hay box

[gamekeeper752]

many years ago used to use one alot for stews to have after a shoot or working in the woods
now thinking of making a new one for the samr but to save some money and also to see about cooking rice and pasta dishes in a grid out situation
I wonder if anyone else has done this

[grenfell]

I have one although the hay has been replaced with polystyrene . It's a basta box used by food retailers and I lined it with more polystyrene cut around a casserole dish. It works but to be honest we don't tend to use it that much as my wife tends to find it a bit of a faff and it takes up a fair bit of room.

[GillyBee]

There are lots of ways to achieve the same goal. A wide mouth Thermos works well for small quantities and will cook rice/pasta too.
I have an old 3l Thermos Shuttlechef. These are no longer available in the UK. The Mr D thermal cooker is almost identical but the price is such that I would not want to buy another one.
There is also the Wonderbag, https://wonderbag.co.uk/
Or you can sew your own version of the Wonderbag https://www.underthechokotree.com/index ... &Itemid=54
Meanwhile other people have come up with DIY projects such as using extra insulation layers inside a coolbox.
Or the super low tech version of wrapping your duvet around your pot.......
It is easy enough to test the effectiveness of your make by checking how long it takes for the internal temperature to drop 10 degrees. Or how long until boiling water in your pot hits 60C which is the food safety minimum temp.

[grenfell]

One thing that tends to irritate me when we go to my sister in law's for dinner is that she will cook the food but tends to faff about a bit and ends up putting the dinner in the microwave prior to serving and to be honest it comes out too hot to eat straight away. A hay box would solve the problem but I've got more chance of becoming the queen of Norway than she has of adopting one...

[Frnc]

I've cooked pasta in a food flask, which is just a normal stainless Thermos but short and wide, with a wide mouth. However I have gone back to the normal method. It's always an option I have though. Also I made a bugout bag pot cosy out of foil backed bubble wrap. My pot is stored in it.