Ovens: Primitive Ovens Make A Comeback For Betterment Of The Planet

We’re all familiar with modern ovens that are found in most homes. Gas ovens are heated with gas powered flames from underneath in the broiler portion of the oven and electric ovens are heated via a heating element. Here we will discuss some of the lesser known types of ovens. Many people are making older types of ovens a part of their daily lives again.

Horno Ovens

A horno is a very simple yet surprisingly effective type of oven made from adobe or similar mud. Hornos were used by Native Americans as well as many early North American settlers from Europe. This type of oven is still used in some areas, such as Arizona and New Mexico. Traditionally hornos are used to bake things like bread and corn, but they can be used to bake just about anything.

Horno ovens are created by making an indentation in the ground and molding adobe mud into



a dome shape over the indentation. Usually this is done with adobe bricks that have been allowed to dry in the sun. Additional wet adobe mud is used as mortar to bind the bricks together. There is always a small smoke hole left at the top of the horno dome.

Hornos work by building a fire and heating pieces of coal inside the clay oven. Once the horno is sufficiently hot the coals are removed and the items to be baked are inserted in the horno. For a really nice lesson on making adobe bricks and building your own horno, take a look at http://www.primitiveways.com/adobe_horno.html. There are also several pictures.

Solar Ovens

Solar ovens or “solar cookers” use the sun’s power to cook food. A simple metal box is all that is required for the most basic solar oven. More complex models include sets of large mirrors or lenses that focus sunlight in order to cook food in the oven.

Solar ovens do not pollute the environment and are being promoted by humanitarian organizations to help slow desertification and deforestation as wood burning stoves use substantial amounts of wood to cook food. The only drawback is that there needs to be sufficient sunlight for food to cook.


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