Environment
A student in Cameroon has developed a cooking bag that can cook food without fire or electricity. But how does it work?
Cameroon has developed a cooking bag that can cook food without fire or electricity. But how does it work? The Wonder bag is one of the best-known examples of a thermal cooking bag. It is made from special fabric and thick insulating materials, such as pieces of foam, and works much like a slow cooker. To cook food, a pot initially needs to be heated on a gas or wood-burning stove for just 5 to 10 minutes. As soon as the food begins to boil, the pot is removed from the stove with its lid on, placed inside the bag, and sealed tightly.
The special insulating material inside the bag prevents the heat contained in the pot from escaping. Because of this retained heat, the food continues to cook slowly inside the bag for the next 8 to 12 hours without requiring any gas or electricity. This method is considered particularly effective for cooking rice, lentils, and meat until tender. For soup, simply boil it for 10 minutes and seal it tightly inside the bag; the soup can be ready after just 20 minutes. The cooking bag was handmade by a woman who studied physics. Developed by a Cameroonian woman and physics student, the cooking bag can reduce fuel consumption by up to 70 percent when used for cooking. Another benefit is that it can help reduce tree cutting and protect people from harmful smoke produced by traditional cooking methods. More than 2,000 of these bags have so far been sold in markets across Cameroon.
