Cooking concepts: Dreampot Thermal Cooker

Thermal cooking with a set-up like a DreamPot is a real contender in the camping fraternity these days.

It’s easy, too. Simply start cooking your meal normally to get a bit of heat into it, then transfer the cooking pot into the thermal cooker which traps the heat inside and keeps it cooking for hours. That’s it! No cords or constant power sources required, and you can’t burn, boil, dry or overcook your meal.

It’s an efficient and very safe way to cook and it can be done while you’re travelling. That’s right, you can kick those lamb shanks off first thing in the morning and let them slow cook until you pull into camp that night. It’ll cook everything: soup, lasagne, bread and, my favourite, a full roast if you boil it in an oven bag. And it’ll also act as a cooler or yogurt maker. Plus, running costs are at a minimum.

However, there is a catch: some of these recipes need to be tampered with for the meals to work. So Mum’s trademark lasagne mightn’t taste quite the same. Plus, it requires at least a litre of water to work. On the upside the pots can be used for other cooking, so it’s a good use of space.

Versatility: 4/5
Running cost: 5/5
Set-up (time and difficulty): 4/5
Weight and ease of storage: 4/5
Clean-up and maintenance: 4/5

Strength and durability: 3/5
RRP: $329, 6.0L two-pot system (tested); smaller systems available
More info: www.dreampot.com.au