
Cons- doesn't cook as fast or as hot as other heat sources, the HERC oven is heavy and expensive, paraffin wax has a tendency to ignite while the risk is minimal it still can happen.
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