Cooking by the sun

Heather Little-White, PhD, Contributor

If you want to stay healthy, then cooking naturally by the sun provides numerous benefits. The main advantage of cooking by the sun is that the nutrients in your food are preserved. At a time when other sources of energy, like gas and electricity are expensive, cooking by the sun reduces energy needs and provides other benefits.

Solar cooking has numerous implications for energy use at the household level. Wholesome foods like legumes and whole grains which require longer cooking times, (three to four times) can be used more often in the diet because solar cooking uses less energy compared to cooking with gas or electricity. Soaking beans ahead of cooking will reduce solar cooking time. The higher the altitudes, the faster the food cooks, and quick solar cooking is influenced by closeness to the Equator and the time and seasons of the year.

Improved nutrition

Primarily, household nutrition is improved as moderate cooking temperatures in simple solar cookers preserve nutrients in foods. Of importance is the fact that you use very little water to cook, and this preserves vitamins that are lost in water. Solar cooking also ensures that you do not have to worry about using too much water, especially if you are not sure of the source and its level of contamination. Where supplies of drinking water are unsafe, solar energy allows for water pasteurisation to prevent water-borne illnesses, especially among children.

In countries where families must trade scarce food for cooking fuel, solar cooking allows them to spend more of their budget on food for the household, subsequently improving the nutrition of the family. Solar cooking improves food safety through more efficient and safe ways of cooking food.

Rural households

Solar cooking is helpful in rural areas where there may be limited amounts of wood and coal. It saves time for the householder as there is a ready source of energy. Certainly, solar cooking will not burn food, and stirring is unnecessary because of the moderate temperatures of the solar cookers. Water will boil in a matter of minutes in solar ovens. Food can be placed in a solar cooker to cook and left unattended for hours in the same way you would with an electric slow cooker.

Preserving fruits

With the glut of fruits in our country today, solar energy can be used to preserve fruits as well as kill insects in grains and other dry staple foods. You do not have to have a sophisticated solar dryer to start preserving your fruits. You can make use of the sun in your backyard.

Preserving health

Solar cooking is less irritating for the eyes as it is smoke-free. Lungs are less likely to be infected and the smoke-free nature of the cooking creates no pollution for the environment.

Since we have sunshine at our disposal, let us use it to our advantage for healthy meals, healthy bodies and a healthy nation.

Prices at a Glance

ItemOpen MartsSupermarketsMoBay

& Groceries

Beef Stew (lb)$260$350$260

Natural Life Vegemeat (200g pkt)$170$170$172

Eve Corned Beef

(198g tin)$130$130$132

Oranges (dz)$100/$200$250$200

Irish Potatoes (lb)$50$70$50/$60

Sweet Pepper (lb)$30$60$30

Lasco Broad Beans

(400g tin)$115$115$117

Roma Cocoa

(115g tin)$205$205$207

Roberts Tomato$95$95$95

Ketchup (385g btle)

Renta Yam (lb)$50$70$50

Ackee (dz)$80/$90$120$100

Cabbage $25/$30$50$30

Beef Stew

This popular meat cut is on good offer at this time in meat shops and supermarkets across the island. Meat shops in both rural and urban locations will this week ask $260 for a pound (454.55g) of beef stew. Supermarkets in the Corporate Area and rural areas will quote prices ranging from $350 to $360 for a pound of beef stew.

Oranges

Oranges are on fair offer these days in most retail markets. Most rural markets will offer the fruit at prices ranging from $100 to $200 per dozen, and downtown Kingston's less expensive selling spots will ask anything from $80 to $150 for a dozen. Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market will this week ask $200 for a dozen oranges.

Irish Potatoes

Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market is this week asking $50-$60 for a pound (454.55g) of Irish potatoes, while most rural retail markets are asking $50 per pound. Downtown Kingston's less expensive spots will ask anything from $40-$50 this week for a pound of Irish potatoes.

Sweet Pepper

Sweet peppers are easy to come by and not very expensive this week. In May Pen and the Spanish Town market, the asking price is $30 per pound (454.55g). Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market will ask the same price, while downtown Kingston's asking price will be $25 per pound in most cases.

Renta Yam

Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market is this week asking $50 for a pound, so are most rural retail markets. Cheaper locations in downtown Kingston will ask $40 at this time for a pound of Renta yam.

Ackee

Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market will this week ask $100 for a dozen ackees, while most rural retail markets are quoting prices ranging from $60 to $90 for the same quantity. Downtown Kingston's less expensive locations will ask anything from $70 to $80 for a dozen ackees.

Cabbage

This is on very good offer these days. The asking price in downtown Kingston's less expensive locations can be as little as $20 to $25 per pound. Most rural retail markets are this week asking $30 for a pound of cabbage, and Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market is asking $30 for a pound.