Have been fussing and stewing because I couldn't get things very hot on my wood heating stove---so that I couldn't get a rolling boil no matter what I did----catalitic something or another is the problem. Today I decided to finally try to test this whole thing out----cast iron really doesn't transmit the heat in a timely manner(took 1 hour to soft boil) but my copper bottom pot was really boiling hard in about 5-7 minutes----yea for tests and experimentation----now I know I can boil water if necessary, not to mention making COFFEE---end to end testing in my home is an absolute must!!!!!!

-- catherine plamondon (solution@gotitfinally.com), September 26, 1999

Answers

I have a set of extra thick bottom stainless steel cookware that will cook over a candle flame! I haven't tried boiling, but liquid gets hot enough to burn your tonque. I have lots of cast iron for open fire cooking, but for wood stove cooking I will use my thick stainless.

-- Carol (glear@usa.net), September 26, 1999.

catherine, Use small pieces of *DRY* firewood. Keep the
damper opened. Make sure that the chimney or
stove pipe is clean. High altitudes make it
harder to boil water

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), September 26, 1999.

You will find that for cooking of things like stew or soup or beans that you will want to use the cast iron. In other words, use it for those things that you want to cook long and slow. The old enamel coffee pots are the best for making coffee and the stainless steel are the best for heating soups, canned veggies, cooking eggs, pouching eggs, etc.

Taz...who had nothing but a wood stove for cooking for a great part of her life.

-- Taz (Taz@aol.com), September 26, 1999.

If you don't already have one, go to a store where they specialize in wood stoves and supplies, or Lehams of Cumberland Country Store, and get one of those thermometers that hang on the stove with a magnet. You will soon get an idea of how hot your stove is and you can move it around and find the hot areas and the cool areas of your stove. Ater awhile it will be 2nd nature and you won't even look at it. You will "just know" by the amount and kind of wood you are burning, and how hot and deep the coals are. You are in for a treat. And if you have never had biscuits from "scratch" baked in the oven of a wood stove, you have never tasted heaven. I bake biscuits from scratch all of the time, but NOT the same in an electric oven.

Taz...who's mouth is watering over the thoughts of a good biscuit and strong cup of coffee with fresh cream in it.

-- Taz (Taz@aol.com), September 26, 1999.

Taz--

Dumb question for you--how do you cook inside of a woodstove? Do you have a rack inside the stove or do you just place the pan on top of the wood or do you move the burning wood to the side and cook on the metal bottom of the stove? Also, what's your recipe for your heavenly biscuits? Thanks--

-- cath (fin@llyGI.now), September 27, 1999.

Taz, I always just love your postings. I have a wood heating stove, not a wood cooking stove---I think that is how your say it. My stove is suppose to be for heating--it has all kinds of fancy stuff in it that is suppose to keep it from violating various pollution codes. I do, however have quite a lot of memory of my grandmothers kitchen stove so can imagine you with your coffee and goodies---mmmmmmm. I bought a coleman oven to put on top of my stove and if I put a ton of wood in it, it will heat up to about 350---can bake bread, cookies, etc but it runs me out of the house!!!I oopen the doors and enjoy. I have no idea about how to cook on this little beast, but am experimenting. Any suggestions out there? I haven't seen any books about this. I have a regular oven thermometer sitting on top of the stove and you are right Taz, I am getting a feel about wood and hot spots and temperature---such an art!!! and this is how you cook---boy I can hardly wait to get good at this. I do have a fireplace and will do long cooking with my cast iron there, I think--but do need to experiment---maybe with a box oven after I get stuff hot---so much to learn, so little time--am working full time too, so I have to budget time well---am swamped with tomatos at this time. THanks for all the responces---

-- catherine plamondon (Questions@home.com), September 27, 1999.

You can only cook "inside" the stove if you have a wood COOK stove. Otherwise, you use the top surface of the heating stove. My wood HEAT stove had two levels and this was great as there was a great deal of difference in the heat between the two. Also I had 3 trivets that were bolted to the edge of the stove top in such a manner that they would swing over the stove when you needed them and they screwed up and down giving a range of about 2 inches from stove top to trivit. These were homemade. Anyone with some steel and cutting torch could make them. There are some small COOK stoves on the market for about $1000. Saw some when I went to get some stove pipe in Gainsville at a shop for wood stoves. They are small, but have a nice oven and a top cooking surface of about 2 ft square. We are in Florida now and, alas, no cookstove. But we do have a small cast iron cook stove that we used to pack into Elk Camp in the Cascades every fall. I went and bought pipe for that, "just in case". Re biscuit recipes, there are all kinds. The one I use is:

2 cups SR flour

2tsp sugar

1.5 tsp baking powder

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup of oil

Mix and knead about 6 to 10 times, roll out to 1/2 inch thickness. Bake at 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Actually this is Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings recipe. I live in the area where she wrote and they filmed the "Yearling".

If you add a little more flour and milk and a tsp of yeast and more sugar, and then knead it about 12 times and cut your biscuits, put on cookie sheet, and then let them rise for a little while, you will get Angel Buns which are sorta rolls and sorta biscuits. They are yummy. Don't be afraid to experiment. Do it now while food is cheap and available. I have made my share of hockey puks and door stops out of dough in my day.

Taz

-- Taz (Taz@aol.com), September 28, 1999.

Thanks Taz for the info!

I just wished you lived closer to me so I could be your apprentice and learn some of the skills that I'll need to know soon!

so much to learn and so little time to learn it!

-- cath (fin@llyGI.com), September 28, 1999.

Perhaps a helper for wood burning stoves with room on top is to buy a Coleman collapsable oven. I purchased one with a thermometer built in the front of it. I then purchased various loaf, cake and covered pans to fit the size of the oven (it is smaller than I am used to). This oven can be used over a wood stove or propane cookers. Would be nice to have some fresh bread or biscuits with all those beans.

-- Sammie Davis (sammie0@hotmail.com), September 30, 1999.

I bought a great book that tells you how to cook on and in your wood heat stove.The name is "American Wood Heat Cookery" by Margaret Byrd Adams.I ordered it from Lehmans.It has alot of good recipes.

-- Maggie (aaa@aaa.com), September 30, 1999.