If you own a wood-burning stove, you may be wondering if you can use it for cooking. The answer is yes! A wood-burning stove is a great way to extend your cooking options. Not only does it add a touch of rustic charm, but it can also be used to cook up some delicious meals. In this blog post, we’ll share everything you need to know about wood-burning stove cooking, from what type of equipment to buy to what kinds of recipes are best suited for this method of cooking.
Wood-burning stove cooking tips
Here are a few tips to help you start cooking on your wood-burning stove:
– Keep a close eye on the stove while it’s in use, and never leave it unattended.
– Make sure the area around the stove is clear of flammable materials, such as curtains or furniture.
– Use heavy-duty cookware that will conduct heat evenly.
– Keep an eye on the food as it’s cooking, as the wood-burning stove can fluctuate in temperature.
Finally, as always, use dry, well-seasoned wood. Wet wood produces smoke and creosote buildup in your chimney, which can cause a dangerous fire.
Wood-burning stove cooking
It’s important to use heavy-duty cookware that will conduct heat evenly – think Le Creuset, Crane or similar. A cast iron Dutch oven is a wonderfully versatile option and perfect for many recipes including the ones below!
There will be some trial and error required when testing out recipes to get timings spot on. Also, it’s important to remember to keep an eye on the food as it’s cooking, as the wood-burning stove can fluctuate in temperature. We recommend using a stove pipe thermometer to help your accuracy.
What is a wood-burning stove cooking plate?
A wood-burning stove cooking plate is a metal plate that sits on top of the wood-burning stove. It helps to distribute heat evenly, reduce stove wear and tear and provides stability for pots and pans.
A Charnwood cooking plate is a cast iron plate that has conduction fins on the underside and can replace the blanking plate on a standard Charnwood stove.
The cooking plate is ideal for stoves installed into open-plan living areas where the boundaries of cooking, dining and lounging are merged. The set includes four cast iron trivets for versatility when cooking and the plate is available in two sizes; five or six inch outlet diameters to suit most Charnwood models in addition to the Island II.
Please note: the stove will need to be installed using the rear outlet to allow the cooking plate to be fitted on the stove top.
How to use a wood-burning stove toasting fork?
A wood-burning stove toasting fork is a long, metal fork that is used to toast bread with a wood-burning stove. The Charnwood toasting fork is a neat, highly effective stove accessory designed for use on all our models. The British-made fork and holder are made from stainless steel with a turned beech handle.
The magnetic holder suspends the fork in front of the glass, toasting bread, muffins or crumpets perfectly. The bread will start to toast quickly, so be sure to keep an eye on it. Once it’s done, simply remove from the fork and enjoy!
What kinds of recipes can I make with a wood-burning stove?
Just about anything! A wood-burning stove is a versatile cooking tool that can be used to make all sorts of dishes. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that wood-burning stoves take longer to heat up than other types of stoves (such as gas or electric). That means you’ll want to choose recipes that don’t require high heat or that can simmer for long periods of time without burning. Some great examples include stews, soups, chili, pot roast, and casseroles.
You can toast bread to go with it on your toasting fork!
Bonus super simple jacket potato recipe:
Prick some potatoes and wrap them in foil. Then carefully place in the embers of your fire (wear stove gloves). They take approximately an hour to cook depending on the size of the potato.
It is safe to cook with your wood-burning stove, however, please take care and do so at your own risk.
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Cooking delicious meals while heating your home is one of the great things about owning a Charnwood wood-burning stove. With a little bit of practice, you’ll be an expert at wood-burning stove cooking in no time!
Where to buy?
As well as excellent after-care, by purchasing through an official Charnwood stockist you will qualify for our dealer-backed 10-year guarantee.
latest cutting-edge equipment and exceptional craftsmanship. In this blog, we will share with you some of the processes involved in making a Charnwood Stove from our UK-based factory on the Isle of Wight.
Metal fabrication
To create a high-performing and durable stove, we select the best of British sheet steel as the base metal substrate. The steel meets BS EN 10209 standards.
Laser cutting the steel
Our high-tech laser cutter is then used to produce accurately shaped component parts. The tolerance of this system is 0.2 mm with the ability to cut materials from 0.5mm up to 25 mm in thickness. This level of accuracy allows us to achieve sleek finishing touches on even the smallest details.
Shaping the metal
The stove’s body panels are formed to the required shapes and sizes with just a 2mm margin of error.
Welding the metal
Our welding process involves cutting-edge robotics as well as our extremely experienced and skilled team members, who have a combined 50 years of experience in the manufacturing industry.
Refining components
Smaller components receive finishing touches by hand.
