How often have you heard the expression: “I’ll put the billy on the boil”? I lived in many English speaking countries but it didn’t take long to get used to Aussie lingo, here used to say “I’ll put the kettle on.” The billy is part of the Australian bush folklore so the name Billyboil is well suited as a metal container to bring food to a boil. Except it does much more.
Make yourself a cuppa and I’ll tell you its secrets.
A few months ago we discovered the Reduction Revolution website for products that make a significant reduction in energy consumption possible.
We ordered some LED downlights and fluro replacement units and were impressed by the high quality and very affordable products. They also have one of the best and honest websites I’ve come across to make choosing the right products very easy: great explanations in plain language and helpful hints.
So What Is the Billyboil?
Essentially, it is a vacuum insulated, stainless steel Thermal Cooker. Similar to a slow cooker or crockpot but with some major improvements.
Here’s a shortlist of the benefits of “slow cooking”:
• Lessen the chance of food burning or boiling-over
• Allow for better infusion of flavours
• Can save time with ‘one-pot’ style cooking
But all that time you need the gas or electricity flowing for the cooking process!
How about a thermal jacket that keeps the temperature high enough to continue cooking, thus saving heaps of energy?
Funny enough, it can also save you heaps of time if you’re not in a hurry! By that I mean, yes, you’ll have to wait a few hours for it to be ready but you can walk away from the cooking.
If you’re camping you can hunt your next meal or go fishing. Even if that takes you all day, the food will be still warm enough to eat!
Another couple of things I like about the Billyboil: it’s easy and safe to carry with no spillage.
Need an ice bucket for a picnic? Or did you just buy some ice-cream at Woolies and have a long drive home? The old slow cooker you still have from your mother won’t keep it cold. This unit will.
And lastly, you can use the Billyboil on any stove, induction and gas included. The 4.5L unit under review serves up to 8 people but there’s also a smaller version that holds 3 litres.
So far so good and once you figure out which way the handle needs to be positioned to open the lid -towards the back – you’re ready to cook. (yes, it’s written on the handle but in tiny letters and hard to notice).
Testing
We tried various types of meals such as risotto – chicken breast with rice and veg. This is one of the many slow cooker recipes you’ll find on the internet.
Easy if you have the right ingredients and easier if you have someone helping you out who knows what other ingredients would go with it and what sorts of herbs and spices. After covering the vegies, chicken and rice with ample water we brought the billy to the boil. And waited…
When you use frozen ingredients it takes a fair while for the broth to boil. Key is also to let it boil long enough to ensure the meat is well cooked. Hot from the stove the inner pot goes into the thermal pot and the lid closes securely by moving the handle to the front. Another waiting time begins…
Result after just a couple of hours was delicious. Of course, we made enough for another meal which we had 6 hours later. The temperature was still well above 60 degrees Celsius, hot enough for eating. And if you wanted to wait till the next day all you need to do is put the inner pot back on the stove for a few minutes…
So basically any slow cooker type of recipe would do better in the Billyboil.
On one occasion we made soup and had to take a car ride to deliver and eat it at my daughter’s place. The Billyboil is perfect to make it in, carry it safely without spilling and keep it warm.
Conclusion
There are many ways to cook in this modern age: microwave, sous-vide, Thermomix-style, BBQ, induction, camp fire, damper-style and so on.
The good old slow way has been re-invented with the Billyboil. Safe, convenient, very energy efficient, durable, non-messy, hot/cold functionality and value for money.
In fact, they are right now $70 off and yours for just a shade under 130 Aussie buckaroos.
I just have two words for the Billyboil: Highly Recommended!
We thank Reduction Revolution for providing us with the opportunity to test out the Billyboil, and you can look forward to seeing more of their product reviews on DRN. Check out their website here.
