Our new wood-fired heater has been in use for just over a fortnight. It heats the house very well, at the same time as keeping the interior walls warm. The outcome is a warmer house all day, with less heat loss than using liquid energy powered radiators. The downside is that a slight smell of wood smoke is discernible in the open spaces where it escapes to, even from those few seconds that it takes to open the heater door, stoke the fire and add another log.
The biggest bonus of this heating system for me came a week after we installed it, when I started using the oven compartment. The trick with this kind of cooking device is that you have to maintain the temperature at a constant level. There is a temperature gauge on the oven, although it isn't exact; this isn't really an issue as I never use exact cooking temperatures or times even with a conventional oven. An experienced cook tends to know how hot an oven is by the heat of the air that punches their face as the oven door is opened, or by placing their hand in the oven. What I had to learn to do was to pile the appropriate number of logs in the correct way onto the already burning embers, so that the fire wouldn't choke or go out, and it would give me the heat that I wanted.
The oven compartment is smaller than my conventional oven. Luckily, I had appropriately-sized baking tins and trays, otherwise, it would have meant buying new accessories (more money).
My first experiment involved cooking lunch. I make papoutsakia in the summer with fresh aubergine and mince. These filled aubergine shells were taken straight out of the freezer and placed in a roasting pan with potatoes, with some tomato sauce, olive oil, water and seasonings. The meal took about an hour to cook - this is less time than what I usually need when I use the conventional oven! The potatoes came out very tender, but not as golden as I'm used to getting in a conventional oven. Practice makes perfect.
While lunch was cooking, I mixed up a batch of ladokouloura. As soon as our lunch was ready, in went the olive oil biscuits - so much value for so little cost. But the piece de resistance was the leek and onion pie made with home-made filo. I felt like my grandmother at that moment - yiayia's food really was the best. My yiayia is more likely to have made kalitsounia, something I always make in large culinary sessions and store in the deep freeze. In a hot wood-fired oven, they only need about 15 minutes to cook - that's really fast!
The wood-fired oven has given my family a chance to experience the past.
©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.
The biggest bonus of this heating system for me came a week after we installed it, when I started using the oven compartment. The trick with this kind of cooking device is that you have to maintain the temperature at a constant level. There is a temperature gauge on the oven, although it isn't exact; this isn't really an issue as I never use exact cooking temperatures or times even with a conventional oven. An experienced cook tends to know how hot an oven is by the heat of the air that punches their face as the oven door is opened, or by placing their hand in the oven. What I had to learn to do was to pile the appropriate number of logs in the correct way onto the already burning embers, so that the fire wouldn't choke or go out, and it would give me the heat that I wanted.
The oven compartment is smaller than my conventional oven. Luckily, I had appropriately-sized baking tins and trays, otherwise, it would have meant buying new accessories (more money).
My first experiment involved cooking lunch. I make papoutsakia in the summer with fresh aubergine and mince. These filled aubergine shells were taken straight out of the freezer and placed in a roasting pan with potatoes, with some tomato sauce, olive oil, water and seasonings. The meal took about an hour to cook - this is less time than what I usually need when I use the conventional oven! The potatoes came out very tender, but not as golden as I'm used to getting in a conventional oven. Practice makes perfect.
While lunch was cooking, I mixed up a batch of ladokouloura. As soon as our lunch was ready, in went the olive oil biscuits - so much value for so little cost. But the piece de resistance was the leek and onion pie made with home-made filo. I felt like my grandmother at that moment - yiayia's food really was the best. My yiayia is more likely to have made kalitsounia, something I always make in large culinary sessions and store in the deep freeze. In a hot wood-fired oven, they only need about 15 minutes to cook - that's really fast!
The wood-fired oven has given my family a chance to experience the past.
©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.
You are such a source of inspiration. I made lahanodolmades today for the first time inspired by your previous post. They came out just as I like them with avgolemono sauce and not bechamel as they are served in tavernas. Ladokouloura will be the next I think. In these difficult times a homely feeling can be a great comfort. And nothing adds more to it than the sight of a wood fire in the house and the smell of home made food.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen an oven such as this, only ones where you could cook on top that are made in Elmira. As long as you are heating you may as well be cooking.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, bellini! I have looked online for woodburning cookstoves here in the US.
ReplyDeleteThey are really expensive. One I liked, made in Great Britain, was the Esse. But....it costs over $4,000. I have slow cooked stews and soups on top of my Jotul heating stove. That works OK but there is no oven capability. I remember my grandmother's giant black woodburning stove sitting next to a white electric range that she used in the Summer. We took baths in a tin washtub on the floor in front of the open oven door in the Winter. I wish I had gotten my hands on that stove. Sadly, nobody knows what happened to it.
What is the brand name of your stove, Maria?
believe it or not, ours doesnt have a brand name at all - nothing is written on the heater: they are made to an italian design in bulgaria. Our model cost 500 euro, and about 300 euro installaiton costs - not cheap, but we would have needed the same amount AND MORE! on diesel fuel this year
ReplyDeleteΤhis is considered a decent enough Bulgarian company for the money you pay, around 500 euros for the wood-fired heater with the oven as Maria's. They are mostly exporting to Italy. Of course you can get a swedish one for 5 times that price but who has the money for such an investment.
ReplyDeleteOoops! I forgot the link http://www.prity-bg.com/prity.php?lang=en§ion=oven
ReplyDeleteThe equipment helps to come up with a natural taste for the baked goods. See to it that you chose the right ingredients as well.
ReplyDeletenyc catering