Welsh Mountain Biking with the EcoZoom Versa Rocket Stove

Back in the Autumn our EcoZoom UK Distributor recently took his Ecozoom Versa rocket stove on a mountain bike trip to the damp trails of Wales, spending a few days riding with friends and cooking up warm replenishing meals. If you live in the UK or Europe and are interested in ordering an EcoZoom stove please contact Stewart at ecozoom.uk@btinternet.com.

Wales is the spiritual home of mountain biking in the UK, it has world class, purpose built trails. It’s always a pleasure to get out into those hills for some fresh air and calorie crunching bike action. The trails are remote and it’s possible to park up a few camper vans close by and enjoy some local wilderness at its best.

Welsh weather is a unique and heady mix of sea and mountain influence. Facing the Irish sea, rain features most days and is often torrential. Strong winds can clear the clouds giving the sun a much appreciated cameo part. Autumn is a great time to experience this fresh climate but you have to come prepared.

With this in mind we headed out last weekend into a doubtful weather forecast and I took along my Ecozoom Versa rocket stove to give it a shot amid the gloomy forecast. Mountain biking is a high energy sport and excessive calories are needed to keep you going and to keep warm. This translates into a morning fry up and gallons of tea in preparation for our ride.

We set up the Zoom Stove on a log and got a fire going. I’d taken a bit of dry kindling to start the cookstove, but quickly moved on to wind dried sticks out of the damp forest. Bingo! A steady hot blaze got us right up into the mood and a day of swooshing singletrack ensued, mightily fueled by an EcoZoom rocket stove.

That evening we were able to pull into a lesser known beach front spot. A stunning place under a full moon but with strong winds due to the exposure. A camp fire was out of the question as the sparks would have gone everywhere, and would have kept us looking for new wood all night.

The Versa on the other hand was in its element. Set up on a camp table between a couple of vans acting as wind breaks, the controlled fire (from bleached driftwood) kept us cooking and warm right through the evening.

With gas camping stoves or spirit burners outdoor cuisine is usually a quick fuel saving boil up of some carbs (eg packet rice), followed by a cup of tea, then bed (to keep warm).

With the Ecozoom Versa cooking style you can be bit more luxurious……. fuel never runs out. You can spend a while in food preparation. We made a delicious green Thai curry using stir fried vegetarian ingredients, and simmered in coconut milk to perfection. Cooking for hours, it gives time for a very leisurely and well deserved beer.

Afterwards I even managed to get a hot water bottle into my sleeping bag…5 star luxury! Thanks to the little packet of heat that is the Versa rocket stove, a real fire can be at hand.

After another EcoZoom breakfast and full day of riding on the Nant Yr Arian trail, I was just about cooked. Fully fed, fueled and fatigued, Wales had worked its mountain bike magic once again.

I’m really happy to commend the Ecozoom Versa rocket stove for its morale boosting support to a great weekend.  As a base camp warmer in a damp, cold place, it’s a winner all the way!

email EcoZoom UK at ecozoom.uk@btinternet.com if you have any great stories of using your Zoom stove out in the wilds.

Biomass alongside wood and charcoal is a fuel option for the Zoom Versa named for its versatile performance. In reality biomass includes a wide range of materials that can be burnt to cook food. Of the 3 billion people without access to modern fuels maybe 60% use biomass to cook and these people exist at the poorer end of that spectrum.

Biomass itself is often gathered from local environments thus depriving the area of organic compost.

In turn this can contribute to soil loss, erosion and poor harvests.

Ecozoom rocket stoves are fuel efficient cookstoves that can give fuel savings of 60% over a regular three stone or unimproved fire. Smoke emissions can be down 70% – reducing indoor air pollution and preventing respiratory health problems. These savings can make a big difference since family members can spend less time gathering biomass. The children who often carry out this activity might spend more time at their studies, or be exposed to less danger from wild animals or slavers.

