5.5L Thermal Cooker Deluxe

I've only used this thermal cooker once so far, but I gotta say that I find it fascinating! I made a chicken curry dish and thought it was cool just throwing the ingredients into the big pot along with enough water, bring it all to a roiling boil for about 10 minutes and then place it into the thermal outer pot to cook for the rest of the day while I did other stuff. I also got some rice going in the smaller pot and put that into the thermal cooker at the same time I put the large pot in.Came back at least 8 hours later, opened it up and everything was cooked, hot and ready to serve. Washing the pots was easy too. I hand-washed the large one but put the smaller one and the lid into the dishwasher. I will be trying this cooker out more and will report back if anything should go awry, but it's really very easy to use. I am also going to try this cooker out but use my rocket stove as the source for heat. I really like the idea of having a very fuel efficient way of cooking an entire meal for a family of 4 if the utilities should go off for a period of time.UPDATE 9.26.13 - Tried an experiment: After soaking exactly one cup of dried pinto beans in water overnight, I brought them to a rolling boil for several minutes the next morning. Then I placed the boiling pot inside the thermal cooker and sealed it. After about 10 hours I opened it to find the beans were not all the way cooked - still a bit crunchy. So I brought them to another boil and placed them into the thermal cooker again for overnight. In the morning they were still a bit crunchy. I then cooked them the rest of the way on the stove. It obviously won't hold heat long enough to cook dried beans. :(

I love it. Period.It's very well constructed, MUCH cheaper than the thermos brand although I am sure the heat retention is better on those, and it works.The big pot has a really nice sandwiched design on the bottom I mean it's quite a decent pot on it's own. The smaller one that fits inside is just a really basic pot, but it fits INSIDE the bigger pot. This is awesome if you for example want to make lentil and chorizo "stew" in the bottom pot, and rice in the top. You would just make them both seperately, get both to a boil, then take the small pot, put it IN the big one and lid it, and boil that for about 4 minutes. Pop that into the thermal part and shut and lock the lid. I use this recipe a lot because it takes pretty much exactly 15 minutes prep and actual cooking, then I can walk away for 3 or 4 hours and come back to perfect rice, and Delicious stew to go with it all piping hot with no worries about fire etc in fact you can carry it out to the car and go wherever you are headed and have dinner ready when you arrive. Pretty cool huh?GET one. Check my other reviews for books which will help you develop real usable recipes, THERMAL COOKER will be in the title of the review.

Our main purpose is cooking or cooling food for two while traveling. I purchased the 5.5 liter Saratoga Jacks because 1) I could not locate a smaller thermal cooker with two pans and 2) another reviewer mentioned using the large pot on an induction cooktop. We decided no butane or prophane cookers for our Vistabule teardrop trailer, just solar or electric power, an efficient one burner induction cooktop and an electric pot for boiling water. I already had one small pot and a cast iron skillet appropriate to use on the induction cooktop.So far, I have experimented at home with three sessions of cooking while using a single burner induction cooktop and our thermal cooker.1) Lasagna in the upper pan with boiling water in the bottom. Did try bringing the saucy lasagna to boil for several minutes in the top pan on the induction cooktop. The noodles burnt very slightly on the bottom. Believe everyone who says only use the large bottom pan for cooking food to boiling. I also put too much water in the bottom and it bubbled over the edges of the top pan, but I noticed and scooped out several spoonfuls of extra moisture. Came out fine. We loved that the edges did not get crispy, as can happen with slow cooker lasagna. Made enough for four large servings. We froze half.2) Tried the Mexican Chicken recipe in bottom with rice in the top pan. Added some freeze dried vegetables and a little extra water to the rice. The filled pans makes a large amount. I just bagged portions to freeze, ready for use in other recipes. Very satisfied with the taste test of each.3) Made corn bread in the top pan with boiling water in the bottom. Got the water level right this time, but didn't measure how many cups of liquid. Came out great.While traveling, I plan to use canning jars and stainless steel containers in the bottom water for more variety and appropriate portions. Thinking a main and dessert or starch in jars at bottom. Then, plan to divide the top with foil packets for two different vegetables or vegetables and cooked fruit or appetizer dip at top. May be able to find some type of divided pan or tiny stainless cookware pots that will fit. A drawback is that it seems we will have to dirty an extra pot to cook items to temperature for the top. Just trying to figure out how to use the thermal cooker to get meals for two people, without leftovers.While using our trailer galley, one advantage is that we can just use the water from the bottom of the thermal cooker, or reheat it, to wash dishes after eating. When staying in a hotel, the cooker can be carried for dining-in. Appreciate that we can also use the thermal cooker for cool items, just don't expect to do so very often. (We'll travel with a cooker, ice maker and mini refrigerator / freezer).Prior reviewers have been very helpful and I do appreciate that all of you that took time to add details of your experiences! The Saratoga Jacks is a very useful quality product. I gave four stars, because a smaller unit would be appreciated for couples or singles, the flat handle is uncomfortable to hold - needs rounded edges, and it'd be best if both pans had the bottom that's good for surface cooking to boiling.