Efficient Cooking for Montainous Areas: Development, Assembly and Thermal Behavior of Cylindrical Heat Retention Box

Abstract

On mountainous areas, fuel for cooking, such as propane or firewood, has to be transported. A heat retention box(HRB) is an energy-efficient cooking device by completing the cooking process while reducing energy consumption andpreserving all of the foods organoleptic properties. In this article we present the design of a cylindrical-shaped HRB(C-HRB), its construction and thermal evaluation. In addition, we have compared its thermal performance and its cost to theparallelepiped heat retention box (P-HRB), traditionally used in rural and urban areas of Mendoza, Argentina. Results showthat the P-HRB keeps the food only 3.3°C warmer than the C-HRB after 1 hour. This period is an average cooking time formost meals. Furthermore, the cost is similar to the P-HRB, and it is more durable during transport. This box is easily portableby mule, the pack animal most commonly used to transport goods and equipment in mountainous regions worldwide