JustAbitCrazy

GeriB, it stays very hot for hours. Of course, there's a limit to how long you can keep it in there.

suern3

My thoughts, too, Geri. Food has to be kept at a certain temperature, hot or cold, in order to prevent the growth of bacteria. Must admit I did not look at the website, the whole idea does not sound right to me.

Stitchnripper

Is it food nowadays that we have to be so careful with? I remember as a kid we took the turkey out of the freezer and left it on the counter overnight til we were ready to cook it; My mother would take meat out of the freezer the night before and it would be very thawed by morning. She would put it in the frig and cook it later. Why didn't we get sick? We took tuna sandwiches and mayo to school for lunch in a paper sack. It sat in the locker til lunch. Everyone did. What's different now?

I don't think I will try this method. I use a crock pot thought. I guess I leave things plugged in too. Like the frig, washer, dryer, TVs, computer, lamps, clock radios. I hope they will all behave themselves and not catch fire.

Notwendy

It's main use is to allow women in the third world to spend much less time tending a fire (major cause of health problems) and preparing meals. Most cooking would be beans/grains/veggies, not meat or dairy based. Using it that way would be safer and probably benefit most of us - more veggies, less meat.

That said, my idea of "cooking" is really just melting cheese on top of other stuff. : ) I should get one and give it a shot with some real food.

Geri B

I must admit I still put frozen meat on the counter at night to be cooked the next day......
had a relative that would stuff turkey, put in oven very low at nite and it cooked overnite...now talk about a Petrie dish....but having eaten at the table...no one ever got "sick"...... Maybe our peasant genes were strong enough to fend off any attack of bad bacteria......

thought I read somewhere that the fear of "bad" mayo in salads was strongly exaggerated.....

....and I can definitely see the encouragement of using this in some other cultures.....

and crockpots are like a pot on stove on simmer...heat is consistent and regulated.....but I'm not a scientist so my thinking may be all wrong.......I do know this is not on my wish list!

Onebyone

Growing up the main meal was lunch. The food was covered with a table cloth and left on the table until dinner time. Now we can use the microwave to reheat if wanted, back then you ate it at room temp. If you are healthy no problem with some bacteria. The very young or anyone unhealthy shouldn't be eating room temp food left on the counter for more then a couple of hours. I remember my grandmother making my great grandmother a hot meal for dinner as everyone knew leftover food was bad for the very old.

SuzzyQ

I once had a cookbook put together by nurses. Back then it was common to live in residence and because of shift work they either ate at the hospital (& paid) or at the residence but meals were hit and miss. So they included recipes using a "straw oven". Box stuffed with straw into which a pot of food was put to finish cooking. Usually they'd make soup or stews. Heat to boiling and simmered for a few minutes then put into the box and cover with a heavy quilt or blanket. At the end of shift they had a hot meal. Refrigeration was between the window and the storm window in the winter. There were a lot of recipes.
Everything was heated over a cook plate - one burner.

JustAbitCrazy

How cool! Thanks for sharing! Looks like this is not so new afterall: ham wrapped in quilts, straw oven!

QuiltnLady1

Interesting. I too seem to remember my mom talking about making straw boxes when she was a single nurse living in a dorm. I read the article -- the only thing I don't like is the styrophne beads or pieces in the bottom. I think I would prefer some other material. Hmmm...

JustAbitCrazy

Mine doesn't have round beads inside. I didn't open a seam, but I can feel through the fabric that it is various sizes of a torn foam (very small sizes) or something which feels similar.