On Wednesday, EcoFlow South Africa invited members of the media to an event where we were tasked with preparing the food we’d eat. Usually one arrives at these events with canapés being served on platters as folks who know far too much about technology and business shoot the breeze.

As part of the event, EcoFlow South Africa announced that it would be bringing the River 2 Pro to the local market. This is the step-up from the EcoFlow River 2 Max we reviewed earlier this year.

The event took place at The Cooking Kitchen in Parkwood, Johannesburg, and if you’re looking for a year-end corporate event, teambuilding or simply looking to learn to cook, we highly recommend you check it out.

The menu for the day was inspired by the foods of Mexico and the dessert was to be a Lemon Meringue pie which we took up the responsibility of creating. Importantly, everything in the kitchen from the microwaves to the blenders was powered by EcoFlow Delta 2 and River 2 Max power stations.

The recipe we followed is listed below, note this recipe contains raw egg yolk. There is a lot of debate about how safe this is but 24 hours after eating this pie we feel fine. Use pasteurised eggs and be sure to use freshly squeezed lemon juice to be extra safe.

Biscuit Base:

• 2 x 200g packets of Tennis Classic Coconut Biscuits,
• 2 x tablespoons butter, melted.

Filling:

• 1 x 385g tin of Sweetened Condensed Milk,
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed),
• 3 egg yolks (reserve the whites).

Meringue:

• Whites of three eggs,
• 1/4 castor sugar.

Recipe:

1. Crush the biscuits using a blender, food processor or simply take your aggression out on them after placing them in a bag and smashing them with a rolling pin or other heavy object. The biscuits should resemble sea sand.
2. Melt the butter and add it to the bowl of biscuit crumbs. When squeezed in your hand, the crumb and butter mixture should hold together. If more butter is needed, add a teaspoon at a time, a little goes a long way.
3. Transfer the butter and biscuit mixture into a pie pan or dish. To form a tight structure use a flat-bottomed glass to compress the mixture. Be sure to create the pie’s wall as well.
4. In a separate bowl add your condensed milk and eggs and mix together using a hand mixer. Add the fresh lemon juice a little at a time until all ingredients are well combined.
5. Transfer the filling mixture to the pie crust and smooth it out with a spatula.
6. Finally, in another bowl, use a hand mixer to whisk the egg whites. As you mix the whites add the castor sugar in two batches, ensuring the sugar is mixed through the egg whites. Whisk until stiff peaks are formed.
7. Dollop the egg white mixture on top of the filling. We recommend small dollops scattered on the surface as this makes it easier to spread. Once the filling is covered, tap and lift quickly but gently with a spoon to create small peaks across the top of the pie.
8. Using a blowtorch, brown the meringue topping to your liking.
9. Place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.

What we found most impressive was that the River 2 Max was able to power both an immersion blender as well a bullet-style blender throughout the session and only 10 percent of the battery was drained.

The EcoFlow Delta managed to power a microwave that was used to cook corn, melt our butter and more, with capacity to spare.

Granted, one has to check your appliances to make sure they fall within the EcoFlow’s maximum output. With just an EcoFlow Delta 2 though, you could cook yourself an entire meal while Eskom implements loadshedding.

However, if you’re looking for pure capacity and a maximum output of 2400W, we have to recommend Gizzu’s Hero Pro Portable power station. It doubles the capacity of the Delta 2 and it can power most appliances.

Both brands are great and both use lithium iron phosphate battery technology which can be cycled more times than lithium ion batteries. Perhaps most importantly, both brands are affordable given the peace of mind the offer for South Africans who can’t use a generator.