Every home needs a kitchen right? And for those of us who want something a little healthier than fast food, the only thing better than having a kitchen is having a someone cook for you while you’re busy doing other things.
Due to the fact that the 12v power coming through your cigarette lighter is low in amperage, the options for cooking while you drive have been limited to slow cooking and warming foods that are already cooked. This isn’t such a bad thing, but it does take some planning.
The Hot Logic Mini , pictured above, is a great little appliance that weighs almost nothing and takes up almost no space. It heats up your food evenly to 165 degrees, allowing you to cook raw meats, frozen dinners, or reheat leftovers. You don’t even have to open or vent the package, so it won’t make your car smell. I put my frozen food in a glass Pyrex container for a couple hours and it works it’s magic. Nothing is overcooked, but all meats will come out well done. The only downside is that this cooker isn’t actually 12v but since it only draws about 45 watts, you can plug it into a cigarette lighter using a small inverter without any problems.
Another inexpensive option is the Roadpro. Truckers have been using this lunch box size appliance to reheat food and cook from scratch. It will heat up to 300 degrees so you can bake a potato in it, but there’s no way to control the temperature.
If you don’t mind the odd size, the Max Burton Digital stove provides temperature control, allowing you to heat, slow cook, and even bake in this unit. I made cornbread cake using Jiffy cornbread mix baked at 300 degrees and it came out great. I suggest ignoring the preheat step because the cooking chamber cools down very quickly as soon as you open the lid. Another thing to keep in mind is that this draws 145 watts, so check to see that the fuse in your cigarette lighter can handle it.
For those of you looking to boil water, there’s good news and bad news. There are many kettles that run on 12v, but none of them are very powerful. Most home use kettles use at least 1000 watts, and you can’t draw that from your cigarette lighter. Kettles like this pretty retro unit will take about 30 minutes to boil a cup of water, which is an awfully long time when you want your morning coffee for your road trip, or your cup of tea before bedtime. My best advice is to buy hot water at a gas station, or get a tiny stealth kettle like the one made by Gourmia that you can fit in a large pocket, take into a rest stop or gas station restroom, and boil your water using wall power in less than 5 minutes.
There are several other 12v appliances for more exotic needs like fryers and rice cookers, but if you’re looking for something that will cook more than one type of food these might not be too useful.
Finally, for those willing to hack their car by connecting an inverter directly to the battery, the king of portable electric cooking would probably be the Instant Pot. It’s actually slow cooker, pressure cooker, oven, and stove for sautees all rolled into one. Unfortunately, it’s a power hog, so you will need at least a 1000 watt inverter. The Instant Pot Duo Mini uses 700 watts.
Microwaves, induction cooktops and electric kettles are all in the 700-1800 watt range, and should generally be used in vehicles that have a pure sine wave inverter. These are twice as expensive as modified sine wave inverters, setting you back about 200-300 dollars, plus the price of professional installation. You can install the inverter yourself of course, but messing around with your car’s electrical, and potentially killing your battery, or hybrid engine is not for the faint of heart. I’ll let you know if I ever do it.
Happy cooking and bon appetit!
Tiny Prius Travel 