A competition that cooks

Wait — cardboard?

The San Carlos father-daughter duo harnessed the power of the sun at the San Mateo County Fair to prove you don’t need electricity to get cooking. The Wyckoffs signed up for the fair’s solar oven building competition in which entrants were asked to construct an oven and prove it worked by baking cookies. The event didn’t draw any other competitors in the Wyckoffs’ respective categories of youth and adult but that didn’t stop the demonstration — or the gentle kidding.

Kira, 16, said her cookies would bake faster. Her father said his would be in greater demand.

Either way, Kira said they weren’t really competing.

"We’re just hungry,” she joked.

While the older Wyckoff had tinkered with solar ovens in the ’70s, the effort was new for his daughter. They constructed their ovens alongside one built by Joe Lees, department head of the fair’s sustainable living area, and assistant Cas Lesiak. Lees picked one of the easier designs off the Internet and the fair provided the components. There were slight variations in the three designs, though. Winston Wyckoff opted for a black cast iron skillet to better generate heat inside the plastic oven bag while his daughter used a Pyrex bowl covered in black duct tape. Lees and Lesiak covered a plate in foil, which accommodated multiple cookies, while Kira Wyckoff cut small cardboard trays for individual baking.

The oven temperatures quickly shot up to the triple digits, at one point spinning the arrow around several times. A check of the skillet handle brought burnt fingers and the realization nobody brought oven mitts. Thankfully, the culinary area was close by.

"You think, ‘oh the sun will eventually cook it.’ You don’t necessarily think it will be so quick,” Winston Wyckoff said.

As Kira formed large dough balls on her trays, her father suggested she make them smaller — a recommendation she took by breaking off the excess dough and popping it into in her mouth.

The builders estimated the cookies would take about 20 minutes since traditional baking requires about 10 minutes. As they waited for the moment of truth, fairgoers stopped by the picnic table on which the ovens sat to figure out for just what the weird contraptions were being used. A few stuck their hands inside, a couple were astonished. Nearly all said they weren’t ready to give up traditional baking methods.

But Lees said the point of the contest-turned-demonstration was to show people that solar power does work. And while you might not use a small one to churn out an entire batch of cookies, they are an example of what can be accomplished.

As the watch hit the 20-minute mark, the group learned exactly what could be done. Golden brown cookies came from each oven, ooey and gooey and definitely delicious to those trying the samples.

Yet, why stop there?

The Wyckoffs fetched an egg from one of their chickens at the fair and cracked it into the skillet, the sizzle drawing amazed oohs from those standing around.

"I’m really surprised it did that,” said Danice Pons, a San Carlos resident in the same 4-H club as the Wyckoffs.

So was Pons inspired to go solar all the time?

"I think I’ll keep my oven,” she said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.