Out here in the UK things are a bit different and Zoom stove users mainly burn wood and charcoal when camping out or for real fire cooking on the patio at home. We wanted to see for ourselves how a Zoom Versa handled biomass so we set up a mini science study last weekend for a try out.

In the line of fire were three types of biomass: pine cones; corn husks and dry animal droppings.

OK I was a little apprehensive about the third, but as a fuel its the real deal for developing world cooks. This was from wild Exmoor ponies, with no odour and basically just straw, so gourmet biomass, so to speak.

A hot fire is the key to rocket stove efficiency – trapping and burning up the smoke before it gets in your eyes. Having set up our test stove at a local park barbecue spot we warmed up the combustion chamber using wood.

Then we tried each fuel in turn timing how long it took to boil one litre of water.

Its not easy cooking in a UK bbq area, people use throwaway barbecues full of accelerants and strange chemicals – they really stink and seriously undercook food. We’re in the clean burning and natural camp, and smoked nobody out. We kept a good fire going, and here are the results from our test:

Pine Cones – these burn for ages, and really well. The scent is pleasant. 1 Litre water to boil: 6:55 mins

Exmoor Pony (& Trap) – burns with fury but doesn’t last long. no odour. 1 Litre water to boil: 7.30 mins

Corn Husks – Burn slow, didn’t really work to boil the water fast. 1 Litre water to boil: 8:20 mins

The cookstove gobbled up the fuel and there was very little ash left in the stove, its clear that biomass is a serious option for a Zoom Versa rocket stove and a fun experience.

Learning to cook on a Zoom stove

It was a pleasure learning about these fuel types and we got an idea of how people in the developing world might be cooking right now. We didn’t check how these fuels might work in an open fire as this would be too smoky – even for a London barbecue place. I’ll be collecting pine cones for this purpose in future; corn husks – why not?; pony power?….. lets face it, you can efficiently burn any dry biomass in a Zoom Versa. Unlike bottled gas or smokey barbies, your fuel is abundant and its everywhere.

Author Stewart MacLachlan EcoZoom UK

Note: We didn’t use the Power Ring – the times would be reduced up to 25% if we had.

A British Beach Trip With an EcoZoom Versa Rocket Stove

In crisp, clear autumn weather we were able to get out of town and down to the southern coast of England for a few days of country walks and beach cooking on an Ecozoom Versa.

Our destination was a friend’s seaside caravan near the Dungeness lighthouse – facing Dover’s white cliffs across the bay. We’d suffered our worst storm in years and some areas were still counting the cost with fallen trees and debris in many places. This was the calm after the storm. The weather was perfect for getting out and about. We headed down the board-walk at the beach and set up for breakfast. Our backdrop was the English Channel and the shingle beach which was covered in starfish and sea life thrown up by the storm.

Apart from the beach front scenery and a light quality popular with artists, Dungeness is famous for its nuclear power station. It’s kept safe from storm’s by an artificial shingle bank maintained by tipper trucks. Albert Einstein called nuclear power an ‘expensive and dangerous way to boil water’, fortunately for us we didn’t need any power and could fire up our Ecozoom Versa using just driftwood. Cheaply and safely we got the espresso coffee cooked and set up the breakfast bonanza.

The locals don’t touch the shellfish in these parts, but the fresh fish is to die for. We bought freshly caught sea bass fillets from a fishermen and combined them with eggs and bread all cooked on the beach under a solid blue sky. Outdoor cooking at its finest!

On our way back to the sea side caravan park we stopped to look at an interesting piece of low-tech World War II archaeology – ‘the listening ear‘. The concrete ear was designed to tune in the sound of incoming hostile aircraft, of which only two were built before they were superseded by radar.

EcoZoom rocket stoves are a robust, low-tech solution to some of the world’s most pressing problems. Similar to the listening ear, we hope our rocket stove technology supersedes the primitive cooking methods of over 3 billion people in the world.