Spraying high-temperature stove paint
After rinsing and neutralising the metal, our skilled team uses a spray gun to apply even coats of our specially formulated high-temperature stove paint. In addition to the standard Charnwood Black, we also offer you a choice of seven other beautiful shades.
Drilling & Assembly
After the drilling is complete, we move on to assembly. We carefully put all the pieces together, making sure that everything is aligned correctly and functioning optimally. Once the stove is assembled, we conduct a series of tests to ensure that it meets our high standards.
Packing & Shipping
Each stove is signed off by one of our experts before being processed for shipping. We continue to look for ways to reduce excess packaging while aiming to use environmentally friendly materials and encouraging reuse where possible. You can read more here.
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We take great pride in the products we produce at Charnwood. That’s why every one of our wood-burning stoves is handcrafted with care and precision. We hope that this behind-the-scenes look at how we make our stoves has given you a better understanding of the love, care and attention that goes into every Charnwood Stove.
If you are interested in finding out more, we highly recommend contacting an official Charnwood stockist.
Our favourite time of the year is fast approaching! For some it’s watching ELF, others their first advent calendar window, for us the festive season kicks off at the Ideal Home Show Christmas event! From the 23–27 November at Olympia London, this wonderful Christmas shopping extravaganza provides everything you need to prepare your home for the festive season.
You can browse and shop from hundreds of brands across 4 Christmas themed show sections; Gifts, Pets, Home and Decorations. There’s live entertainment, expert demos, celebrity chefs, and thousands of festive gift, home and food ideas that will leave you feeling festive and ready for the season ahead!
Christmas Past (2021)
Last year a Charnwood ‘Bembridge’ wood-burning stove took centre stage in Good Homes Magazines ‘Updated Heritage’ roomset. The team also gave a talk on the Interiors Stage discussing all the latest Charnwood developments as well as the introduction of EcoDesign regulations. It was wonderful to meet so many of you to chat and answer your questions.
Good Homes Christmas Roomsets
The Good Homes style team return with 4 beautiful roomsets each with their own distinctive decorating scheme. Created in association with Next Home, they are called Scandi Luxe, Arctic Shimmer, Winter Berry and Woodland Jewel.
It’s a showcase that delivers for a range of tastes, each providing inspiration to help you fill your home with festive spirit in line with the latest trends. A Charnwood Island I and Aire 5 were selected for two roomsets and the sneak peek photos below indicate a perfect setting for the warmth of a Charnwood wood-burning stove.
Arctic Shimmer x Charnwood Island I
Photo: Next Home
A Charnwood Island I will feature in a serene Arctic Shimmer roomset with winter whites, soft greys and sparkling silver alongside a host of tactile materials.
The Island I is the smallest stove in the Island collection, delivering an output of 2-7kW of heat. Its uncomplicated looks and gentle curves ensure it sits well in any situation, be it modern or traditional. This stove meets Clean Air Act requirements with excellent efficiency of over 85% and an extremely low smoke particle level of 9mg/m3 (the Ecodesign limit is 40mg/m3).
Woodland Jewel x Charnwood Aire 5
Photo: Next Home
A Charnwood Aire 5 has been chosen to feature in the elegant Woodland Jewel roomset. Comprised of rich colours from dark evergreen hues to on-trend amber paired with tortoiseshell accessories and sumptuous soft furnishings.
The Charnwood’s iconic Aire 5 wood burning stove has been designed to maximise the view of the fire. The minimal styling of the Aire 5 fits comfortably into virtually any fireside situation whether it be freestanding or within a traditional fireplace. The stove delivers a comfortable 2-5kW of heat to the room with a crystal clear burn – a wonderful focal point for the room.
The Aire 5 incorporates Charnwood’s unique BLU burning technology. Not only a vast improvement on the new 2022 Ecodesign standards, BLU also meets with Defra exemption limits; allowing wood to be burnt cleanly and safely in smoke control areas.
Vlaze Hearths
Vlaze Hearths will be used to create a clean, modern platform on which to stand our stoves. Vlaze is our sister company and are experts in using porcelain enamel for the living environment and creating luxury fireside products.
The smooth gloss surface finish is heat and fire-resistant, easy to clean and available in a wide range of colours & designer finishes. The hearth plates are available in 5 sizes to suit most stoves and boast a 12mm depth conforming to UK building regulations for non-constructional hearths.
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As with Vlaze, the quality of Charnwood Stoves can only be fully appreciated in person. To book your tickets and discover a world of festive delights click here – we hope to see you there!
If you can’t make it to the Ideal Home Show Christmas, then we recommend searching for your local official Charnwood stockist here.
