Ep 2 - Tips for Keeping Camping Food Fresh

[@alexanderklomp7820]

For those using ice boxes, fill up empty 2L milk cartons and freeze them a week or two before your trip and they'll stay frozen for for up to two weeks if you're careful with keeping your esky/ice box closed!

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Great advice thanks, Alexander. ~ Ben

[@TasHikingAdventures]

i said this in the previous episode....common sense hasnt been lost yet haha

[@yeahnah4561]

Vacuum seal on its own is great, but it goes to the next level when you use it with Sous Vide cooking. I like to cook food sous vide, freeze it, then use it as an ice brick in my esky until I want to eat it on the trip. Works particularly well with large groups (where you can cook a whole brisket beforehand then just heat it up on the day!) but can also just be used for a small batch of mashed potatoes or a curry. Minimal mess. Easy to do. Cheap to buy the gear. Perfect for campers.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Wow, I'd never heard of sous vide cooking but it looks like it would be ideal for any camper. Thanks for your comment, Yeah Nah. ~ Ben

[@task82]

You guys are killing it with the podcast!! Such a good energy coming from you both, which makes it really enjoyable and super easy listening as well. Heaps of great tips and for all types of budgets. Back in the younger days, it was processed food, a loaf of bread and tray of sausages - tried to limit the space in the Esky for the beers. I've had a Waeco CFX40 fridge for ~8yrs now, teamed with a little portable cooking plate and mainly cooking one pot wonders, best part is keeping some containers on the side to store leftovers. I don't have a vacuum sealer, but is on my wish list. It would be super useful for bigger trips, making things so much easier and carrying a lot less rubbish is really appealing. Keep up the awesome work 🍻

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Thanks for the kudos, Task, I'm glad you are enjoying our podcast. ~ Ben

[@Triple-N]

Great and tips here Ben and Lauren! Maybe in future episodes you guys can do cooking episodes where you guys can show us wick and simple camping meals that you would cook when camping. These I would definitely watch! Ben, if you are looking for packet tuna, have you tried walking through the pet aisle at your local supermarket. 😉😊

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Thanks for your feedback, Normann. Recipes is something we have discussed, stay tuned and we'll see what we can pull together. If the only packet tuna option comes from the pet aisle, I think I'll just stick with cans. 😂 ~ Ben

[@MicksGarageDarts]

I purchased the Dometic CD-30 Drawer Fridge from Snowys almost a year ago. I absolutly love it and it does a great job for me. Recent spent a week off grid in the bush with it and still had some meat products frozen 4 days in while just on my normal fridge temp. Pre-Prep is a top way to do it and just re-boil it. Zip Lock bags do the trick there too. Long Life Milk in the small Jucie Box sides works a treat for me too. They stand nice in the fridge and I will take the 1L UHT if needed for later

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Thanks for sharing your ideas, Mick's 4WD Touring. I've never used a drawer fridge, but I can see how they could be handy in certain setups where a top loading fridge can be awkward to access. ~ Ben

[@MicksGarageDarts]

@@SnowysOutdoors as I sleep in my Pajero the top loading fridges are not suitable for my needs so the Drawer fridge was ideal.

[@SnowysOutdoors]

@@MicksGarageDarts makes sense. I put a shelf in the cargo area of my Patrol a while back, which lifted my Engel chest freezer up and made access a little harder. It would be ideal to have a drawer fridge under or on the shelf in this instance. The problem is, my Engel is likely to keep on keeping on for another decade or two, so I'll have to make do for a while yet. ~ Ben

[@MicksGarageDarts]

@@SnowysOutdoors that's basically what I've done with the Pajero. Drawer/shelf that forms part of the bed with the middle row seats forming the rest. I hope the Dometic CD-30 does me quite a while. I've added dividers to keep thing separate such as cans, bottles of water and food. A 30L fridge can still hold plenty

[@cubbiemalone49]

@@MicksGarageDarts Thanks for sharing!! What temp do you run your fridge at to still retain some frozen meet?

