Having fresh healthy food along while camping is essential. Doing so without a cooler can be a complex job. What can be done in such a case will be the topic of discussion of this article.
When planning for your camping trip you need to consider the fact that you will be there for a long duration without a fridge. You should be well aware of the weather of that place so you can make some wise decisions accordingly.
Here are some useful tips for keeping food fresh for long without a refrigerator
How to keep food cold & fresh when camping?
1. Ditching the sun
Sun makes food go stale pretty quickly. Make sure you place your food in a cool container with ice. Keep that cooling container in the shade.
Some people prefer to keep their cooling boxes in the car to avoid direct sunlight. You can take some necessary food items with you and leave the rest in the car.
During the winter season, however, you won’t have to worry much about the heat. You could easily keep the container out in open.
2. Freezing in advance
Freeze all your fruits and vegetables in advance so they will stay colder for longer. Even cracked eggs can be frozen for later use. Freezing in advance means the food items will take longer to defrost when taken out of the cold.
3. Use frozen water bottles
Putting frozen water bottles into the cooling container along with the food packets is a much safer idea. You can have fresh drinking water out of these bottles once melted.
Using ice is now obsolete cause it can contaminate the food and it melts pretty fast. Once melted it will be of no use for you. Frozen water bottles need much less space and work exceptionally well.
4. Use freezing packs
Ice packs are used for keeping your food items cold without creating a mess in the container. The large ice packs can be reused and are made from hazard-free material. This won’t affect the quality of your food.
These ice packs can provide cooling for up to 48 hours. This is a considerably longer duration compared to ice cubes. They are also more economical than ice cubes.
5. A big no to perishable food
Packing perishable meals for your camping trip is a big no. fresh meat and dairy items need to be stored properly. If not they can go bad pretty quickly.
You can skip your protein for a few days when going on a trip. If you still need protein in your daily diet, you can opt for some summer sausages as a protein source.
Soft cheese also needs to be taken special care of. When planning a long journey prefer bringing aged cheese like cheddar one.
If you have packed firm cheese and dried meat for your trip then don’t forget to keep hydrated as they are rich in sodium so your body electrolyte balance can get upset.
6. Buy a car fridge
How to keep food fresh while traveling? It is not always easy to keep your food fresh and frozen throughout the journey. Especially if the weather conditions are hard you will be facing a hard time.
Buying a car fridge can be great ease. Use your car battery to power your fridge and keep your food frozen.
These car refrigerators have also a USB port that can be used for charging your phone or other devices. The car fridge although small yet can keep the items cold for up to 10 hours even if the power supply is disconnected.
7. Don’t open the cooling box often
Especially when traveling with kids it’s important to keep a check on them that they are not opening the cooling box lid again and again. This causes the cold gases to dissipate and thus makes your food go bad pretty quickly.
When the cold air gets lost the warm air gets into your cooling box. This warm air can then melt your ice. To prevent all these mishaps from occurring limit opening the container again and again.
8. Use rock salt
This is the favourite and most well-kept secret of campers. Salt lessens the water melting point. Melting water on becoming mixed with rock salt becomes colder than ice. This way your food with retain its coldness and thus will be eatable for a long period.
Be careful while doing so cause too much salt can affect the taste of your food. Adding too much salt onto your fruits and vegetables will make them uneatable for you.
9. Double wrap frozen meat
Double wrap your frozen meat so juices from it won’t contaminate other food items. Make sure the interior temperature doesn’t exceed 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
10. Use a separate cooler for water bottles
as water bottles will be frequently taken out of the container so it’s better to get a separate cooler for them. This will help prevent any effect on food items. As the water cooling container is opened multiple times so its ice will melt pretty quickly.
But don’t drain the cold water even if the ice melts. The cold water will keep your bottles cool. If there is space let the water stay in so it will keep your drinking water cold.
11. Skip the party ice
Party ice is used mostly due to its accessibility but it melts pretty quickly. This makes it uneconomical and inconvenient to use it food keeping food fresh for long. Use them only as a last-minute resort if you need to extend your food life.
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