What’s the best problem you’ll come up in opposition to on a tenting journey?
If you ask me, retaining your meals recent and chilly is certainly a high contender. When tenting out within the sizzling summer time solar, perishable meals can spoil tremendous shortly for those who’re not cautious.
Don’t fear although, there are many methods you possibly can keep away from this situation.
In this text, we’ll share 13 nice suggestions that’ll let you know precisely hold meals chilly whereas tenting. We’ve additionally included some security recommendation, to be sure to don’t find yourself with meals poisoning in your journey.
Let’s get straight into it.
Cooler Strategies and Preparation
You may suppose that retaining your meals chilly is so simple as retaining it in a cooler. It could be, however in sure circumstances, like when it’s actually sizzling out, it won’t be sufficient.
Your ice (particularly if it’s the gasoline station selection) might soften very quickly in any respect. Once that occurs, it received’t be lengthy earlier than micro organism begin to take over. Rotten meat, anybody?
To hold this from occurring, you’ll wish to take some additional measures to make sure your meals stays recent for so long as doable.
Get Yourself A Good Cooler (Or Two)
First and foremost, I undoubtedly advocate investing in an excellent high quality cooler.
Better but, spend money on 2 coolers. Having one on your meals and one other on your drinks is the best way to go, however extra on that additional down.
You’ve mainly acquired 4 choices relating to coolers:
These are listed from the least, to the best.
Of course, fancy electrical coolers aren’t usually finances pleasant.
Fiberglass and metal coolers will do a wonderful job at retaining your meals recent for as much as 3 days. Be warned, nonetheless, that they’re fairly heavy.
Styrofoam coolers aren’t as efficient, however they’re significantly better relating to portability. If you go for a styrofoam cooler, ensure that it’s a top quality one with good insulation.
Chill Your Cooler Before You Head Off
If you’ve acquired a big sufficient freezer, it’s a good suggestion to pop your cooler in there for just a few hours earlier than you’re taking off in your tenting journey.
Chilling the cooler will enhance the time it takes your ice to soften by fairly a bit. This will hold your meals recent and chilly for longer.
Pack Your Cooler Wisely
This one ties in with the earlier tip.
Packing your cooler correctly means you received’t must open it as typically. When you do must open it, you’ll know the place the whole lot is right away, so that you received’t must hold it open for lengthy.
Rummaging via your cooler looking for one thing is a good way to let sizzling air in, so that you undoubtedly wish to attempt to hold it to a minimal.
- Put your ice on the backside of the cooler.
- Next, stack your meat on high of the ice.
- If you have got sufficient area, add one other layer of ice over your meat.
- Dairy gadgets go subsequent
- Everything else ought to go on high.
Anything you’ll want incessantly needs to be on the high for straightforward entry.
One other thing you are able to do is fill any pockets of air with ice packs. This will assist regulate the temperature contained in the cooler, retaining the gadgets in direction of the highest simply as chilly as those on the backside.
Food Preparation Tips to Keep It Colder for Longer
Freeze Your Food Before You Go
A very nice solution to hold your meals recent for longer is freezing it earlier than your journey.
You can freeze the whole lot from meat to veggies, fruit and even complete pre-cooked meals. Your frozen meals may even hold the remainder of the contents of your cooler chilly for longer.
If nothing else, not less than freeze any uncooked meat you’re taking. Raw meat will go off unbelievably shortly within the warmth, and freezing it’s going to hold it recent for approach longer.
Pre-Cook Your Food
Another helpful tenting meals trick is to pre-cook your meals.
Cooked meat received’t spoil practically as shortly as uncooked meat will. This is as a result of while you cook dinner meals, you kill off loads of the micro organism that may trigger it to go unhealthy.
You may also pre-cook complete meals, so that every one you need to do is warmth them up on the campsite and also you’re good to go.
Need concepts? Here are some nice concepts of meals you possibly can deliver tenting.
Take Non-Perishable Backup Food
Finally, as with the whole lot in life, be sure to have a backup plan.
If something goes unsuitable and your meals finally ends up spoiling, the very last thing you need is to be left with nothing to eat. Going hungry is not any enjoyable, particularly after a day packed filled with tenting actions.
Luckily, there are many meals gadgets you possibly can take that don’t require refrigeration. So, ensure that to have loads of these available, simply in case issues go south.
Maximize Your Ice
Use Frozen Water Bottles
A fantastic various to ice packs are frozen water bottles.
The beauty of utilizing a frozen bottle is that when it thaws out, you’re left with a bottle of ingesting water.
Gotta love 2 in 1 options that save on area while you’re tenting.
Use Large Blocks Of Ice
If you do determine to make use of ice, ensure that to make use of giant blocks of strong ice, reasonably than free ice cubes.
The ice you possibly can choose up at your native gasoline station will soften approach too shortly.
Large blocks of ice will take for much longer to soften, retaining your meals recent for for much longer. Place them on the backside of your cooler, and stack your meals on high.
Use Ice Packs
When you employ regular ice in your cooler, it melts.
Melted ice will flip into a large puddle of water that may seep into your meals, turning it right into a soggy mess. It may also contaminate it, making your meals unsafe to eat.
You by no means know what sort of water was used to make the ice, until you made it your self. If it wasn’t pure (which, for those who purchased the ice, it in all probability wasn’t) you don’t need it moving into your meals.
One solution to get round that is by utilizing ice packs as an alternative.
You should purchase them, or you may make your personal ice pack by filling a freezer bag with water and rubbing alcohol at a ratio of two:1 and freezing it.
If you determine to purchase the ice packs, be sure to get good high quality ice packs. (Hint: a budget ones full of blue gel aren’t the very best.)
