By Bella Bucchiotti | Wealth of Geeks
In May, Kampgrounds of America (KOA) published the 2024 Annual Camping & Outdoor Hospitality Report. The 10th annual report covers almost a decade of research charting the nation’s annual camping trends, best practices, and accessibility.
The number of families who report camping within the past year has risen by 68% since the first review, enhancing America’s record as a proud outdoors nation. This news comes amid a 23% surge in general camping households. There has never been a better opportunity to share or gain camping knowledge, especially when it comes to food.
Out-of-the Kitchen Nightmares
Some unfortunate campers may have memories of al fresco culinary disasters. Some will recall failing light and equipment; others will clutch their stomachs, as they recall traumatic food poisoning or intense hunger episodes. Understanding the limits to outdoor cooking is key to making a camping adventure more enjoyable — especially the eating.
Camping Restrictions
There are many camping formats, each with unique characteristics that define what kind of camping cookery apparatus or ingredients one takes. Campground tent camping, for example, ranges from camping in the backyard to pitching at an established urban or rural campground. Backpacking and bike tour camping are a little more intensive, where adventurers should travel light and have limited access to energy and water.
Alternatively, car camping swaps the cold ground for a rooftop tent magazine, allowing for better storage and electricity use. Pushing all-terrain vehicles to the limits is overlanding, where one drives into remote settings to set up camp in a wild beauty spot. Finally, there’s the anti-camping: glamping. A word combination of “glamorous” and “camping,” glamping refers to the latest trend for camping — and dining — in style.
Each of these adventures requires a different approach. For example, backpacking and bike camping require a less-is-more ethos with ingredients, while camping with a family car allows more. Meanwhile, glamping or urban campsite accommodation negates any need to cook if pitched near urban areas with restaurants.
Format Dictates Food Choices
Choosing the right ingredients and cooking utensils is key to eating well. Outdoor retailer REI is a useful resource for any camping food enthusiast: the company website has a Camp Kitchen Checklist. REI’s glossary segments campers’ needs by group: food preparation and cooking, food basics, cleanup equipment, storage, and table settings. This helpful feature can provide anybody with a list of basics and luxury items, depending on their preferred camping experience.
In her “Family Camping Trip From Hell” post, Huffington Post contributor Jordan Baker Watts recalls how a two-family camping trip became the stuff of nightmares. She arrived underprepared and didn’t allow for high-volume cooking, already tough outside the home kitchen. Her biggest mistake was having only one small saucepan between two families of five.
“Cooking rice and beans for ten people on a tiny camping stove in an extra small pot proved to be a challenge,” she says. “I think dinner was ready approximately three hours later, and by then, the kids weren’t hungry any more because I’d passed out Hawaiian Rolls…” Had Baker Watts done more research, she might have stumbled across a miracle material for outdoor dining: aluminum foil.
The Foil Bake Revolution
REI labels this product “optional,” but maybe it should be at the top of the list. For those using wood fire as a cooking source — or those who only bring one saucepan — the kitchen stalwart is an excellent alternative. If anything, cooking in foil means no more scrubbing fire-blackened pots and pans.
Moreover, tinfoil cooking works for any meal course. Delish publishes a list of its preferred foil-bake recipes, including a dish some might not consider possible on hot coals or a grill — gnocchi. Gnocchi foil packs are served as individual foil parcel servings, using white wine, cherry tomatoes, garlic, and corn. Instead of boiling, the wine steams everything in the airtight packet — much like en papillote (paper parcel baking), or sous vide (vac-packed in a water bath).
Using aluminum opens up a new world of outdoor eating, catering to sweet and savory recipe ideas. With this innovative campfire system, vegetarian options are simple, though meat options, such as sausage and pepper or surf-and-turf foil packs, are also a reality. Furthermore, certain fruits make ideal bedfellows for this format. Marshmallow-laden banana boat foil packs or pineapple parcels stuffed with chocolate make for a blissful end to the day’s outdoor pursuits.
Health Awareness
Of course, some parents may show concern for tinfoil’s health implications. The CDC says that frequent high aluminum level exposure could lead to neurological or breathing problems. However, claims that tinfoil may leach into food, leading to Alzheimer’s, are disputed by the fact checkers at Science Feedback. They found no evidence to support this claim. Regardless, using this method every day may not be advisable for young children.
The Trekker’s Dilemma
While the tinfoil process works for the cohort with access to fresh foods or refrigeration, it isn’t feasible for fast-moving hikers camping en route. But for the obvious non-perishables such as jerky, trail mix, and protein bars, many trekkers rely on rehydrated cooking stove fare. However, a little creativity can go a long way, even alone in the wilderness. There are other options for making backpackers’ supper better than at the subsistence level.
Shortcuts to Outdoor Culinary Success
Camping specialist enthusiast website Campspace recommends several ingenious camping cookery hacks for the discerning national park lover. Favorites include carrying spices inside a Tic-Tac can to make simple meals more interesting. Other bright ideas are storing ground coffee in small Ziploc bags for a daily brew or carrying ready-made dough in a can to bake bread in the campfire embers.
If traveling light, some may be deterred from taking perishables, but there is a solution in nature’s own refrigerator — the ground. A mini camping shovel will allow campers to dig a hole in cold earth for safe overnight food storage. This measure can provide short two — or three-day hikes with a fresh nutrient boost. Camping under the stars needn’t mean roughing it — outdoors lovers can mix nature with home comforts if they try.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has full guidelines for practicing food safety when camping. The popular hot season presents the highest risk for food-borne illnesses, so all outdoor cooks must show utmost caution. Transporting and storing food is the first step toward mitigating food poisoning, which may be dangerous in remote locations. Protecting against cross-contamination, cleaning perishables, and keeping foods hot or cold are three easy ways to stay safe this summer.
This article was produced by Media Decision and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
