 This
product is, again, a great example of good old Aussie ingenuity
coming up with a product that has a terrific number of applications
not the least of them being to aid the camping/travelling
fraternity.
Think of all the times that you have arrived at a camping
ground or holiday destination by motor car and then needed
to rustle up a meal for hungry ankle biters, mates, or the
cheese and kisses. Mind you, the hungry side of the motor
car doesn’t seem to be sharing your concerns that camp
should maybe be set up first... No way...they want tucker
now. I’m not afraid to put the hand up and agree that
this has happened to me on a fair few occasions when my children
were younger and there's no doubt that if I had owned a Dreampot
in those days things certainly would have been easier. A nice
hot meal would have been there, waiting to be eaten, thanks
to this great invention.
Keep the Meal hot or cold
This neat invention can best be compared to a giant thermos
flask in that it serves as an efficient means of keeping prepared
food either hot or cold. It's the user's call here. But that's
not the complete story, either, as the Dreampot's fully insulated
environment serves to complete cooking as one travels.
Put simply the Dreampot is obviously a really smart way of
taking a hot or cold dish -well- just about anywhere really.
Examples would be family picnics, visiting friends, a special
function, or soon as one arrives at their chosen destination
with the eating team on the starting blocks ready to go.
There are currently two Dreampots available, a 6 litre model
and the slightly smaller 5 litre pot which is the subject
of this review. Each Dreampot contains a pair of stainless
steel bowls that serve as cooking pots as well as storage
containers within the main Dreampot unit.
Remember that the Dreampot will actually complete cooking,
if a meal is nearly cooked the Dreampot finishes the job as
you travel which is a pretty handy situation. The idea is
to select the right sized bowl for the job and then use it
accordingly. Either way, once the hot meal is inside the stainless
steel bowl it is then placed inside the fully insulated Dreampot
and the lid closed down and locked into place.
As an alternative, if cold food is to be transported it's
chilled to the required temperature and then placed in the
unit. Versatile's the word.
Easy to use
In practice I found the Dreampot worked just fine. A lovely
venison stew was cooked to near perfection within the 5 litre
bowl and then placed straight from the stove into the Dreampot
while the stew was still simmering. I found that the neat
fitting handle on the stainless bowl made it's placement into
the unit very easy and not at all likely to cause tender fingers
to be burned or scalded. Once the bowl is sitting within the
main unit the handle simply lays down neatly into a recess
to allow the lid to close correctly. We took the Dreampot
loaded with stew for a 3 hour drive and when we opened it
for a meal later I found that the stew was virtually as hot
as when it went in, and absolutely delicious.
As I mentioned, this item can be likened to a giant thermos
flask, and similarly to the flask it pays to open it only
when the contents are required, as its the combination of
trapped air plus the insulation within the walls of the Dreampot
that keeps things at the same core temperature as when they
were put into the unit.
The manufacturers of the Dreampot, Green Brothers Wholesale
of Bundaberg, see the unit as a portable cooker, a rice cooker,
Bain Marie, cooler and yoghurt maker. I certainly could not
argue with any of those claims and as a recipe book is part
of the Dreampot kit an owner should be able to turn out some
pretty exciting and very palatable tucker.
Over all, the Dreampot is a very well made and robust sort
of item. It's large enough to the do it's job yet a convenient
size for tucking into the car or boat. Finish is absolutely
top shelf and each unit has a strong carry handle for ease
of transportation.
The 5 litre model sells for $249 while the 6 litre will lighten
the wallet by $279. I would see the investment in one of these
units as being a very long term matter: such is the quality
of construction that ownership would be for a life time in
my view.
The reviewed Dreampot was made available by the Great Escape
Camping.
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