As a user of Wonderbag my family has been the victims of my endless experimenting, from raw crunchy onions to hard potatoes to meat and beans that were slightly on the hard side. Needless to say I hate reading instruction manuals and prefer making the mistakes and learning from them. This blog has been the outcome of my experiments with step by step pictures. The purpose of this post is to try and figure out why some clients are still not using their Wonderbags. Did you have a hard potato incident and thought this Wonderbag is just a fad? Or you just cannot figure out what you did wrong even though you followed the instructions. Lets figure it out together. I invite anyone with their problems unanswered to comment here and we can solve your issues.
These are some of the Questions I get.
1. You say rice dishes stays hot for 10 hours but my rice has cooled down way before that.
Answer: I found that rice dishes like Akni, Breyani etc stays piping hot for 10 hrs (No reheat required). But plain white rice does cool down quicker. The reason for this is that firstly The former has other foods like potatoes and meat and butter/oil. All these food types have heat in them as well also the pot has been on the stove for at least 30 min retaining 30 minutes of heat. For plain white rice the pot is only on the stove for 5 minutes.
2. My Breyani was cold when i opened the pot i used the "Indian" pots (Pots with flat lids)
Answer: Wonderbag needs your pot to be a tight fitting lid else too much heat will escape resulting in uncooked food. When using indian pots place a heavy object on the lid to seal the heat in.
3. My Meat was tough but potatoes was cooked.
Answer: The cooking process was disrupted when the client added boiling water to the pot while it was in the Wonderbag. Or the pot wasnt full enough therefore heat escaped.
4. My potatoes wasnt cooked.
Answer : Potatoes need to be on the stove for at least 15 minutes before transfering into Wonderbag. Not All foods you just bring to boil and put into bag. Meat needs 30 min, root veg - 15 min, Beans - 30 min, and rice needs 5. This information is in your instruction manual that comes with the bag.
5. My Wonderbag got burnt. How did it happen? I took precaution. ?
Answer: When you place a heavy pot into the Wonderbag esp when you cooking soup or Rice dishes You have to take extra precaution. A good idea is placing an oven glove in the base and a thick cloth on the lid as well. This should protect your bag from burn.
6. My Food went sour in the Wonderbag?
Answer: Once food is lukewarm it is the breeding ground for bacteria. Ensure that your pot goes straight from the stove into the lined Wonderbag. Do not let it cool down or open it. as heat will escape. Different food types retain heat longer than others. Eg Breyani or stew will stay hot for 10-12 hours whereas a curry with no potatoes will cool down after a few hours as theres no starches in to retain the heat. Consider the food type when leaving it in the Wonderbag for too long.
7. Can I use any pot in the Wonderbag.
Answer: No. You must use a heavy based Metal pot with metal lid. Do not cook food with Glass lids it will not retain heat and food will remain uncooked. You may keep foods warm in a glass lidded pot for a few hours. Cooked foods in pyrex dishes is also fine to place in Wonderbag as a means to keep it warm only and not as a cooker.
Do not use a Cast Iron Pot that is used in the BBQ/Braai. That will burn the Wonderbag.