This blog is a review and closer look at the results of the Charnwood Stove Accessory Survey 2022. A survey of over 1000 wood-burning stove users with the aim of better understanding stove accessory preferences and usage.
We were delighted to receive such an incredible response from our engaged wood-stove community. From discovering the most popular stove accessory to users’ other must-haves and how easy people find them to use – many interesting and useful insights were gained!
Read on to learn about the Charnwood Stove Accessory Survey and the other top wood-burning stove accessories!
The results
A woodstove is a wonderful addition to the home. Those of you who are new owners will be starting to notice how much more you are enjoying the colder evenings than before. What you will also notice is the ritual of building and maintaining a fire is much easier with the right tools.
The answers to the following questions will provide some ideas about which stove accessories you should consider next!
What is the most popular wood-burning stove accessory?
The results in the graph above show that the trusty Stove Pipe Thermometer is the most popular wood-burning stove accessory with 29% of the vote. 99% of respondents also found it easy to use.
Stove Pipe Thermometer
It’s perhaps no surprise that the trusty Stove (Flue) Pipe Thermometer is the favourite accessory of stove users. It is a crucial tool for conscientious wood stove users who prioritise safety and efficiency.
The ideal wood burning temperature range is between 140 and 240 degrees Celsius (284 to 464 degrees Fahrenheit) which avoids damage to the stove and a potential fire hazard from creosote buildup.
How to adjust the fire temperature?
To reach a sufficient temperature, ensure a good draft, use seasoned wood and build the fire correctly ensuring your fire burns hot enough. To reduce the temperature of your fire when in use, you can close the air vents.
Which of the following do you consider ‘Must Have’ stove accessories?
Here are some quotes from survey participants relating to the top 7 ‘Must-Have’ stove accessories.
Log Storage/Basket
“Having a full wood basket during these crazy days makes me feel safe and secure, whatever happens I know I have heat and hot water and light.”
“Keeps all the logs tidy and looks great beside the stove. Also useful for carrying in logs from the store outside!”
“Add to the aesthetics of the fireplace and is obviously useful for keeping wood supplies topped up.”
“It reminds me of my grandparents’ days as they always had one. It also keeps all my logs safe and tidy away from the children.”
“A good quality basket enhances the look of the stove as well as being practical.”
“My log basket really enhances both the look and the “feel” of my log burner.”
“Keeps my living room very tidy. Really neat and elegant looking item. Sturdy and robust”
“Looks great and saves having to leave the room/ go outside for logs.”
“It adds to the ambient feeling of the room when partially or fully loaded but I suppose more importantly it stops me from having to pop outside too frequently to get more logs, thus letting me enjoy the fire uninterrupted.”
“It saves us fighting about who is going to get more logs when it’s cold!”
For a full range of log holder storage click here!
Stove Pipe Thermometer
“Ensures I always know the temperature my stove is at as to whether I need to add more fuel or calm it down.”
“Makes it so much easier to see if my fire is working at optimum temperature and if I need to adjust amount of wood/air flow.”
“Because it allows us to check whether we are burning at too hot a temperature or too cool. We use both hardwood and softwoods so it would be difficult to know without this vital tool.”
“It means that I always burn my logs in the most economical and environmentally friendly way.”
“I hadn’t realised just how hot the stove gets at full output making this an essential piece of it when topping it up with firewood.”
“It allows me to regulate my stove temperature to maximise the life of the stove and have efficient burning of my wood”
“Ensures the fire is hot enough to keep down the accumulation of creosote. Wouldn’t be without it!”
“I constantly use it to check that the stove is burning in its optimum range for efficiency and to prevent damage and tarring.”
“Invaluable, the little thermometer lets me know when the fire is at optimal temperature and I can then maintain that temperature throughout operation. Probably helps conserve wood too, a great bit of kit.”
“Just gives you so much information in regards to heat output from different fuel types, different wood species, hard woods, softer woods. It really allows you to dial in the stove to get the best from it.”
“This provides us with an idea of how well the stove is burning. For example, over the last two years we have been testing wood purchased from sellers and our own seasoned wood and the stove pipe thermometer gives us a real measure of the heat output (even though most of the time, we can tell the difference ourselves based on how nice the room feels). It also helps us regulate the flu for optimal burn. We learned a lot using the stove pipe thermometer about our stove and the wood we burn.”
“It reassures me that I have the right burn, low emissions and great heat output.”
“As an engineer I love indisputable visual indication of when things are operating correctly! Such a simple device and has definitely altered how we ‘set’ our stove.”
You can get a Charnwood Stove Pipe Thermometer here!
