How to Keep Food Cold While Camping
Thinking about what to do for food while camping? Here are a few things to keep in mind with food storage, especially, how to keep food cool.
Canned beans and instant noodles are an option for camping, but if you enjoy food you’ll probably want to bring some fresh ingredients. There’s no need to limit your options. Good food equals good mood.
With a few food storage tips, you’ll be ready to eat delicious meals surrounded by nature.
1. GET THE RIGHT COOLER FOR YOU
There is a cooler that is just right for you. A cooler is an investment that will prove useful over and over again.
A cooler with thicker walls and better insulation will keep your food colder longer but this extra insulation takes up space and generally costs more. If you’re only planning overnight trips, the most basic coolers will work fine. Some campgrounds have ice available for sale which is an option for keeping food cool longer. If you are planning long camping trips without easy access to ice, a high quality cooler is a worthwhile investment.
Find a cooler with a lid that works for you. Some coolers have cup holders in them while others are sturdy and can be used as a seat. If you do use your lid as a cup holder you may find yourself moving drinks frequently to get into your cooler. High quality coolers will typically have a rubber gasket on the inside of the lid to improve the seal and help keep the cold in.
The most common task performed with a cooler is opening and closing the lid. Find a latching mechanism that works for you to ensure the lid always gets closed. Basic coolers will have no latch or just a simple friction latch. These are easy to use with one hand but they don’t create a tight seal. Coolers with plastic or rubber latches seal better but take a little more effort to open and close.
Many coolers have a drain plug at the bottom. Drain plugs are useful on longer trips when more ice is being added or if you don’t like the idea of lifting a cooler full of water after camping. Remember, water and dirt creates mud so choose a good place to drain the cooler, maybe by a plant at the edge of camp.
Coolers come with wheels. Depending on the type of camping you’ll be doing, wheeled coolers may not provide much benefit. Wheels on coolers eat up some interior space and will shake up your carbonated beverages on the rough terrain of your campsite. At most car camping sites your vehicle will be nearby so it’ll be a short carry with the cooler. If you do want a wheeled cooler for camping there are companies that make coolers with air filled tires that will do much better over the rough terrain.
2. PACK YOUR COOLER WITH EXTRA THOUGHT
A little bit of planning and packing will go a long way to keeping your food cool and fresh during your camping trip. Here are a few tips for getting your cooler ready to go.
Plan ahead and put everything in the refrigerator a day before loading it into your cooler. Room temperature beverages take a lot of ice too cool. While you are in the refrigerator, get all of the camping items together on a shelf so you can make sure you get it all during packing.
Pack and load the cooler just before you are ready to leave.
The food that needs to stay the coldest should be at the bottom. That means any meat, dairy or other perishable items go in first. Make sure all of these items are well sealed so they don’t leak. If you are packing frozen food and need it to defrost then move it up to the top. Beverages are also a great first layer item to pack. When the bottom of the cooler is full, add ice and then more items on top.
If you have items packaged in cardboard or paper, plan on the packaging getting wet and not holding up. Pack these items on top or repackage into another container. Eggs in a paper carton are probably the most likely item to cause trouble. Wax coated cartons, think a half gallon of milk will typically hold up fine in the cooler. Liquid eggs in a carton are a nice camping hack.
If you want ice for drinks leave some in a sealed plastic bag to keep it clean and colder longer. Reusable silicon bags work great for this.
The less empty space you have in your cooler, the better. Each time the lid opens, cold air goes out, warm air goes in and a little bit of ice turns to water. When you have packed all of the food and drinks you plan to bring top the cooler off with ice.
3. THE COOLER AND YOUR CAMP KITCHEN
The cooler is your refrigerator away from home. It is an important piece of the camp kitchen, storing the food and beverages that will sustain your camping adventure.
During meal times the cooler will be in your camp kitchen probably near the camp stove for easy access by the chef and diners. If you are expecting hot and sunny weather consider moving the cooler to a shady location between meals to help it stay cool. If you have a picnic table, sliding the cooler under it for shade is a great option. You could also use trees, bushes, a tarp shelter or the shade of your tent to keep your cooler out of the sun.
Just like the refrigerator at home, make sure the lid on your cooler is closed after each use. Leaving the lid open lets the cold air out and if left open for too long becomes an invitation for the wildlife to checkout your grub. Coolers with dual rubber latches do take a little more effort to open and close but the large latches make it easy to see if the cooler is left open.
While you are enjoying your camp site, remember that you are sharing the space with wildlife. You may not see them but they know when you are away and will happily invite themselves into your camp if they see food out. Put perishables items in the cooler and non-perishables in a bin with a lid that fastens securely. Plastic bags and cardboard boxes are no match for hungry wildlife. If your campsite has a bear box, use it. As you are preparing for bed make sure you don’t have any food in your tent.
Throughout the camping trip you will want to ensure perishable items are kept properly chilled. Meals can be planned so that perishable items are consumed at the start of your trip, leaving shelf-stable meals for the later part of the trip. The easiest way to verify your perishable items are safe is to make sure they are sitting in an icy bath. As the ice melts, the bottom of the cooler will turn into a cold bath. This water is key to keeping your food safe. As long as there is ice floating, the water will stay at 32°F (0°C) which is comfortably below the 40°F (4°C) recommended for perishable foods. The air above this icy bath is a little more difficult to consider safe so keep perishables in the water. If there isn’t much ice left in the water and you have more camping to do then you’ll want to look for more ice or start eating. After adding more ice, if you find your cooler has too much water in it you can use the drain plug or carefully tilt the cooler to remove some of the water.
FOOD SAFETY TIPS FOR CAMPING
While camping make sure you are still following the same food safety guidelines you would at home. You might have to get creative and make a few adjustments to your camp kitchen but stay safe so you can enjoy your meals in nature. In addition to what’s already been covered to keep food cold while camping, keep in mind:
Remember to cook food thoroughly. At your home kitchen you probably have good lighting and maybe check for doneness by color. Your camp kitchen may not have great lighting so using color to check your food might be harder to do. Consider adding a food thermometer to your camp kitchen.
Just as you would at home, wash your hands before handling food. If there is limited water available at the campsite, use hand sanitizer.
Cross contamination should be avoided as much as possible. Clean any tools that were used for meat before using them for other foods. That includes cutting boards, utensils and so on.