cross-posted at Taking Place

I LOVE my haybox! Its ugly as hell on the outside, but its one of the most beautiful things i have. What is a haybox? Well, its also known as an insulated cooker, retained-heat cooker, or a wonderbox. But i first knew it as a haybox, so that’s what i call it.

The short version of what a haybox is and why to use/make one is that its a low-cost/free way to cook your food with 20-80% less fuel (which means less money), 25% less water, and better taste and nutrional retention. Here’s what Talking Leaves Magazine has to say about the basic premise of the haybox:

“Hayboxes work on the simple principle that if the heat applied to food in the cooking process can be retained within that food, rather than lost to the environment, no “replacement heat” is needed to keep the food cooking. In conventional cooking, any heat applied to a pot after food reaches boiling temperatures is merely replacing heat lost to the air by the pot. In haybox cooking, food is brought to a boil on the stove, simmered for a few minutes (5 minutes for rice or other grains, 15 minutes for large dry beans or whole potatoes), then put into an insulated box, where it completes its cooking. Food will be ready in anywhere from one to one-and-a-half times the “normal” completion time, with no tending needed and no danger of burning, and will stay piping hot for many hours, allowing maximum flexibility in the cook’s and the eaters’ schedules. For grains or beans, water is reduced by one-quarter, because water is retained within the food rather than simmered away into the air (it’s important to use pots with tight-fitting lids in haybox cooking). The larger the quantity cooked, the more effective this technique is (the hotter the food will stay, for longer), because increased thermal mass holds more heat. And because most of the cooking occurs in the 180 degrees F-212 degrees F range, rather than at a constant 212 degrees , more flavor and nutrients are preserved.”

Now that we have a basic understanding of what a haybox is, let’s look at how to make and use on. If you keep your eyes open, you can find an old cooler in a dumpster. That’s what i did and it has been the best haybox ever. The best part is that the cooler is styrofoam, which means i saved the land from yet more non-biodegradable materials. The house i used to live in used a haybox for most of our cooking. Our monthly gas bill was reduced to something like $4!

You don’t need to do a whole lot of hunting or make any purchases to make a haybox, however. The important things are that the materials must be able to withstand 212-degrees-F temperatures without melting (so if you’re gonna use styrofoam, like me, be sure to add a blanket, towels, or hay in the box for added insultation) and the material must work as a good insulator (so if you’re going to use a fabric, use something tight-knit).

In reality, its difficult to give exact directions on how to make a haybox because its so easy to make one. Meaning there are so many different way to make one that its hard to just explain one way. A haybox doesn’t have to be a box at all. You can wrap a pot with a sleeping bag, or a few blankets, or some towels, or you can put the pot in a basket lined with dried grass and then cover it with a bag or pillowcase filled with dry grass, or you can just put the pot on a towel and surround it with pillows. Or you can do it the old-school way and actually make a box insulated with hay, but that’s way too much effort for me. The idea is to use materials that won’t let the heat escape too easily.

To use the haybox, just preheat the food for the amount of time listed below. Be sure to cook with the lid on and with a minimal amount of water. Then remove the pot from the stove or fire and place it in the haybox and cook for the time listed below. Another nice feature about the haybox is that it will keep your food warm for a really long time - like hours. But you want to be careful. When you heat something up then let it sit at room temperature for too long, bacteria begins to grow.

food type >> boil time >> haybox time
rice >> 5 min >> 1-1.5 hours
potatoes >> 5 min >> 1-2 hours
soup and stock >> 10 min >> 2-3 hours
green lentils >> 10 min >> 3-4 hours
pintos >> 10 min >> 3 hours
split peas >> 10 min >> 2 hours
quinoa >> 5 min >> 1.5 hours
millet >> 5 min >> 1 hour
polenta >> 1 min >> 1 hour
winter squash >> 5 min >> 1-2 hours
steamed bread >> 30 min >> 3 hours

Enjoy your new haybox! The Earth and your wallet will continue to thank you.