Best toaster to use with an alcohol stove

Aug 7, 2021
90
O'day 28 Casco Bay
Hello. I'm starting to spend more nights and cooking on the boat in preparation for doing some short cruises next summer. My Origo alcohol stove works fine for the type of cooking I intend to do. However, I would like to make toast and the $8 amazon wire pyramid style camp toaster is totally ineffective. I believe this is because alcohol stoves do not put out much in the way of radiant heat. Does anyone have any experience with different types that will work better with an alcohol stove?
 
Jan 11, 2014
11,926
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
We have "grill top frying pan." This is designed to sit on a propane grill to cook vegetables, shrimp and other things that will fall through the grate. It works pretty well on a propane stove. Given enough time to heat up, it should work on an Alcohol stove. Something like this one from Amazon.

You could also make toast on a propane grill, like one from Magma. You can also cook other foods on the grill, just like home.
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,860
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
On our Origo, I used a FORK. Just hold the bread (horizontally - flat) over the flame. Pretend you're camping. I continue to be amazed at some of these "How do I tie my shoelaces, do I put the socks on first?" questions here on sbo. Always fun though. :)
 
Jan 4, 2006
6,757
Hunter 310 West Vancouver, B.C.
I continue to be amazed at some of these "How do I tie my shoelaces, do I put the socks on first?"
Nooooooooooooooooooooo. Get velcro shoes. Also good if each shoe has a big TGIF (toe goes in first) sticker on the toe.

But getting back to toast, we have propane but always found that a sheet of aluminum foil placed shiny side in helps to reflect the radiant heat back towards the bread. I don't know if the alcohol flame has enough heat to do that.
 

JBP-PA

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Apr 29, 2022
435
Jeanneau Tonic 23 Erie, PA
A telescoping marshmallow fork works well. It's flat so it doesn't warp your toast. When collapsed it's short enough to use in the cabin and yet not burn your fingers.

A carving fork was my mom's favorite for decades because it's long enough and quite sturdy.

Table forks are too short and the tines are too close together, but it'll work in a pinch.

You can toast bread dry in a pan, but I find it takes forever on alcohol and it gets the pan frightfully hot so that I worry about damaging it. Using butter, oil, or mayonnaise works much better but of course alters the taste.

Open style toaster gadgets work better than closed ones. I have this one which works OK if I want two pieces and don't want to fork them up.

The solid plate ones never worked well for me.
 
Jan 7, 2011
5,035
Oday 322 East Chicago, IN
Soak the bread in alcohol and light it? Maybe not.

I have used the wire pyramid one but collapsed it and just laid the bread over the burner. Sort of like the fork idea, but I didn’t have to hold it the hole time.

Greg
 
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jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
7,081
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
For years I have been thinking of designing a gas toaster - one you could connect to your propane supply, or use with a screw-on one pound propane bottle. As it is, I have to run the engine to make toast, as the toaster plugged into the AC via the inverter would take too much out of my house batteries. A pain.
 
Mar 20, 2015
3,132
C&C 30 Mk1 Winnipeg
the $8 amazon wire pyramid style camp toaster is totally ineffective.
Years ago we had a pyramid style that, unlike the cheap wire ones, have metal sides like a chimney. I wonder if that would work better by containing/funneling the heat better ?

On our previous boat, I used a round perforated plate with a handle that was meant as a flame diffuser.
Bought it for the origo as a diffuser and discovered it worked as a toaster.

We also found that a metal ring did a great job in speeding up boiling water etc. I made one out of sheet metal, similar to the one we used when backpacking in windy conditions. Wind not a concern but it concentrated the heat in a smaller area

"How do I tie my shoelaces, do I put the socks on first?"
Good question..

There is a TED talk that explains we have been doing it wrong.:

Socks over shoes can apparently be helpful in a crime scene.

:beer:

it’s also good for crème broiler.
Now that's a sailor after my heart. Quality boat food and multi use.
(Regardless of the bad speelling):biggrin:
 
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Feb 26, 2004
22,860
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Good question..

There is a TED talk that explains we have been doing it wrong.:
Thx for that. One of the other things I learned over the years is that shoelaces should be a reef (or square) knot not a granny knot. Accordingly, I don't do the "thru the loop" method, but rather make loops of both ends (after the first single one) and tie it as if I was making a reef knot on something on the boat. It lays sideways that way, too.