[@fionaludbrook8193]

Laughing Cow cheese is one of my staples for long life travel food. Tuna pouches are cool. Freezing and dehydrating is also fantastic.Also pop a blanket and pillow over the top of your cooler for extra insulation. I do the fridge and ice box method too Lauren. I also have my drinks in the ice box and alternate my water bottles as ice in the cooler. I want to also try dehyrdrating my own food for hiking! Smoking can also be a great way to preserve food!

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I've never tried smoking my food, but I reckon it's a great idea, Fiona. Great tip with the pillow and blanket too, I do this as the pillows are easily placed on top of the fridge as a last item when packing, and are easily removed/moved when you need to access the fridge during the day. We look forward to your feedback on our future episodes. ~ Ben

[@asd67lkj]

Thanks,,,,some great tips there on using the Vac sealer.....

[@SnowysOutdoors]

You're welcome asd67lkj. ~ Ben

[@garyjust9211]

I like the idea of using layers of newspaper in the esky to keep the cold in and separate your foods. Will give it a try...

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I can't recall where I learnt this, it requires a little bit of forth planning, but works a treat in maintaining ice for longer. ~ Ben

[@Jackie4FreeSpeech]

When I use my Vac bags and have finished I put them back in the freezer and wash them when I get home just makes the trip easier

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Great idea, Scott. ~ Ben

[@funkygreendog1]

Awesome vid !

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Thanks, funkygreendog1. ~ Ben

[@DeLFeTube]

Lauren, did your vacuumed sealed meals defrost sitting in the icebox ? Is this ok if they do ?

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Hi Alex, they did defrost, but that was part of her process. She keeps them in the freezer then removes them a day or two ahead of when they need to be cooked so they are defrosting in the icebox at the same time as they are keeping the rest of the contents cool. Once defrosted, the vacuum sealed bags are likely to keep for longer than non vac-sealed meals so you'd have a reasonable amount of time before you need to consume them. It takes a bit of practice I think, i'snt a method I've personally taken on, but Lauren has used it for many years. ~ Ben

[@bradthurkle7217]

I was brought up on powder milk. It was the sunshine brand. It was nice. But when I had cornflakes at my cousins with real milk. Oh my god it was like heaven lol. But that long life milk is ok. With solar panels and deep cell batteries these days living off the grid to keep food fresh. Depends how long your going for. Like if you can cook up a nice casserole and freeze it in zip lock bags or those vacuum seal bags lol 😂. Take party pies for a quick and simple meal. Or just go to pub for countery lol 😆. But no serious as far as fresh fruit and that. If it hot 🥵 weather that’s going to make it hard. Like I gave up buying getting bananas 🍌 because they would just go black but it’s cooling down now in perth a bit so I’ll be back into those soon. Great topic gang love ya work👍

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Thanks for your feedback, Brad. All the power options available to get off grid nowadays does enable you to carry more fresh stuff. A little more planning is needed for long trips though given then limited fridge space. I use powdered and long life milk still, it just comes out later in the trip once the fresh supplies have dried up. ~ Ben

[@Jackie4FreeSpeech]

I freeze my milk, 1L, takes 24 hours to defrost in fridge

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Great advice, this is going to help with the efficiency of your fridge immensely. ~ Ben

[@rockoboys6416]

Has anyone worked out how to keep bread fresh??

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I think white bread or the brands that are full of preservatives last longer, I prefer to just use wraps, roti or mountain bread as an alternative that travels easier. ~ Ben

[@TasHikingAdventures]

those devondale fresh milks the little ones best for camping and hiking ....real milk too whats this powder shit for hiking benny lol save weight lol bet you cut ya toothbrush in half to save the grams too haha lol ya trooper lol

[@SnowysOutdoors]

I may have been known to trim my toothbrush once or twice in my past 🤔. ~ Ben

[@TasHikingAdventures]

@@SnowysOutdoors haha I knew it lol

[@TasHikingAdventures]

@@SnowysOutdoors toothbrush princess it's too heavy lol lol

[@TasHikingAdventures]

i see alot of dumb campers who sit there esky in the sun....for those watching and learning dont do this leave it in your car in the shade with a blanket over it to keep cool

[@SnowysOutdoors]

Yep, sound advice. ~ Ben