Cooking in your caravan kitchen is as easy as pie, with expert guidance from John Sootheran

THE MODERN CARAVAN kitchen is quite something –a place where, with care, keen foodies can create all sorts of great culinary delights, dishes that will more than match almost anything you can do at home.

This is largely thanks to all of the cooker options a well-specified modern van now delivers: hob, oven and grill, and very often, a microwave. Those who camp on hook-up can also use air- or fat-fryers, electric grills, and a number of other devices.

Of course, with space restrictions for prep (and in the oven), you might need to do a bit more forward planning, but there’s no reason why you can’t provide a banquet from your humble tourer.

Ovens and grills

In modern UK caravans, most cookers are made by Thetford or Dometic, and come in duplex or triplex designs.

Duplex cookers feature an oven and grill, while the hob is a separate unit. Triplexes are an all-in-one hob, oven and grill.

Thetford’s popular range of duplex ovens and grills is designed for leisure vehicles and holiday homes, and powered by LPG.

Their gas igniters are multipoint piezo systems, so these Spinflo duplex units don’t need an electrical connection (we’ll look at piezo again shortly). These cookers have one burner in the oven and another in the grill. The Thetford Triplex has a combined oven and grill in one place.

Dometic, meanwhile, offers a smaller range of devices, generally considered to be at the more premium end of the market. This is reflected in the price, and they boast additional features, such as an oven light.

In some cookers, the igniter is a separate button; others have it built into each gas control knob. An electric spark is generated on each turn of the knob or press of the button, using a technology called piezo.

Piezo igniters, which don’t require an electrical power source, feature in all sorts of devices, from cigarette lighters to camping cookers. Piezo ignition relies on piezoelectricity, a charge that builds up in certain materials when they are subjected to a high-pressure impact. In igniters, the system comprises a small, spring-loaded hammer which, when the igniter button is pushed, strikes a quartz crystal or a piece of PZT (lead zirconate titanate) ceramic. This impact creates an instant high voltage, which produces a spark to light the gas.

Size matters

Keen cooks should check the size of the oven in any caravan they are considering. The average domestic oven has around a 60-litre capacity, while a typical caravan cooker, such as Thetford’s Caprice model, offers 36 litres.