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Barilla passive cooker

barilla.com

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Re: Barilla passive cooker

#101

Post by ghayes »

unpythonic wrote: post #37

The claim: reduces CO₂e emissions by up to 80%* The asterisk: water boiling phase excluded When I boil pasta, I use full heat to get the water boiling, drop in the pasta, then let it come back up to a boil, then drop the temperature as low as possible to keep a slow boil going--about medium-low. Guesstimating that the boil takes about as long as the time to cook the pasta, I'd say that the pasta cooking portion only…

The claim is weird, though. If they said “just add to boiling water and turn off immediately” then they would claim it’s 100% more efficient*.

If you turn off your water right before it’s boiling and cook your pasta, then Barilla is an energy generator*.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#102

Post by ghostly_s »

sulam wrote: post #60
ericmcer wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always wondered if you could just put spaghetti in your Nalgene while backpacking and it would be ready by the end of your hike. People always look at me weird when I suggest it but I am down to drink starchy water all day and then eat spaghetti when I get there haha.

Should work fine. I only cold soak these days. Saves a lot of weight and is actually faster (my food is “cooking” while I hike, so it’s ready immediately after I stop for the day.

Other things you can use this on than pasta? Are there recipes for this kind of low-effort camping meals somewhere online?

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#103

Post by jamincan »

ericmcer wrote: post #47
bravura wrote: post #20

According to Kenji, you don't even need boiling water to cook pasta: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-cook-pasta-salt-water-boi... https://www.seriouseats.com/tips-for-better-easier-pasta "Want to get even more crazy efficient? Try soaking pasta in water as your prep your other ingredients. By the time your sauce is ready, you can just add the pasta (along with some of its soaking liquid) to the pan and, with a min…

I always wondered if you could just put spaghetti in your Nalgene while backpacking and it would be ready by the end of your hike. People always look at me weird when I suggest it but I am down to drink starchy water all day and then eat spaghetti when I get there haha.

I once had a pasta salad backpacker meal (forget which brand) that was pretty much this method exactly (except we rehydrated it in its original bag). Some of the freeze-dried veggies still had a little bit of crunch, but the pasta was good and it was quite enjoyable for camping food. I haven't seen it available since, though.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#104

Post by WastingMyTime89 »

ricardobeat wrote: post #21
Exmoor wrote: post #4

Not really "passive" cooking as you're just not actively pumping heat into already boiling water and just cooking pasta in steadily cooling water. You can actually soften pasta and many other similar foods by just leaving them in room temperature water for a much longer period. Some backpackers do this to reduce weight and it's been the only way I've ever prepared food while backpacking. Admittedly, cold noodles, oat…

Wait, how long would you soak rice to make it edible? I’d imagine it’s longer than 24 hours.

It doesn’t work very well with rice. It’s one of the worst thing to take while backpacking. It doesn’t soak well. It takes a long time to soften while cooking and it’s not very good when it’s slightly undercooked.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#105

Post by jimmySixDOF »

_whiteCaps_ wrote: post #2

Backpackers have been using this technique to save fuel - I've got a cozy for my cookpot. I also remember seeing this on one of the Victorian Farm shows - it was something like a pot roast brought to a boil in the morning, then put in a well insulated container to sit for the day. Edit: Whoa, I just clicked through to "The Product" section, and it's an open source design using an Arduino. Super cool!

Also yoghurts have been made using a jar in some insulated slow cool down method for centuries

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#106

Post by Mikeb85 »

thefounder wrote: post #98
jiggawatts wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A better way to save energy is to use an electric kettle to get the water up to boiling. This is about three times as energy-efficient as a gas hob. Combined with passive cooking it could save real money… Technology Connections on YouTube has a good video about how electric kettles are the superior way to boil water: https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c

For some reasons I thought most of the people switched to electric induction cooktops.

No post body was provided.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#107

Post by ch4s3 »

mattmaroon wrote: post #67
mertd wrote: post #24

You can reduce the energy consumption drastically by boiling way less water than "a large pot" as every packet recommends. Just enough to cover the pasta + some evaporation margin is good enough.

This is a mistake though from a cooking perspective. You use a lot of water because you want to have a very high ratio of thermal mass of water to thermal mass of noodles. You want the noodles to heat up as fast as possible so that the outside gets soft while the inside stays a little firm (al dente) and if you use less water, you’ll take longer to cook the noodles, allowing more even heat transfer because it’s a dif…

I've tested this a bunch and you can reliably get nice al dente pasta using a low volume of water. If you boil a small amount and add the pasta, then bring it back to a boil the whole process is faster. Kenji has a good article about it, and I assure you that it always works for me.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#108

Post by ghostly_s »

OJFord wrote: post #58
hidelooktropic wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It will get moldy before it ever gets cooked. Learn from my fail.

No mould will grow on soaking (i.e. submersed) rice.

Confidently dismissing someone else's firsthand experience, exactly the level of intelligent conversation this site is renown for.

Re: Barilla passive cooker

#110

Post by WastingMyTime89 »

mattmaroon wrote: post #67
mertd wrote: post #24

You can reduce the energy consumption drastically by boiling way less water than "a large pot" as every packet recommends. Just enough to cover the pasta + some evaporation margin is good enough.

This is a mistake though from a cooking perspective. You use a lot of water because you want to have a very high ratio of thermal mass of water to thermal mass of noodles. You want the noodles to heat up as fast as possible so that the outside gets soft while the inside stays a little firm (al dente) and if you use less water, you’ll take longer to cook the noodles, allowing more even heat transfer because it’s a dif…

Pasta are cooked in boiling water over a heat source. The water stays at the boiling point all along. There is no loss of temperature due to cooking the pasta. The thermal mass doesn’t matter only the surface covered so as long as all the pasta are covered you are fine.
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