A hay box, or fireless stove, is an insulated box that traps heat from a hot pan and food, allowing it to finish cooking without an additional heat source. The box can be used in the kitchen or while camping, and insulation materials include hay, shredded paper, foam, dry leaves, thick cloth, or rice. Food must be boiled before being placed in the box, and the meal can take several hours to finish cooking. The benefits of a hay box include preventing burning and aggressive evaporation, but the temperature inside slowly drops over time, increasing the risk of harmful bacteria if not eaten promptly.
A haystack, also known as a fireless stove, is a type of oven or device that traps heat from a hot pan and the food it contains, allowing the food to finish cooking without requiring an additional heat source. The simplest form of a haystack is a box with a lid that is lined with some type of bulk insulation. The pot of food being cooked is brought to a boil and then placed in the box, after which it is sealed with a lid and left to cook. In general, a hay takes several hours to finish cooking food, although a properly sealed cooker can also keep food very hot for a long time, sometimes overnight. The box can be used in the kitchen to reduce the amount of gas or electricity consumed, or it can be used in portable form when camping, when long cooking times over an open fire are not possible.
The construction of a hay is designed to keep the heat inside the box and close to the food. This means that the box should be made with sealed edges and corners and a lid securely attached to the top. Inside the box, the walls need to be insulated similar to some houses. Insulation used against walls should be made of a material that is heat resistant, non-toxic, and loose enough to hold pockets of warm air in while keeping cold air out.
The material originally used for the insulation was hay, giving the box its name. Other types of insulation that can be used include shredded paper, some types of foam, dry leaves, thick cloth, or rice. Some hay boxes encase the insulation in a layer of foil so that heat is reflected back inside the box, while others enclose it to keep the material from leaching harmful chemicals.
To use a hay, the food must first be prepared on a conventional stovetop or other heat source. Before placing the food in the non-fire cooker, it must be boiled for a while so that the food and the pot absorb enough heat. The box will work best with foods that are in a heavy pot and in some type of liquid, such as broth or water. Both the weight of the pot and the density of the liquid will help hold more heat for a longer time.
The meal can take several hours to finish cooking in a barn, although the food would cook in minutes over direct heat. The benefits of a hay are that the food doesn’t burn and liquids don’t aggressively evaporate as they would with a normal fire. It should be noted, however, that the temperature inside a hay slowly drops over time, so there is a chance that harmful bacteria could take root in the food if it is not eaten in a timely manner.
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