How to camp without a fridge or esky
Car fridges are great, no doubt about it. And there are some cheaper units coming on to the market.
But we have chosen not to use a fridge because:
- a good one is $1000 plus
- it is one less hassle in terms of organising a technology to keep working, that is batteries etc
- they take up a lot of space
- if you rely on a fridge and something goes wrong you lose your food
- we like to keep things simple
So how do we survive a couple of weeks in the bush without refrigeration?
- We use powdered milk. You get used to the slightly different taste - just get over it.
- We use tinned meats when we are away from everything, and then if we are passing through a town we buy some fresh meat to eat the next meal.
- For cold drinks, we will put water/beer/softdrink in a nearby river if available, but generally just have drinks at ambient temperature - not the beert. We take cordial to have for special treats and red wine.
- For sandwiches we use Mayonaise instead of butter or just do without, using peanut butter and jam for example.
- If the ambient temperature is not too high then we take unsoftened or normal butter as it lasts for a far while.
Comments
We are planning to experiment with another way of camping without fridge - dehydrating. It does mean you have more prep beforehand (cutting down a little on the 'simple' before hand), but can also mean that you have less to do while you are camping - for example just boil water and add to already prepared meals. We'll have to see how it goes! Let you know.
Hi,
Just thought I'd add a thought on your comment about de-hydrating food.
I bought a food dehydrator off eBay several months ago specifically for preparing my camping meals. Any one knows that the lightest way to carry food is if the water has been removed, as that is where most of the weight IS. I have made several really good wholesome and nutritious meals using my dehydrator and the food choices are only really limited by ones imagination.
You can make jerkys as easy as 1, 2, 3. Beef, fish, chicken, lamb, turkey basically any meat you can name can be made into jerky (you tube it and see)
If you go into any camping store and check out their dehydrated food prices, you'll quickly realize that buying your own food dehydrator is definately the best way to go for many reasons. The BEST advantage and the most important though, is that the food you eat when you are out at camp is of high nutrition ....... and apart from that, once a food ( any food )has been properly dehydrated, it literally lasts for months when packed correctly. Happy camping lovely people !
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