Experiment with haybox and two different pots

This came up here: https://permies.com/t/40/149606/kitchen/Alternatives-slow-cookers-crockpots#1173712
So I did the experiment. Yesterday and today. One haybox, one 'Arquisine' glass pot, one 'Schlemmertopf', two times three potatoes ... see photos.


Peeled three potatoes. They go in the Arquisine glass pot ...


with 200 ml (milliliter) of water


and a pinch of salt


Brought to a boil (100 degrees Celsius) and cooked for 5 minutes.


Then in the 'haybox' (with wool instead of hay)


Outside of 'haybox'


for 55 minutes


Potatoes cooked


The water that rested in the pot with the tomatoes


Mashed (puréed) it with milk


... and butter

Conclusions until now: this works very well and the potato purée tasted delicious!
... will be continued ...

Day 2 of Experiment
See photos


Schlemmertopf soaking in water (in new dishpan!). Three potatoes ready to be peeled.


Potatoes peeled and in Schlemmertopf, Water measured: 200 ml, like yesterday.


Schlemmertopf put in cold oven, then turned to about 200 degrees Celsius (sorry, my oven doesn't give the right temperature, it is always hotter)


My clock / whiteboard showing the time. The 'topf' was in the oven for about half an hour ... maybe a little too long ...


Now it's out of the oven and in the haybox and the alarm is set on 55 minutes


The cooked potatoes, water that rested. I found out the water stayed in the pot!!! No wet towel or blankets around it!


I used the other pot to mash the potatoes, I didn't want to do that in that ceramic Schlemmertopf.

CONCLUSIONS:
- the result (mashed potatoes) is the same
- the Schlemmertopf takes more time, because it has to come to a boil in the oven, starting cold.
- the water stays inside the pots, both of them.

This experiment was fun to do. It gave me reason to buy a new dishpan, cooking thermometer and kitchen alarm (magnetic!). And two meals with yummie Potato Purée!

Probably I'll find a thread on haybox construction, but first I'll put the photos here. These are wool cushions / pillows (I don't know the difference) made out of an old wool blanket (a very large one) and filled with sheeps wool. I already used this 'box' (which was part of someone's garden furniture, a kind of pouffe you can use to sit on or put stuff in) as my 'haybox', with that large blanket in it. Now with these pillows the insulation will stay in its place. And it looks better.

Beautiful work and delicious experiment! I will try this in the future. Previously I had cooked whole oat groats in a pan/stovetop to a boil (with fruits & enough water) for breakfast. Then left on the stovetop and added silicon on all sides and top, surrounded by dish towels to insulate in the heat. If it’s a flat stovetop, it continues to heat and needs the silicon to keep the towels from burning. If it was wool, that would be best! In the morning, my groats were soft and still warm. I like this new idea very much. Thank you!

Has anyone tried an instant pot in a hay-box yet?  I am thinking to just bring it to pressurized (in the box while open) then put a top on careful to not bump the pressure relief features. .... I had a (sorta) hay box a couple years ago and loved it. Not sure why I put it out of commission. Will make myself another soon and test it with the Instant Pot/pressure cooker.  

I am thinking that it will come to temp notably faster in the hay-box:  coming to temp often takes longer than the actual cooking (I have only an outdoor kitchen, so oftentimes it is 40F and sometimes colder).  Since I am usually cooking for just one (tho making leftovers for a few meals) I have just a 3 quart pot. Mom got me an extra liner so now I can keep leftovers in the original pot and still make popcorn that night :-)

Barbara Kochan wrote:Has anyone tried an instant pot in a hay-box yet?

Not an instant pot, but I've experimented with my stovetop pressure cooker. I leave the top off so the valves stay clear while it's pressurized, and cover it up as soon as the pressure drops. I might even custom design an extra top with holes for the valves?

I've easily been able to cook lentils with just the initial time to bring it to pressure, but not unsoaked black beans (those required a bit of extra cook time afterwards).