A solar cooker in the form of a pot with double-walled body and lid configured to collectively constitute a near-hermetic thermal enclosure including a closed, solar radiation-absorbing and heat-retaining vessel surrounded by a vacuum insulation shield encased in a transparent peripheral jacket. The device intercepts solar energy omnidirectionally, and collects and retains it with sufficient efficiency to pasteurize water and cook food without resorting to outside reflectors, refractors, conductors, or insulators, thereby escaping from the dual requirements of solar concentration and orientation that universally govern the construction and operation of existing solar cookers. Freedom from these restrictions enables designs that are inexpensive, simple, compact, lightweight, sturdy, accessible, and applicable in varied geographic, climatic, economic, social, and culinary contexts.