How the thermal pot works....

I became interested in this pot as I think it is an energy saving device.

Standard cooking over stoves and fires, done for centuries actually means loss of heat and hence energy to the surrounding by way of convection, evaporation and conduction. Most of the heat I think is lost through evaporation. Not only is heat lost but also valuable moisture.

The thermal pot is basically something like the old thermos flask but this time it is a pot. What it does is that if there is enough heat put into the pot by cooking, and the pot along with all its contents are put into a thermal system then the heat is contained along with the moisture. The contained heat continues to cook the contents of the pot and at the same time keep the moisture in.

Understanding this principle, then one has to regulate cooking in terms of how much heat is in the system and how long the food remains in the pot.the other advantage is that the food remains warm hence has the benefit of

a) having warm or hot soups at any time without having to reheat hence using more energy
b) great for outings where a nice hot bowl of soup will be great as it travels down the oesophagus and hits the spot in the stomach... ahhh

The pple that made it, I understand it was originally Zojiroshi then now of course there are many brands that make it too. In my last trip to Japan I found some made by thermos and it is a fraction of the cost of the Zojiroshi brand.