Are you looking for tips on how to keep your food cold while camping? Are you worried about eating poisoning food accidentally while camping? Situations can be worse. But don’t worry at all. Below, we have featured the top 10 best tips to keep food cold while camping. Camping is full of fun and enjoyable and making the camping trip really successful is the dream of all campers.
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How to Store Food while Camping
Our team has a vast camping experience. Based on our experience and research, below we have listed the best tips to keep your food cold at the camping site. Moreover, some of the below-listed tips will also help a lot while fishing and at family outdoor meet-ups. These tips will help you a lot. We recommend campers to give a complete reading to the below article in order to get detailed and accurate information.
No one wants to get sick or suffer from food poisoning. While on a camping ground, the chance of food poisoning becomes a lot due to food contamination. Therefore, follow the below tips to keep your food cold while on a camping site.
10 Ways to Keep Food Cold While Camping
1. Invest in a Top Quality Cooler
The best and most working way is by investing in a top-quality cooler. As we all know that the more you can invest in the best quality product the more you will get. The same rule follows with the cooler. Actually, the expensive coolers have thicker walls and they offer great insulation than ordinary coolers in order to prevent the ice from melting.
I use a YETI Tundra Cooler when camping. I also don’t promote to pick much perishable food to the camping site. But, it keeps some of my food really eatable. The ice inside the YETI Tundra Cooler stays solid for around three days. If you don’t want to invest in an expensive cooler then follow below listed next tips.
2. Freeze the Food In Advance
Think about the airplane food. Frozen? Airlines use this method to keep the food fresh and transport them while on a flight. The better practice you can follow is to cook your food at home then freeze them. Once, you are on the camping site and feeling hungry. Simply reheat the food over the campfire and enjoy the meal. This method will prevent your food from contamination.
Therefore, we can say that freezing vegetables and meats allows us to store them longer on the campsite. If your plan is to pick up food from the grocery store while on the way then select products from the frozen foods instead of fresh items.
3. Make Ice Packs at Home
You can make some reliable ice packs at your home. All the required ingredients are usually found in the homes. For a rigid ice pack, simply soak sponges in water then throw them in the freezer. Freezing dish soap in a Ziploc bag is another best flexible ice pack option. You can also add alcohol/ salt to your ice pack liquid mixture if you want to lower the freezing point of water.
4. Smartly Organising the Cooler
For a smart camper, the cooler must be organized smartly. The thumb rule with cooler is the less empty space, the longer your cooler will stay cold or pack your cooler tightly. The best way to organize the cooler is by beginning with the bottom layer of ice. In the next layer, place the frozen food. The third layer must be ice.
Now, place the remaining items on the top. You can fill the gaps by sprinkling some ice cubes. The best way is to place the food at the top that you will eat first. Therefore, your frozen food and ice inside the cooler will do not get much in contact with the warm air.
5. Evaporative Cooling For Produce
The best way to keep produce fresh at the camping place is by using the evaporative cooling technique. This is a very beneficial practice for those who don’t want to invest in any refrigeration equipment. The evaporative cooling technique will keep your vegetables and fruits last days on end.
You can create one by adding the product in a porous sack like mesh. Now, completely wet the entire bag. Next, hang it in a shady area with a breeze. Once the sack dries, wet it again. Basically, you will need to repeat it around three times a day. Some campers also dig a hole in the ground in order to place the produce. But, I don’t recommend doing it because of insects at the ground level.
6. Don’t Carry Perishable Foods
Never bring very much perishable food at the camping site. Milk becomes un-drinkable without refrigeration. Thanks to the alternative foods that you can carry at the camping place without worries. summer sausage or beef jerky is good for the meat category. Cheddar and gouda are firm cheese options for camping sites. Make sure to drink water a lot because firm cheese and dried meats are highly sodium packed products. You can also bring wine and crackers. Avoid mozzarella cheese.
7. Use a Separate Cooler for Drinks
The best way to keep your food cold while camping is by using a separate cooler for drinks. Why? Because the drink cooler will be opened frequently in comparison with a food cooler. Therefore, using a separate cooler for drinks can prevent your food from getting in touch with warmer air and it will also prevent ice melting. If you have a large chest freezer in your home then you can also make your coolers really cool as a headstart before leaving for a camping place.
8. Freeze 85% of Your Water
It may be alluring to carry ice from a gas station on your way but remember melting ice can also contaminate your food. You can replace it with frozen water bottles. You can freeze 85% of your water inside water bottles. Don’t freeze all of your water. Remain the 10% water drinkable at any time. It will be a good option in case of an emergency. These frozen bottles will perform as a temporary ice pack. Once they melt, you can drink the water.
9. Keep the Cooler in Shady Area
When you arrived at the camping site then don’t forget to place the cooler in the shady area. The direct sunlight will heat up your car. While on the road to the camping site. You can place a sheet of a blanket over the cooler as an extra layer to avoid excess radiation from the sun.
10. Always Carry Backup
Backup is what you need if everything fails. This is the life we exactly don’t know what will happen in the next seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, years, and so on. A responsible person always carries a backup in order to overcome if anything happens wrong. Make sure to carry plenty of water food that will not spoil. You must carry a water filter to the camping site.
Conclusion
Above, we have briefly discussed the top 10 best tips that you can follow to keep your food cold while camping. Healthy food is an essential part of our life and we must always avoid eating contaminated food. While on a camping trip, keeping the food eatable is a challenging task but all thanks to the above-featured tips that will help you a lot. Comment below your thoughts. Stay tuned for more informative guides on camping.