refrigeration without a refrigerator...

[michaels]

i'm going on a four day camping/wheeling trip two days after christmas. i've decided to take meat, eggs, and cheese this time so i don't just have to eat Ramen noodles for four days again.

SO, what are your tried and proven methods for keeping food cool (and not spoiled) over four days?

i do not have a refrigerator and my method of attack as of now is a cooler and ice. however, i know the ice won't hold up during the four days and i don't want my food to go bad.

so what should i do? wrap this stuff up in an warm/cold bag with ice, then put in a cooler with ice?

should i freeze the food before hand to help to stay cold longer?

i plan on taking ham, cheese, and eggs for breakfast and lunch, and possibly a couple steaks for dinner.

so what techniques do all you food gurus have for me to do over a four day period?

or am i just stuck with eating good the first day and noodles for the rest of the time?

i wanna eat well this time!:chowtime:

EDIT: i'll be in the mountains, so it should be cold enough so the food won't spoil outside, but it'll all be inside the warm truck during the whole day.

 

[Ireland]

Get some dry ice, should easily last for 4 days with a decent cooler...

 

[Jacket]

I was at the Expo Trophy for 5+ days running a cooler and ice. 90* days, and around 40 at night, and nothing spoiled. Pre-freeze everything you can, keep the cooler in the shade at all times, try block ice instead of cubed ice (or dry ice is even better), keep the cooler door closed and tight at all times, and make sure you have a decent cooler. And be practical about your menu - things that will spoil more easily should be eaten first. I think 4 days is definitely doable.

Oh yea, and double or triple bag everything....

 

[michaels]

ok so the consensus is:

double bag everything.
each what will spoil first.
dry ice is best, followed by block, then cubed.
good cooler.

all i have are those hard plastic coolers. i would think one small one would do the trick, possibly two if i really pack it with ice.

any suggestions of food to bring? i'll have a two burner camp stove and water a gallon or two of water for boiling. (i'm buying a case of bottled water to drink)

so far for breakfast and lunch, i'm definitely taking:
ham
cheese
bread
PB&J (i know, i go BIG)
eggs
chips and salsa
crackers
easy mac
ramen noodles
hotdogs
condiments
but i want to go semi fancy(for a college student) for my dinners (three nights), so i was thinking of what else to bring. i've had steaks while backpacking before, so i was thinking at least one steak and possibly ground beef for burgers and/or hamburger helper (mmm.:chowtime: )

so what's your favorite recipes for good camp food?

 

[efuentes]

For years we have used this approach,

Two coolers, one with food and instead of ice, lots of 1 liter bottles with frozen water in it, sealed with duct tape and only opens once or twice a day. Another general cooler with block ice, soda, beer and sealed supplies. Precool everything and it should last at least a week. Plus you will have nice ice cold water everyday.

Saludos

 

[1leglance]

remember that our modern fridges are a recent thing and mankind went a long long time before they came along...
Some ideas...
Meats:
Summer sausage, salami, peperoni and other such things can be stored dry and cool, make up some pasta and add some of these meats, also good with cheese & crackers for lunch.
Canned meats don't have to be cold and if you go with smaller cans you have enough for 1 meal.

Drinks-Freeze plastic bottled drinks & they are fine, I like the 2L frozen water bottles for cooling & drinking water.

Eggs are fine if kept cool & dry

Cheese again lots of cheese varieties don't req a fridge

So really for 1 week or less you are fine with any decent cooler, dry ice, 2L bottles of frozen water, pack eveything in tight, open the cooler the least amount possible, keep it out of the sun and all will be well...hey reminds me of my backpacking days

 

[michaels]

THANKS GUYS.:wings:

i'll just be taking normal foods (yes i knew eggs were fine...).

looks like it'll be a great trip!

 

[kerry]

Rafters running western rivers in summer using good coolers can keep this cold for at least 5 days, and if planned well, even longer. Some rafting outfitters will put things like meat in a cooler, fill the cooler with water and freeze the whole thing into a giant block of ice which will last a LOOOONG time. Your freezer is probably not big enough to do that.
Don't put anything warm into your cooler. Everything should be frozen or chilled. Get a bigger cooler than you expect to use and fill the additional space with frozen water bottles. Freeze any liquids you will use, like iced tea or milk.
I've kept cheese unrefrigerated for a month on a canoe trip by covering with cheesecloth and dipping in hot wax.

 

[rusty_tlc]

For years we have used this approach,

Two coolers, one with food and instead of ice, lots of 1 liter bottles with frozen water in it, sealed with duct tape and only opens once or twice a day. Another general cooler with block ice, soda, beer and sealed supplies. Precool everything and it should last at least a week. Plus you will have nice ice cold water everyday.

Saludos

We use the same approach.
We freeze all the meat except the deli stuff. Frozen stuff goes on the bottom then layer up to stuff like eggs and cheese.

Open the cooler in the morning and take out what you need for that day. Then close it back up and wrap with blankets, I have been using some movers blanket we got from Harbor Freight. We can keep stuff frozen for three or four days in the summer this way. This is in the desert.

The bonus is you have built in supply of emergency water in the frozen water bottles.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Last summer a few of us bought Coleman Ultimate Extreme coolers. They're only $50, but wow....do they work! We had one small block of dry ice in a cooler with a couple frozen blocks of ice and on day 7 (in the summer) the blocks of ice were still frozen.

Last weekend I did a bike race in Phoenix and use the cooler. It's been a week and i don't think the ice has melted more than about 40%. Granted the cooler is sitting on my deck and night temps are in the 40s, but that's pretty awesome.

 

[MattScott]

what is the best cooler made?

 

[Christophe Noel]

what is the best cooler made?

I can't imagine anything superior to a Coleman Ultimate Extreme and for $50, I can't imagine a better value.

 

[MattScott]

I might have to pick one up, an engel would be overkill for my needs.

 

[jeepmedic46]

Dry ice for us:arabia:

 

[rusty_tlc]

what is the best cooler made?

If money is no object check the type used by rafting outfitters. The high end chest tend to be large.

I find one large ice chest isn't efficient to pack or use for 2-4 people. Two or three smaller ice chest work out better. When it's time to load or unload vehicles smaller chest are lighter to move and easier to pack around. I pack the beverage ice chest near the rear so it can be accessed while traveling. The food ice chest is buried under sleeping bags and other gear which insulates it.