Cooking

I am a terrible cook.  There; I've done it and admitted my failing!

My mother was a terrible cook and I believe I inherited this trait from her. 

When I was a young soldier I'd be given my ration packs the day prior to deployment and promptly try to eat as many of them as I could in an effort to carry as little as possible on my back.  Food was just energy!  However I've been very fortunate in marrying a fantastic cook who can create filling and tasty meals from fresh air.

When I make one of my solo outback trips I tend to eat poorly.  The food is either burned or raw.  The exception is when I have my friend Ken as a travelling companion.  He can cook!

I usually cook using the two burner gas hob; although I enjoy cooking over an open fire.  However the result is always the same; poor food.

Several years ago I decided the solution to this problem would be for me to take frozen pre-prepared meals (created by my lovely wife) and reheat them when required.  After some online searching I came upon the "Travel Buddy" 12V oven.  It looked like a solution as I could cook (reheat) on the move and have a meal ready when I stopped for the day.  The Travel Buddy oven is made in Australia.  However was somewhat expensive and I therefore discarded the idea.

Travel Buddy ovens became very popular.  So much that demand outstripped the manufacturer's ability to supply.  My guess is one distributor or retailer took a Travel Buddy to China and asked if they could make something similar.  The result was the Chinese made "Road Chef".  This was actually a better oven and also cheaper.  Other camping and 4WD equipment distributors realised there was an untapped market and went to China.  The Australian distributor and online retailer "KickAss" started selling an oven very similar to the Travel Buddy.  This oven is cheaper than the Road Chef.  The latest iteration has been from the 4WD SupaCentre distributor who supplies budget end camping and 4WD equipment made in China.  Their "Kings" 12V Oven is another copy of the Travel Buddy.  Cheaper again.  Currently they have is at a post Christmas discounted price of $149.   Today I bought one.

I am prepared to buy locally made products.  However the manufacturer of the original Travel Buddy has made the mistake of failing to innovate and continually improve their oven.  The Chinese made ovens are not only better, but cheaper.

The major difference between the "Kings" oven and it's competitors is the glass window.  This enables the food to be viewed without having to open the door.  Opening the door results in a loss of heat.  However the glass is also a disadvantage as it allows heat to escape more than the solid doors on its competitors.

  

All the ovens come with two racks; heat to approximately the same maximum temperature (180°C) and have a similar power consumption (12V 10A).  The Travel Buddy is the only oven which requires the purchaser buy an Anderson plug.  The other ovens come with the plug.

The marketing blurb claims a cold pie can be heated in 45 mins and a frozen pie in 90 mins.  They also claim a small roast can be cooked in 3 hours.   I will be conducting some trials on cooking times; maximum temperature and power consumption.

I have previously wired an Anderson plug into the rear cargo compartment of the 4WD.  This is controlled through a Voltage Sensitive Relay (VSR) which will ensure the power is disconnected before the oven flattens the battery.  I have also decided to do some do further modifications before using the oven.  I want to secure the oven firmly in the back of the 4WD.  Notwithstanding this, it must be easily removable.  I also want to encase it to both prevent heat loss (improve efficiency) and reduce the risk of a fire.

Meanwhile, Jan has started investigation silicon food trays.  I will need several.