They also have direct usability here in Britain in all kinds of ways. A caravan by the sea is a home from home for many people in the UK during the warmer months. Most caravans use expensive bottled gas for cooking, and this restricts the options for recipes. Cooking inside a smaller space will create odours and can be uncomfortable on hot days.

The low key ‘footprint’ of the  ecological Versa rocket stove is perfectly suited to a pleasant caravan park environment. The contained combustion chamber sends out the right message – that this is a controlled scaled down fire, unlike a campfire which can be hard to control in wind.

Our cooking on the caravan park was fun and allowed for great times outside breathing fresh sea air. It was a couple of days well spent with some great memories, food, and fantastic opportunities for outside cooking – thanks to the Zoom Versa Rocket Stove.

The Isle of Skye is the jewel in Scotlands crown with some world class mountain backdrops.

With this in mind we packed an EcoZoom Dura to support an attempt on the infamous Skye Ridge Traverse.

This is a two day, sustained high level scramble with much climbing, and lightweight mountain equipment is required. Lets be clear, the ridge is no place for a wood burner – there’s no wood or water up there for a start. It was down at the base camp harbour where our EcoZoom Dura came in really useful.

Wood is often in short supply on the treeless Scottish peat bog, but this no problem for a zoom stove as you don’t need much. The Dura was used for hours and rocked out some great cooked breakfasts, including porridge. It was essential to pack in the carbs as calories would be limited on the climb. Buckets of tea were happily imbibed by all comers and as usual the stove worked as a focus and centre of attention – burning through all the pesky paper wrappers to avoid leaving pointless litter.

But the stove came into its own in a particularly Scottish way and any summer visitor to these parts knows about the  Highland Midge

The Scottish Midge casts a long shadow over the Scottish tourist industry. Known as the ‘crofters revenge’ since  crofters were cleared from the land for sheep leaving it un-drained and boggy. Perfect breeding ground for insects and the midges come in biting swarms that blacken the sky. They are attracted to the CO2 in our breath, so there’s no escape

EcoZoom cookstoves burn dry wood very efficiently with up to 70% less smoke, since it gets mixed with the flame and re-burnt due to the rocket effect. This gives a 60% reduction in the fuel used to cook food.

But with a little clever ‘reverse-engineering’ (i.e. damp wood) it was possible to smoke them little critters out and chase them off down the glen. It worked a treat when required and allowed for a bit more peace and reflection prior to the challenges ahead. And what a view!

Two days later we emerged from the mountains having had great weather and the best experience, grateful for all the support we had to complete this lofty Scottish classic and in need of some celebratory local malt.

It was great to get the opportunity to test the stove out as a base camp facility here and I can fully recommend an EcoZoom rocket stove for use in the Highlands – for both food and also to keep troublesome midges at bay without the hassle of a regular campfire.

Ecozoom Dura rocket cookstoves are simple, durable and burn wood for fuel, they are soon to be available in the UK.

How to traverse the Skye Ridge

Photos and story by: Stewart MacLachlan, EcoZoom UK

ECOZOOM HIGH EFFICIENCY WOOD, BIOMASS OR CHARCOAL ROCKET COOKSTOVES  

DEPLOYED AT ANTIFRACKING PROTEST SITES

April  – Anti Fracking : This  is  about  long  term  sustainability

Anti-Fracking protesters at the Daneshill (Nottingham) and Upton (Chester) Anti-Fracking sites have deployed clean burning and efficient ECOZOOM UK rocket  cookstoves for fossil fuel free cooking on site and to keep gas bottles out. John Oulton of Chester Green Party donated an Ecozoom ‘La Mera Mera’ cookstove (pictured) to the Upton site, recently covered by the BBC. John said that it made no sense to be making tea for visitors and journalists using bottled methane gas at an anti-fracking protest site. Ease of use of the ECOZOOM UK high efficiency wood, charcoal and biomass cookstoves, and their low emissions have made them a clear choice for site welfare. The cookstoves quickly became the focus for the sites with visitors able to learn about alternatives to gas use for cooking.

