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How to Ensure You Get the Right Camping Cooking Supplies

If you will be eating a lot of canned goods, sandwiches, cereal and dried fruit then you really will not find this article helpful. However, if you are like me and look forward to camp cooking, then this article should cover the basics and more for cooking a great meal. What you need to bring with you will vary depending on the type of camping trip, so it's important to make sure that you choose the right camping cooking supplies for your situation. I'll give you a few tips to help you get started.

Portable Water Filters

With just about everything you want to cook you will need water, and you cannot trust that water at campgrounds is safe to drink. Even the clearest rivers, lakes, and springs have stuff growing in it that can make you sick, and shorten your trip. You can either boil the water first, which can be time consuming, or carry around a water filtration device.

Freezer-Dried Dinners

If you only have one or two people going on the camping trip, then the simplest way to go about getting a meal on the table is to get freezer-dried dinners that come in packages with serving sizes from one to four. These are usually nice, compact, and easy to carry. They are also very easy to prepare as you simply need to add a prescribed amount of boiling water, stir and eat. They are pretty delicious, and have great reviews from multiple websites online. You can purchase anything from eggs and bacon to chicken teriyaki and you would only need proper eating utensils, maybe a one-burner backpacking stove, and a small pot to get water boiling.

What kind of food will you be cooking?

The camping cooking supplies you'll need for heating up a can of beans are a bit different than what you'll need if you intend to catch fish and eat them. While most people believe that you can cook everything you want on an open fire, this is not always possible. There are areas that you may want to camp in that does not allow fires or you may eventually find yourself in an area that has little to no firewood available or wet wood. I encourage everyone to purchase a camp stove just in case you find yourself in one of these situations.

Your cooking style and time are also important considerations. If you plan on cooking a dinner with an entrée and sides, you will not want to use a light stove, (single-burner models), when you could easily use a model with multiple burners that will get your meal prepared faster.

Baking and camping is always fun, and most baked food are fun for the kids to participate in like pizza, brownies, cakes, and quiches. Anything you back at home in your oven can be baked in a camp oven. They can also be lightweight, compact, and very easy to use. You can also use your pots and pans to bake on camp stoves as long as your use very low heat and a tight lid.

What about Pots and Pans?

For backpacking, stick with the thin, nonstick pans or aluminum ware. For most other types of camping, you can cook just about everything you need with a cast iron skillet or Dutch oven.

Dutch ovens are made of cast iron and are very deep. Anything you would normally cook in a Crockpot, you can cook in a Dutch oven. You can even bake in your Dutch oven by simply placing hot coals under and on top of it.

The benefit of using cast irons is that they cook beautifully, are durable, and easy to maintain. They last forever. I have one passed down from my husband’s grandmother and I love it. It is so successful at cooking a variety of food because it distributes heat evenly. It is great for camping because it can get that heat from just about anywhere. You can place it on your camp stove, in your camp oven, on your grill, over coals, in coals, etc.

Grills

If you want to grill, then it really depends on the way you're camping. If you're hiking and you have to carry all of your gear, go for something small like a foldable grill that is meant to be used over a campfire.

Camping Sinks

Avoid polluting the waters and animals by using convenient and portable camping sinks to clean your cookware. Most are made of nylon and can be folded and carried in mesh bags. They hold multiple gallons of water and can be used for other purposes like bathing.

Miscellaneous Items

Finally, don't forget about the miscellaneous little things you'll need. Even if you intend to build your own fire the old-fashioned way, it's good to have a quick fire starter on hand. Don't forget the charcoal or the burner fluid if you need them. You should also make sure you have the right utensils and bowls for cooking and eating. Once you've taken care of these little things, you should have all the camping cooking supplies you need for your camping trip.

Tips

• Carry nonstick cooking oil
• Always keep foil; it can make the cleanup easier.
• Purchase camping cookware that is easy to clean-up.
• Avoid non-durable cooking gear when possible, like aluminum pans, because they will get bent out shape with all the transporting and packing

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