What Is A Thermal Cooker?

Thermal Cookers are like slow cookers, but without a cord. The basic premise is that you bring your food, whatever it is, to a boil. Once it’s boiled for a time, you put it in a thermal cooker and walk away for the rest of the day. When you come back, you have a hot meal! This method of cooking is especially useful for camping and other outdoor day activities, like a day at the beach. Prep the meal in the morning, go on your hike or boat, and come back to a meal ready to eat. It’s also great for an emergency situation, since all you need is a heat source for a short amount of time. You could use a fire, grill, briquettes, etc.

Commercial thermal cookers usually consist of a pot and an insulator shell. The food goes in the pot. The pot goes in the insulator. So easy! But did you know you can use other containers and make other foods than what goes in a pot? For instance, you could bake bread in a thermal cooker or make a cake! Using any other heat proof and sealable container, you could, for example, put bread dough in a container, put the container in the pot and add water. Boil that, and then put the pot in the insulator to finish baking. There are so many possibilities!

There are a variety of ways you can make your own DIY thermal cooker. The easiest is to use your coolers. You can line your cooler with blankets. Wrap your pot of boiling food in a towel in case it spills. Cover it with more blankets, and close it up. Homemade thermal cooker!

But if you don’t want to mess with that, come pick up a Saratoga Jacks Thermal Cooker from our store, one of the top brands on the market, and much more compact than the DIY versions There are two different sizes, and they take up about the same space as an instant pressure cooker.

Fun fact! Did you also know that thermal cookers can be used as coolers? A tub of ice cream in the insulator shell will stay frozen for hours!!!

Another fun fact! Did you know you can cook corn on the cob in your cooler? Add boiling water and corn to your cooler, and close the lid. So simple!