To avoid using fossil fuels and un-renewable power sources we must show alternative options. Ecozoom rocket stoves provide options and lead the way for efficient use of renewable fuels. They are used across the world where fuel sources are limited and can easily cope with fuel supply disruptions to keep you cooking.

ECOZOOM UK COOKSTOVES ARE CONFRONTING BOTTLED METHANE GAS USE  

–  FOR SPORT, RECREATION, PATIO COOKING & CAMPING.

http://www.daneshill.org  DANESHILL

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1394777480782876/  FRACK  FREE UPTON

DEPLETED ORPHAN FRACKING GAS WELL WARNING

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-26692050

EcoZoom Versa rocket stoves are designed to last for 13,000 hours of cooking time – over 2 years end to end cooking!  They resist cooking heat due to their superior refractory linings, construction and insulation. Built for cooking in simple conditions an EcoZoom Versa will last a lifetime and feed many mouths. For most people here in Europe and the US we’re not planning to use our EcoZoom rocket stoves this much. They will get used a lot during warmer months out on the patio, on camping and fishing trips or beachfront picnics – endless possibilities for outside cooking with abundant fuel (and savings on gas). During other times our stoves will be set aside in preparation for the good times – and perhaps ready for use in an emergency.

We recommend that you store your stove in a dry spot such as a shed or sealed in a weather tight container. Eventually metal always loses against moisture – ask anyone with an older car! Here at EcoZoom UK we’re keen to show how resilient our stoves are if left out for an extended period.

We’ve set up a ‘naturalistic’ study using a pristine EcoZoom Versa rocket stove. We will be leaving the Versa out, with basic protection for a whole year at a London roof top location. During the year our stove will be tested through all the seasons. In praise of Mary Poppins who also liked to hang out on London roofs (with the Chimney sweeps) we’ve named our EcoZoom Versa ‘Mary’.

Mary will be out in all weather for a whole year come rain or shine.

As you can see the location is exposed and will get blasted by south west winds, sun and frost. We have placed EcoZoom Mary on the upturned stick tray to allow rain to drip away and some air flow under. We’ve placed the pot skirt around the mid riff to protect the doors (and ensure modesty). Our main rain protection is the upturned garden bucket as a hat. A hat is essential when out and about, for a whole year!

We don’t recommend that you imitate this yourself, you should always store your precious stove in dry conditions to ensure it stays good. We are confident that the cooking performance of the EcoZoom Versa will not be affected by this test and we’re looking forward to reporting back in a year when Mary will be back at ground level and cooking up a storm.

EcoZoom Versa Mary looking lonely on a rooftop in London. We’ll be checking in throughout the year to see how she holds up.

EcoZoom provides outdoor stoves for outdoor people and this test will show our stoves keep going in the best and worst of conditions.

We’ll keep you posted through the year.

We recently contacted Simon Carter of the Scout Association to give a verdict on an EcoZoom Versa. Simon was keen to give it a go and this is his review, hot off the press!

The EcoZoom Versa

I am a great fan of wood fuelled stoves in camp. I was first introduced to solid fuel stoves during an expedition to South Africa nearly ten years ago.I was impressed with the capacity of a storm kettle to boil hot water using nothing but a few twigs gathered from the high veldt. Using the storm kettle was a joy in the cold South African mornings. I was therefore really pleased to be asked test out the Eco zoom Versa stove.

If the design of the stove is right and the combustion chamber and damping system are well thought out then solid fuel stoves use little fuel, can burn almost anything and give great heat output. After a couple of weekend tests I can say the Eco zoom Versa stove delivers excellent fuel efficiency and high heat output. It’s a cracker. I was going to say a little cracker but it’s not actually that small or light which actually is a good thing for static camp work.

