New Solavore sport oven effectively cooks food using solar power

Why it matters to you

This tech will help cooks when camping, but it could also be used by those interested in getting off the grid.

Solar power has become an increasingly popular energy source around the globe — and it can now be utilized to cook entire backcountry meals. The new Solavore Sport Solar Oven is the most efficient design to date, using only the sun to heat food with the capacity to perform in varying weather conditions. 

Unique cookware company Solavore innovated a way to effectively convert light into heat, capture its energy, and use it as an mechanism in the preparation of regular food or gourmet sustenance — provided you’re a gourmet cook. This simple solar alchemy was first discovered by French-Swiss scientist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure in the late 1700s. Solavore company founder Anne Patterson introduced the idea on a commercial scale in 2015. The basic Solavore Sport Solar Oven serves as the first successful model of this solar-powered vision, providing everything you needed to cook a meal outdoors using only the power of the sun.

The Solavore Sport Solar Oven with the TR-86 Reflector is an upgraded version of the original. The kit comes with two 3-quart granite-ware pots with lids, an oven thermometer, water pasteurization indicator, user manual with a plethora of recipes, and the unique updated oven. The Solavore Sport Oven incorporates a recycled nylon plastic housing for increased durability and resistance to the elements, a double-layered lid that provides for enhanced insulation, and a one-inch closed cell foam that repels moisture absorption.

The oven measures 9 1/4 by 17 1/2 inches, and serves equally for baking and cooking purposes.

The product’s newest feature is the detachable reflector that decreases pre-heating times and allows food to reach higher maximum temperatures. The new reflector achieves 86-percent total reflectance, increasing your cooking abilities on days with limited sunlight, at higher latitudes, and in generally colder elements.

The reflector is detachable from the stove and folds flat, making for easy transport. The Solavore Sport Oven with TR-86 Reflector retails for $287 on the company’s website, and shipping is free.