Stove Gloves
“Without them it would be very difficult and dangerous to use the burner”
“Only burn your fingers once to realise they are useful!!!”
“Provides confidence in 100% protection when refueling the stove.”
“Really effective and protects hands while loading logs”
“Just love them, total safety when loading the stove”
“Because it stops me blistering my hands.”
“Offers safety when handling logs, opening & closing stove and promotes attention to avoiding burns.”
“Makes me feel safe when stove has become very hot”
“They just make life so much easier handling logs and placing logs in the stove. No splinters or burns!”
Watch this space – Charnwood stove gloves are on the way!
Dustpan & Brush
“It makes emptying the stove so much easier and cleaner, the house is relatively dust free after clearing.”
“It helps to keep the room relatively dust free”
“Keeping the hearth clean and tidy stops ash and debris, from the stove and wood pile underneath it, from spreading to the floor and messing up the room.”
“Whenever the stove is used it is necessary to clean up small amounts of ash that fall out. The brush and pan are thus used very frequently.”
“The dustpan & brush makes removing the Ash so much easier, our charnwood is used every day from October to February so we collect a lot of Ash which we use as compost. We have other accessories but they don’t see as much use as the pan & brush.”
Poker
“An absolute must have accessory to reposition burning logs and coal.”
“Can re-arrange wood in the stove when going, safely.”
“Brilliant for getting fire going”
“I like poking the fire! Breaking it down to a bed of hot burning wood so I can get more fuel in!”
“I can poke the logs to get maximum burn.”
“Great to look at, well made and does the job perfectly.”
“You can move the logs about to create space and so regulate heat a bit better.”
“It’s so satisfying prodding at red hot embers on a freezing cold evening and feeling the heat on your face”.
“Great quality and have stood the test of time with good amount of use. Quality product.”
“We have a wrought-iron poker made by a friend from years ago..handle in the shape of a hare’s head..love it, wasn’t cheap but a real beauty.”
“Simple basic tool allowing rearranging of fuel to ensure even burning and helping keep glass door clean.”
“Get the fire going. Can push the logs back into the fire so they burn probably.”
“Easy to use. Metal. Compact. Stops dust flying around. Carry handle is useful.”
“Great 4 carrying ashes out on a windy day.”
“Ease of use in keeping ash contained and not flying all over the place.”
“Allows dust free disposal of ash.”
“I have two Charnwood stoves. One has the ash bin/carrier and the other doesn’t. It’s SO difficult to get the ash out of the stove that doesn’t have the ash bin/carrier.”
“It is a safe and clean way of dealing with the only downside to a log burner, the ash.”
“Ease of emptying.”
“Makes it easy to empty ashes no fear of dropping them all over the floor.”
“Makes it more convenient to remove ash over several days without having to fill smaller bin bags thus reducing plastic waste.”
“Easy to use with minimal dust released when moving around can hold at least 1 month’ worth of ash.”
“Simplifies the worst job – cleaning out the ashes and getting them to the bin without being covered in ash from head to foot in a gust of wind. Neat to store, fits the ashcan perfectly and contains the dust when you tip the ashes in.”
Surprisingly only 23% of those surveyed own a moisture meter. We consider a moisture meter a must-have stove accessory to ensure wood is properly seasoned before burning and we urge you to get one!
It is very important to only burn wood with a moisture content of 20% or less. This will keep harmful emissions to a minimum and significantly improve efficiency, while protecting your stove and chimney – saving you money!
Look out for the Woodsure Ready to Burn label which guarantees a moisture content of 20% or less.
For a list of approved firewood sellers in your area click here.
Here are what some moisture meter owners had to say:
“I know I’m complying with byelaws and also prolonging the life of my Island 2 stove”
“Because I like to know that the logs I’m burning are dry and safe to use”
“Allows us to keep the stove clean by making sure we only burn the driest wood”
“This plus thermometer can’t really be replicated using non specialist tools.”
“It means I know when I can burn the wood that I’ve collected myself from the neighbourhood.”
“Vital for the whole seasoning process.”
“Especially Important given that the cost of kiln dried logs has doubled compared to this time last year!”
“I know I’m complying with byelaws and also prolonging the life of my Island 2 stove”
“Because it saves me burning wood which is too wet. Genuinely get a buzz when I ‘detect’ anything too moist on my meter!”
If you are seasoning your own wood, make sure you test it with a moisture meter before burning. You can get yours here.
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As you can see, there are a whole host of useful stove accessories that will enhance your wood-burning stove experience. For more information on all the stove accessories available, click here.
Finally, thank you to everyone who took part in the survey!