 The stove is really solid and well built. The manufacturers say it will last for years and I believe them. The stove sits on a very broad base and has a low centre of gravity so there is little chance of it falling over while in use. The unit also comes with a very useful windshield that the manufacturers call a pot skirt so that as much heat as possible can be directed onto the saucepan being heated up. I used the stove to heat water for numerous cups of tea and coffee as I remodelled the back garden.

On the three occasions I used the stove there was little smoke and no need to constantly stand over the stove to keep it working at the optimum temperature. The stove lit quickly and easily with the minimum of fuss and proceeded to burn through the small and medium sized pieces of wood I fed in from the top and side.

The unit comes with a clever stand that sits level with the fire box that allows you to feed in two or three sticks into the flames. This is a very thoughtful addition and allows regular feeding of the firebox with new fuel to keep up the output temperature.

Overall the eco zoom is a great tool that provides a real alternative to gas powered stoves in the camp situation. It will burn almost anything which makes it very low cost to run and is extremely robust and well built. This combination of strength, longevity and low running costs means I am sure those that come after me in the 1st Bishops Stortford and Hockerill Scout Group will be using this stove in the years to come.

Simon Carter – The Scout Association

Assistant Director – Media Relations

Group Scout Leader

April 2014

Children and EcoZoom Rocket Stoves: Rediscovering Fire Safely

Glastonbury is Europe’s largest outdoor music festival and fans come from all over to camp in the sun (or rain) and enjoy great outdoor acts from around the world. On my last trip I noticed  when the stages & rigs shut down for the night people would light up small illicit camp fires and try to keep the party going into the small hours.

The strangest thing was that due to the lack of proper fuel on site people would actually burn PVC drinks containers and other plastic trash items. The smoke and toxic smell from these fires was unbelievable at times and sometimes I saw teenagers watching adults burn this stuff. The fires didn’t seem to give off much heat either.

Didn’t these fire makers realize they would be poisoning themselves and making the place stink by doing this? Perhaps they would learn this time and not do it again?

This got me to thinking- who is actually teaching our children about fire, its dangers, its benefits, how to start one, what to burn or how to use it to cook? Do they do fire lessons at school?

EcoZoom stoves offer a safe and easy way to teach children about fire. The insulated combustion chamber prevents burns while also allowing for easy instruction about airflow and fuel when making a fire.

All these basic survival skills appear to be losing ground in our developed world as we rely on fossil fuels and electricity to do pretty much everything……….at least until you need some heat at a festival, campsite or riverside fishing spot. Or after a power blackout, like in recent UK storms.

I don’t recall any school activity in my children’s education so far (or mine) where they’ve been allowed fire. Too risky on health and safety grounds and this is a reasonable point. As parents and guardians we need to take that risk on ourselves and show them how fire works.

One of the benefits of the EcoZoom Versa or Dura rocket stoves is the ease with which you can burn renewable fuels. The hot fire chamber is kept secure in a robust, well insulated liner which is very stable. Starting a fire in a rocket stove is a breeze.

While alerting any adult to the need to closely supervise any fire with or without children present, I have found my EcoZoom Versa to be a great educational instrument. Kids love collecting bits and bobs of wood and biomass to burn – no plastic, guys! No seaweed either which also smokes and pongs.  A lot can be learnt by kids’ safely during an EcoZoom outdoor cooking session. Try doing this with an open fire or barbecue and you will notice a heightened stress response as you try to stop them doing daft things. That mixed with having to constantly load on fuel can give you a lot to do.

This is a further benefit of an EcoZoom stove, it doesn’t need much fuel to keep a real fire going. With the rocket jet isolated in its fire chamber, the outer side shell rarely gets too hot to touch unlike lower quality burners. Try it this year, teach your kids how to safely start a fire in an EcoZoom stove.  Keeping a fire is a basic human skill. We’ve been doing it a long time so let’s ensure we safely pass this skill on to our children.

