A program of the Carlos III University (UC3M) of Madrid and the City Council of Leganés (Madrid), in which chef Chema de Isidro also collaborates, is based on develop solar cookers to be able to replace them with those that use wood and thus avoid the smoke harmful to health.
It is a new initiative that is based on the development of kitchens that, thanks to sunlight and some materials that can reflect and absorb light, food can be cooked at low temperatures.
In the world, more people die from cooking with firewood at home than from hunger. Between two and four million people die each year from smoke, which is produced when cooking in a house with firewood and without any type of ventilation or chimney to channel the smoke. Added to this situation is the significant increase in deforestation due to the use of firewood for cooking.
With this kitchen, a sustainable use of materials to cook food is encouraged. With simple materials, such as mirrors and black pots, sunlight can be diverted onto food and cooked over low heat. You can prepare almost any type of stew. The only thing that escapes being able to cook are fried foods, since they require high temperatures, according to Isidro.
“Many times we try to change the lives of people from other countries with our rules, our culture and our way of doing things and they neither assimilate it nor want it”, explains the chef, who denies that something like this could happen with this project , since it is as easy as "Put the pot and go chasing the sun".
It is true that solar cookers are not new, but with the innovations that are being developed they can be better complemented and the possibilities of their use increased once there is no sun, to also be able to make hot breakfasts and dinners.