The Fusion Home has it's very own solar oven and it's even better than we anticipated
We were so excited to hear that our GoSun Pro Pack solar oven was waiting for us at the Tracopa bus station down in Piedras Blancas, within minutes of hearing the news we were on our way to pick up our fossil fuel free oven. It was a cloudy day and has been for the last serveral days, so we weren't sure we would even be able to test it out - boy were we wrong!
In all the excitement we realised we didn't even know what we were going to cook and decided to scourge the fridge for ingredients. As it was overcast we decided to go with something a little more simple, and as we live in the jungle we very rarely get to enjoy pizza or sandwiches - I give you the pizza roll! We added cheese, hams, cream cheese, salami and everything else pizza related we could find and rolled it up in some dough. Worrying it might over expand and stick to the tube, we covered it all in tinfoil before inserting into the oven.
As lunch was already over and we didn't want to promise dinner for someting we weren't sure we could deliver, we aimed to have something prepared for Happy Hour which takes place at 4:30 at the Finca Bellavista Rancho.
We placed the GoSun solar oven in the parking lot. It was about 2:00pm so the sun was almost directly above us (or at least the shiny cloud was). Feeling like we had done something wrong - no on switch, pull cord or gas lever - we walked away hoping for the best but really not expecting much. It might as well have been raining it was so overcast.
At 4:00pm, we brought the GoSun oven up to the Rancho and placed it on the table. On a hot day the recipe book said it would take up to 30min, we didn't think the dough would even rise.
We decided to open it before more guests arrived. We already had a couple sceptics who documented the weather so they could share our 'funny' story with later arriving guests. The last hope was shredded when they touched the oven and absolutely no heat or evidence of heat could be found (I had seen enough videos and read enough articles to know that this was one of the GoSun oven's features, however). It was time to reveal the pizza dough, err bread.
Success! And absolutely delicious if I say so myself. We couldn't believe our senses, the first thing we all said was 'whats next?'.
We highly recommend one of these ovens. We have already put ourselves on the wait list for the next one (a bigger cool looking one which you can read more about below).
A massive thank you to the GoSun solar team who we hope to see down here soon. The Fusion Home is happy to promote their product.
You can buy one directly from their website, price includes free USA shipping. Enter ‘AMBAN03’ at checkout to receive $25.00 off your purchase.
If you don't purchase one of these then please share with someone who might benefit from such an awesome device. It comes with a easy to use carry case with very clever cleaning tools and extra trays.
Carry on reading below for more information on this really cool product.
If you have any tips, recipes, ideas or questions about the GoSun oven then please share your thoughts in our forum. If you would like to follow the construction of the home then you can do so in Phase 1
By combining the technologies used in insulated beverage bottles and conventional solar ovens, the GoSun solar stove is making emissions-free cooking easier and more accessible
Using a flexible solar concentrator to focus the sun’s heat on an evacuated tube, the little stove’s food tray can reach temperatures of up to 550F within a matter of minutes. The GoSun stove requires absolutely no fuel of any kind except for sunlight, making it convenient and portable. Its designers claim that up to 80% of sunlight that falls onto the GoSun’s total surface area is transformed directly into cooking heat via the twin parabolic reflectors, giving it an incredible efficiency while completely eliminating any polluting emissions.
The double-walled evacuated tube system central to the GoSun’s functionality is the key to its ability to retain heat and cook so quickly. Similar in concept to insulated lunch containers that can keep soup hot for hours, the central cooking zone of the GoSun stove is surrounded by two layers of glass that enclose a vacuum. This insulated cooking zone will maintain its temperature even if the sunshine is intermittent. It will even work on a cloudy day. (we can vouch for that!)
In 2014, the GoSun’s developers launched their product on Kickstarter and discovered that the public had a huge interest in clean, fuel-free cooking. Their campaign funded quickly, and there was enough buzz about their product that they were able to bring in five times as much money as they asked for before the campaign finally closed. Because GoSun is also a social enterprise, a large percentage of the money from the Kickstarter campaign was earmarked for design and distribution of a version of the GoSun stove tailored for the specific needs of people in developing countries.
Coming next: On-the-go solar grilling
In 2014, the GoSun’s developers launched their product on Kickstarter and discovered that the public had a huge interest in clean, fuel-free cooking. Their campaign funded quickly, and there was enough buzz about their product that they were able to bring in five times as much money as they asked for before the campaign finally closed. Because GoSun is also a social enterprise, a large percentage of the money from the Kickstarter campaign was earmarked for design and distribution of a version of the GoSun stove tailored for the specific needs of people in developing countries.
GoSun is addressing the limited capacity issue with a new solar grill due to hit the market in the summer of 2016. It works on the same principle as the original GoSun cooker, but it has a larger food tray and will allow a user to cook much more food at one time – it’ll easily handle a whole chicken plus a side dish. Light and portable, it’s being marketed to campers, hikers, and tailgaters – anyone who might currently make use of small charcoal grills or propane stoves. The solar grill is also safer than a traditional charcoal grill because the outer surface remains cool to the touch through the cooking process. And with no fuel, there are also no emissions to speak of except maybe the smell of your dinner roasting away in the sun.
You can buy your own GoSun stove through their website. Use code ‘AMBAN03’ at checkout to receive $25.00 off.
The GoSun Team are supporters of The Fusion Home and we cannot wait to host them here at Finca Bellavista, even more so we are excited to cook with them on the GoSun Sport they donated to the cause, Thank you guys!
To see the GoSun Sport go into the home as well as other cool gadgets, click here