Perhaps at some point they might be able to teach their children the same lesson.

Watch them learn and lets all rediscover fire with an Ecozoom rocket stove.

EcoZoom Rocket Stoves in the UK: Ready for Take Off  

(Posted last September)

Over the past two years UK residents have consistently asked where they can buy EcoZoom rocket stoves. For the first time, EcoZoom is happy to announce that we have a UK distributor looking to heat things up in London and beyond.

Just about every day we have someone from somewhere outside of North America writing us to ask if we sell our EcoZoom rocket stoves in (fill in the blank) _______________. It is unbelievable to see the demand for our rocket stoves from people all over the world, but more often than not we have to let people know that we don’t have a local retail outlet for them to purchase from. One region that we consistently receive more inquiries from than any other is the United Kingdom, which results in shipping a stove across the pond every so often. Those days are gone!

Roughly six months ago we received an email from a gentleman asking about being a distributor for EcoZoom in the UK. He had come across our EcoZoom Versa during a holiday trip in South Africa and found it to be a great cooking solution at home or camping, and he believed it could be a viable cooking solution for all kinds of people living in the UK. After a few emails we jumped on a Skype call to speak for the first time to get a better understanding of if this was really a good fit for both of us, sort of like what you would come to expect if there was such a thing as an online business dating website.

To our surprise, we had a lot in common between our professional and personal lives which led to subsequent Skype calls and the beginning of what is now EcoZoom UK. After a few months of ironing out details and lining up production for our first shipment of inventory, EcoZoom rocket stoves landed in the UK ready for purchase this week. While there still isn’t a website live for purchase in the UK, you can email our UK Distributor, Stewart Maclachlan, at ecozoom.uk@btinternet.com for order and shipping information or purchase from Amazon UK here.

Stewart getting his EcoZoom Versa started

Now here is a little bit more about Stewart Maclachlan, our UK Distributor:

Where do you currently live?
I’m in London at present where our EcoZoom UK office is based. I regularly get out of town to Wales and Scotland for the mountains, and down to the coast to balance out the big city. This means I can enjoy wild cooking in many locations across the UK

So far we’ve had interest in our rocket stoves from rural places out in Scotland, to people deep in the big cities.

Where did you first hear about EcoZoom?
Having watched the EcoZoom stoves develop over the last few years I could see they were a well-designed, well-engineered and robust product. But I just couldn’t get my hands on one for a reasonable price due to shipping. When I got a Versa I was seriously impressed by its performance which exceeded my expectations.

I’ve spent much of the last summer cooking most days on my Versa which has saved me a packet on gas bottles!

What do you like best about cooking on an EcoZoom Versa?
I love food preparation and cooking, and I love being outside so the Versa really tunes into these pursuits. But if I’m being truly honest I think I just love a real fire with the smells & sound of the burn.

 The EcoZoom Versa makes it easy to cook on a fire and gives a safe contained cooking fire which you can closely control. Anybody who has burnt food on a barbecue will appreciate this!

Why did you want to become the UK distributor for EcoZoom?
The EcoZoom cookstoves are fantastic product and I know that there is demand here amongst campers, patio cooks and alfresco chefs wherever they may be.

I’m from an energy efficiency background and the real joy for me is being involved with a product that wins for efficiency, wins for convenience and wins for clean air.

Simply put, I love the practical efficiency and design of the stoves and I think they are a real winner. We are going to see more and more of these stoves around the UK, especially as they have such a long life (13,000 hours cooking time) they will still be cooking when your gas stove has long ago fallen to bits

To this I must add that EcoZoom innovation is helping low income people in developing nations reduce the environmental and health impacts that come from cooking over an open fire or less-efficient stove. This is a big draw for me to be involved and a win for those people in the long term.

