I’m going to be camping for 4 days at a location without easy access to fire (hence no boiled water). As such, I’m going to be packing a bunch of canned stuff for my daily meals. The place is in England, where we’re expecting a few hot days this week and maybe some rain over the weekend.
However, I have some free time before the trip to cook food. But I’m not sure if there’s any good foods I could bring along that could keep for 3-4 days without a fridge. I guess that crosses out most meat dishes.
Some ideas I had were: falafel, fritters, bread, calzones, pasties. Have you tried taking such foods camping and if so, did they last a few days without spoiling? Are there any other foods you’d recommend? Thank you so much!
What I found to be quite interresting and working well are the solid fuel stoves from esbit. You should be able to bring them on a flight and one small tablet lasts long enough to boil enough water for some instant ramen, soup or a cup of instant coffee.
Don’t know how feasible this is to cook, but jerky will last more than 4 days. One of my favorite snacks, but it is very expensive.
Funny this comes up, I just made jerky at home for the first time a couple days ago. Much cheaper and very tasty. Easier than I was expecting too.
Did you just use a cut of meat from the store?
Yup, top round.
Would you mind sharing the recipe you used? I may have to try this!
The recipe I used ended up being terrible haha, so I kinda started winging it halfway through. The later batches turned out better after some adjustments but I’d still like a better starting recipe, so if you find a good one please let me know!
Yeah, beef jerky, even when making it yourself like @[email protected] does, can be quite expensive depending on where you live. Thankfully beef jerky doesn’t require high-end cuts of beef. Round Eye is one of the preferred cuts and even in regions with relatively high prices for beef (e.g. Germany) it’s still quite economical compared to store-bought Jack Link’s.
I have a friend that makes his own before trips. He has it down to x pounds of fresh meat per person per day. He just buys meat, adds seasoning, and dries/cooks it in his oven. There is surely a youtube on how to do it.
Beans
If you’re in England look into the Duke of Edinburgh club. It’s an outdoors camping club for youth. You should be able to find a packing list and it will have food suggestions.
Nuts and dried fruit, granola bars, halva, canned beans in tomato sauce, canned meat and fish and other canned stuff, bread, all sorts of cheese, cucumbers, smoked meat were the staples of no-cooking-needed foodstuffs that keep for several days in the summer when I did hiking in my younger days. For breakfast, muesli with milk from powder. You can prep buckwheat overnight in cold water and eat it for lunch or breakfast. Onions and garlic to add taste, fresh herbs will keep just fine, too. Sun-dried tomatoes. Bell peppers.
Basically, you need to start thinking antique: what did travellers and adventurers eat several hundred years ago when refridgeration wasn’t a thing?
Mcdonalds cheeseburgers. I saw a video of a guy doing the pacific trail with just a bag of hamburgers and he said they lasted well over a month. He also said its the best thing hes ever done as they gave him more strength than protein bars ever have. If i find it ill post.
Edit:I couldnt find the hamburger but i found mcdouble guy. I think 90 miles is still a few days worth.
Eating a month old burger sounds like a great way to get food poisoning
Does it count as food poisoning if it’s not technically food?
Whenever I go camping I pack a cooler with ice and put my perishable food items in there. Easy to grab snacks, like fruit, pastries, and pre packaged items are also a favourite of mine.
Also, having a portable grill helps when you cannot use fire to cook.
Why no boiled water? A small backpacking stove, something like a Pocket Rocket from MSR, is lightweight and can give you a very small, controlled flame that’s hot enough to boil a liter of water in less than two minutes. And if you look around on Amazon, you can find them even cheaper than MSR, usually for less than $20. They connect to an isopropane canister which runs about $5.
I highly recommend getting a gas burner, if you are comfortable with it. It’s great for cooking while camping. We’ve recently made tacos and risotto while camping. Also, depending on the brand/model, it works in most weather and you’re not reliant on gathering wood for a fire.
You can get either canned or dried fruits and veggies that last longer un-refrigerated and have some nutrition to them. Obviously there’s power bars as well. Dry cereal if you don’t mind eating it dry, makes a decent snack too, or bring powdered milk if you do want to eat it with milk. I’ve heard freeze dried foods are popular with backpackers. Bananas last long enough if you get them fresh enough. I think there are other fruits and veggies that you don’t need to refrigerate for them to last long enough, like tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges, pears, kiwis, apples, etc, just as long as you eat the whole thing in one go cause they don’t last as long once they’re cut or bit into. Oh and fruit cups are also an option. And of course there’s bread, but if you want some variety there you can make/buy some banana bread to take with you as well. Popcorn also lasts quite a while if kept in a sealed bag. You can also eat ichidan or other dry packaged noodles dry, just break them up into smaller pieces in the bag, take out the flavour packet, and either pour the packet into the bag, or pour the noodles and flavouring into a bowl, and mix it up. Tastes pretty good, and makes for a good snack. Not very nutritious, but cheap and easy. There’s also pop tarts, which can be eaten cold.
Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. You don’t need to take all of them for just 4 days, but it’s nice to have options.
Another thing I don’t see people talking about much is canned food. Almost all canned food is precooked or otherwise sterilized, and it takes years to expire when the can is left sealed. While cold ravioli isn’t the most satisfying meal, it will fill your stomach without making you sick.
Exactly this. I have eaten cold ravioli in Yellowstone when we drove to the opposite end of the park.
We also have the tubes that keep a loaf of bread from getting crushed. Add a can of chicken and mayo packets for a rough but edible chicken salad sandwich.
Also sometimes carry the peanut butter and honey as both are shelf stable. Can even buy premixed.
Can you bring a canister cook stove? something like a Jetboil? that way no need for a whole fire etc. you can boil water etc, cook basic stuff like ramen etc. make coffee…Hardy veggies should be good, beef jerky, cured meats like salami etc. dried fruits and nuts, bread, crackers etc. regular fruit, granola bars…i would just bring a little burner thing if you can it will be so much nicer than only eating cold foods etc.
You can dehydrate literally anything, and re-hydrate it on the trail with a little water and heat. Meats, Fruits, Vegetables, Soups, the works.
Is there a reason you can’t use a Coleman style camp stove or single burner backpacking stove? Those are standard fair for campgrounds and backcountry.
Fare*
Although, certain fairs have also been known to be near-standard fare at campgrounds, here and there.
Jet Boil’s are compact and awesome.
Jet boils are not compact. They are awesome, just not great if you are a gram counter. Probably exactly what this guy would want though as it sounds like he is car camping.
Pemmican
Beef jerky
Pork rinds
Apples and other fruits
Nuts
Remember to bring water.