Try Evaporative Cooling
If you’ve acquired recent fruits and veggies, you possibly can truly hold them cool with out even utilizing a cooler.
How?
Evaporative cooling!
All you need to do is put your produce in a mesh bag (or some other porous materials), moist it and dangle it up within the shade. Just ensure that to maintain it moist by wetting the bag every time it dries out.
The breeze, together with the moist bag, will hold your fruits and veggies recent for days.
Note: this may solely work with fruit and veg – don’t try to make use of this technique to maintain meat recent.
Use Dry Ice
Sometimes determined instances name for determined measures. In the case of retaining your tenting meals chilly, determined measures means dry ice.
It’s not as simple to come back throughout, however dry ice is approach colder than common ice, and it takes approach longer to soften.
You may also use a dry ice pack. These will hold your meals recent and chilly for ages!
Keep in thoughts that dry ice is so chilly that it’ll truly freeze your meals and drinks. This is nice relating to retaining them recent and chilly for longer. But, it’s not so nice while you go to seize a chilly beer, solely to seek out it’s been become a beer popsicle.
Note: while you’re utilizing dry ice in a cooler, carbon dioxide will construct up inside because the ice melts. Be very cautious to not inhale an excessive amount of of it while you open your cooler, to keep away from carbon dioxide poisoning.
Throw In Some Salt
One of my favourite methods to have up your sleeve is salt.
Careful, although. With this one, timing is the whole lot.
Putting salt instantly onto your ice cubes will make them soften faster, so that you undoubtedly don’t wish to try this.
What you must do is wait till the ice begins melting, after which add salt. This will make the melted water colder than the ice itself.
Amazing, proper?
Don’t overdo it, although. Half a handful of salt is greater than sufficient for a big cooler.
Some Additional Tips to Keep Your Food Cold
Keep Your Cooler In The Shade
One simpler solution to hold your meals chilly for longer is ensuring to maintain your cooler within the shade.
Just guarantee that because the day goes on, your cooler stays in a shady spot always. As the solar strikes throughout the sky, the shade supplied by the bushes round additionally, you will shift. Move your cooler as wanted, to maintain it within the shade.
If you’re tenting someplace the place there’s sand, just like the seaside or desert, it’s also possible to bury your cooler within the sand. This will do an excellent job at defending it and retaining your contents cool, even when there isn’t any shade round.
Avoid Opening Your Cooler Too Often
So, once I mentioned you must get 2 coolers, that is what I used to be speaking about.
Even if 1 cooler is large enough to suit the whole lot you’re taking, it’s nonetheless higher to have 2. If you’ve acquired your entire meals and drinks in a single cooler, likelihood is you’ll be opening it approach too typically.
Opening your cooler each time somebody needs a drink will make your ice soften so much faster than it could if the cooler had been left closed.
This isn’t a catastrophe if all you’ve acquired in there are drinks. If, however, you’ve additionally acquired meals in your cooler, you run the danger of your meals going unhealthy.
That’s why you must all the time hold your drinks in 1 cooler, and your meals in a separate cooler.
Use A Thermometer In Your Cooler
If you wish to be additional secure, you possibly can all the time use a thermometer inside your cooler, to maintain observe of the temperature.
If the temperature rises above 40°F, you’re within the hazard zone. As lengthy because it’s beneath 40°F, your meals will keep simply as recent and chilly as it could in your fridge at dwelling.
Food Safety Advice For Campers
Being capable of hold your meals chilly when you’re tenting is good, nevertheless it’s additionally actually necessary on your well being.
As I discussed, in case your meals goes off and also you don’t understand, you could possibly be a nasty case of meals poisoning. Not enjoyable wherever you might be, however particularly not for those who’re at a campsite.
So, what are you able to do to guarantee that doesn’t occur?
Well, following the information on this article can have you nicely on the best way. Still, there are a pair extra issues you must know to be on the secure aspect.
First off, it’s tremendous necessary that you know the way lengthy your meals might be anticipated to final.
For occasion, uncooked meat will solely final a few days, even when your cooler is stored ice chilly the whole time. Meat outdoors of the cooler, whether or not it’s uncooked or cooked, received’t be suitable for eating after the primary 2 hours.
Meat is certainly the riskiest, nevertheless it’s not the one factor that can provide you meals poisoning, so you need to be simply as cautious with different meals gadgets. You’ve acquired to look out for something that’s perishable, corresponding to dairy, in addition to fruits and veggies.
Some veggies are simply advantageous at room temperature. In truth, loads of veggies, corresponding to cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, needs to be stored out of the fridge anyway.
Other veggies, corresponding to leafy greens, mushrooms and zucchini ought to undoubtedly be stored chilly. Leaving them out for greater than a few hours isn’t a good suggestion.
Make positive to completely wash your entire fruits and veggies with clear water earlier than you eat them.
Remember that your cooler needs to be stored at a temperature beneath 40°F always. Anything above that’s heat sufficient for micro organism development.
It’s a good suggestion to separate your ice from the remainder of the cooler’s contents. You can do that by placing it in a sealed plastic bag. Or, higher but, double wrap it.
While we’re on the subject of double wrapping, I’d additionally advocate you double wrap any meat that’s in your cooler, to keep away from cross contamination.
Wrapping It Up
Now, to wrap issues up. I imply the article, however sure, your meals as nicely.
As you possibly can see, retaining your meals recent and chilly whereas tenting isn’t as exhausting because it may appear.
You don’t want any fancy, cutting-edge gear. All you want is an effective cooler and some methods underneath your belt to get probably the most out of it.
Food poisoning is not any joke, so I usually persist with the rule: when doubtful, throw it out. It’s all the time higher to be secure than sorry.