Where have you recently taken your EcoZoom Versa?
I just got back from a family sea swimming trip in south Brittany, France. We camped for a fortnight and I used the Versa every night. I sometimes took it to the beach for a cook out. Sea breezes can help fire the rocket and it burns hot and fast.

Mostly I take it out to the park and get the kids to feed sticks to it. They love it and I don’t need to supervise them like I would a barbecue. It’s very difficult to burn yourself with the stove as the fire chamber is so well isolated and the body so stable. It’s a great way for children to learn about fire.

What are your favourite things to cook on your EcoZoom Versa?
I could go on all night! Personally I like fried food (I’m from the North!), especially after exercise and I’ve been making onion bhajis, falafels and even chips (yes chips). The beauty of cooking outside is that the frying smells disperse readily.

Sausages cook up a dream, but sea food and fish really benefit from a real wood fire under them. Get a Versa, gets some flapping fresh mackerel and sizzle the skin right off them. Lemon and hot pepper sauce to season and you’re on the way to wild food heaven.

A little fried appetizer courtesy of Stewart and EcoZoom

If you could add an attachment or accessory to the EcoZoom product line, what would it be?
I think the EcoZoom rocket stoves are a fantastic host for all kinds of ancillary accessories. I’m thinking though the possibilities of adding a pizza oven function. If anybody can think this one through with me we could get something started, imagine it …stick wood fired bush pizza!

I’d also like to add a basic power generating function like a low watt USB type charger. This would be so useful it would hurt.

There are so many possibilities for EcoZoom rocket stoves in the UK and I’m really looking forward to sharing the possibilities with people throughout the land.

Living in London, cooking on a barbecue often means using a disposable barbecue that lacks any decent power or ease of use. The EcoZoom rocket stove can easily cook all your favorite recipes using a simple griddle pan.

I live in the UK and regularly use EcoZoom rocket stoves for outside cooking. A question I often get asked by friends is ‘can you barbecue with it?’ Now, a barbecue is wonderful thing but it isn’t always practical. Here in the UK people often use disposable barbecues, which are expensive, hard to light and have terrible heat output – under-cooking food is never a good idea. Not to mention, one-and-done cooking options aren’t as sustainable as an EcoZoom Versa, which is built to last for up to 13,000 hours of cooking using small amounts of fuel to generate as much heat as you will likely need (up to 23,000 BTUs).

While the EcoZoom product line doesn’t currently include a barbeque grill attachment, you can grill meat and vegetables just as well – this is how I do it with a griddle pan.

Fire up your EcoZoom Versa rocket stove with wood or charcoal and oil up the griddle pan. When the stove is putting out a nice amount of steady heat place the griddle on the cast iron top. The trick is to move the griddle around on the hob a bit, don’t just leave it in one spot, this spreads the heat more evenly around it. If you are cooking with a pot or pan that fits the included pot skirt that comes with each stove, you can place it around the bottom of your pot or pan to ensure that heat is transferred evenly across the bottom and lower sides of the pot/pan.

When you can smell the heated oil in the griddle it is time to start cooking! Vegetables (eg peppers) need more oil, but meats bring their own. Lift the food up from time to time to ensure your food doesn’t stick too much to the griddle. While cooking, if too much oil comes from the meat just pour it off gently.  Now you do the rest, cook it just how you like it! Your Ecozoom Versa will do the heavy lifting by providing ample of amounts of heat to cook with until all the food is ready to your liking. As with all things, take care and use a glove to hold the griddle handle, it will get very hot.

EcoZoom rocket stoves are capable of taking on just about any cooking task. Whether it is a temperature sensitive recipe, or multi-hour simmer, EcoZoom stoves are up to the task. Here in the UK, it is a great barbeque alternative and helps avoid using disposable barbeques that leave much to be desired in terms of an outdoor cooking option.

About the Author: Stewart MacLachlan lives in London and is an avid EcoZoom’er. He loves to cook on his EcoZoom Versa and is well versed in a variety of different recipes.