At 38* North, we do not attempt to use ours after US Thanksgiving. You are considerably farther north. There probably are some days we could use it, but with all the cloudiness, rain, and a little snow, we just have not attempted. But that Thanksgiving use has included cooking a turkey.

Why don't you slap together a cardboard and aluminum foil one to test out whether it might work for you? That is how we got into solar cooking in the first place. But be more responsible that us and don't leave out a cardboard appliance in the rain.

My parents experimented with solar cooking and drying during the summer, at a bit over 49 degrees north. It does work, at least in summer on sunny days. I don't know too much about the details of how well it worked, though. They did not seem to use it much.

good morning!

I've been using a solar cooker for many years now in Minneapolis--45 degrees north. I'd say the sun is high enough to use about 5 months of the year, especially if i wrap a down sleeping bag around it on the outlier months. For the record, I LOVE using it. In the deep summer, I can cook without heating the house (or using any energy). It's pretty easy to adapt to any slow cooker recipe, and I regularly bake bread. I probably use it 3-4 times a week during the proper season.

It does always make me cringe/laugh (never quite sure which), when I see a youtube video crowing "solar cooking in February". Inevitably when I go there, they're in somewhere like Missouri. The camera takes in trees with leaves and running water while the host proclaims 'how extremely cold it is today". Meanwhile I look at at my snow-covered ground that has been frozen solid since November, many times to minus 20-ish, and shake my head.....spring is still 3 months away...

Anyway, would love to discuss more!