Cooler Corn---good tip to remember

[dacjohns]

I hear ya Dacs but post 4 above explains....in a pinch....and I haven't died (yet) lol

I'm glad you haven't died. I would miss your posts.

I just wanted to point out the chance of chemical leaching. There are people on SS that are afraid to microwave water in a glass dish because they think the chemical composition of water will change to something bad.

 

[FarmerChick]

nothing wrong with warnings being mentioned

 

[ORChick]

Just wondering out loud (or in type ) here, but, if the "cooking" time in the cooler is just 20 minutes or so, I wonder if this couldn't also be done in a large cooking pot/stock pot. Start with boiling water, and wrap the pot in a blanket. Or, take the extra effort to put together a haybox cooker (here's a link to make one, out of the aforementioned cooler, but without having the food contact the plastic - http://www.selfsufficientish.com/hayboxcooker.htm) Granted, you might not be able to do quite as many ears of corn at a time, but for those with *plastic allergies* the trade off might be good.

Farmerchick, I am also glad that you are "not dead yet". We would all notice the loss if you were. But I also hope that you do not die before your time from using questionable methods of cooking

 

[moolie]

A "haybox" type set up would probably work quite well, we do haybox cooking at Girl Guide (like US Girl Scouts) camp

Also, as I mentioned above, all you'd need to do is use a metal roasting pan or big glass lasagne dish inside the cooler for the corn and hot water and you'd be set.

Polystyrene releases carcinogens when heated, and these will get into food that's cooked in a cooler for that long. I'm not "allergic" to plastic, I'm just educated about the dangers posed. Plastics have their place in modern life, cooking just isn't one of them (for me, YMMV).

 

[ORChick]

A "haybox" type set up would probably work quite well, we do haybox cooking at Girl Guide (like US Girl Scouts) camp

Also, as I mentioned above, all you'd need to do is use a metal roasting pan or big glass lasagne dish inside the cooler for the corn and hot water and you'd be set.

Polystyrene releases carcinogens when heated, and these will get into food that's cooked in a cooler for that long. I'm not "allergic" to plastic, I'm just educated about the dangers posed. Plastics have their place in modern life, cooking just isn't one of them (for me, YMMV).

Well, I am!!! Well, at least I dislike the idea of it leaching into my food. And thank you, by the way, for your interesting and informative note on the various kinds of plastics; I appreciate your knowledge about that.

 

[moolie]

Thanks ORChick

I try not to push what I believe and have learned about plastic, but rather to just put the info out there. I've lost several dear family members to cancers over the years and feel it is in my family's best interests to be informed and do the best we can to keep ourselves healthy. There is so much out there in the environment working its way into our systems, no point in me adding to it when I have choices to make

And my first post to this thread was not to dissuade anyone from trying this cooking method, but merely to make it "healthier".

(Eating corn is fraught with potential health issues if GMO rather than organic, and there is mounting evidence world-wide that GMO corn is hybridizing with previously untouched stocks (such as heirloom varieties in Mexico) so there is concern that one day we won't have "real" corn anymore.)

 

[Leta]

I cook grains like this.

I put the rice/oatmeal/cornmeal/whatever in a big (metal) thermos, and pour boiling water in. Let it sit overnight. In the morning, drain the water off and you have breakfast- well, almost, I usually add butter, milk and maple syrup.

It's a nice alternative to a crock pot.

Proportions are about 2 parts water to 1 part grain. Steel cut oats take more water, though.

 

[dacjohns]

You can the methods mentioned for cooking and soaking things. Put your food and water in a container and wrap it in insulating material. It's a backpacking trick. Soak and cook your food while it's in your pack and you're on the trail. The ice chest is good for large quantities. Maybe get some big oven roasting bags like for large turkeys and put your corn in them.