Buzz
Whether you're off for a camping escapade craving for your favorite on-the-go meals or facing a temporary power outage at home, ensuring your food stays cold is a necessity. You have various options at your disposal, from the traditional cooler, a camping essential, to some innovative methods for keeping your food chilled when a refrigerator isn't an option.
Steps to Follow
Utilizing a Cooler for Food Storage
Opt for a cooler tailored to your needs with suitable insulation material. Styrofoam coolers offer affordability and lightness, though they are less effective. Plastic and metal options provide better insulation, with plastic being ideal for camping and metal suitable for outdoor activities like fishing or hunting. Electric coolers, while pricier, eliminate the need for ice, offering convenience.
- Consider a cooler compatible with dry ice for added versatility.
Opt for dry ice when freezing meat items. Dry ice, made of carbon dioxide, is colder than regular ice (averaging around 109.3 °F or 42.9 °C). It remains solid as it warms up, resulting in a cleaner cooler. Before placing it in your cooler, insulate the dry ice with cardboard or newspaper, and ensure some dry ice is placed on top for maximum cooling effect.
- Dry ice is only effective in approved dry ice coolers.
Avoid using supermarket party ice bags. While these bags are convenient and inexpensive, they melt faster due to their brittle nature compared to other ice forms.
- Save party ice for last-minute top-ups or short-term food cooling (1 to 2 days maximum).
Prepare 2-liter (2,000 ml) frozen water containers a week ahead of your trip. Store these containers in the freezer until departure day. Add them to your cooler just before leaving to help maintain low temperatures.
- These containers can also double as sources of clean, cold drinking water when defrosted over 1 to 2 days.
Insert thermal ice packs into your cooler the night before your journey. This ensures that when you pack your food the next morning, it enters a cold environment rather than a warm one.
- Pre-cooling extends the duration of lower food temperatures.
- Always opt for thermal ice packs over bagged ice; they are available in various shapes, sizes, and price ranges, and are reusable.
Bring 2 separate coolers, one for food and one for drinks. Opening the cooler frequently for drinks compromises the food's freshness. By dedicating one cooler to food, you minimize the escape of cold air.
- Some cooler brands are specifically tailored for food storage.
Arrange your cooler contents in layers, placing frozen items at the bottom. Start by laying ice at the cooler's base, followed by frozen foods and raw meats. Alternate between ice and food layers until you reach items needing less refrigeration, like fresh fruits and vegetables. Conclude with a final layer of ice on top.
- Items near the lid will be exposed to air more frequently and undergo greater temperature fluctuations when the lid is opened.
Position your cooler in shaded areas whenever possible. Avoid subjecting your cooler to direct sunlight and higher temperatures. In warm weather, cover it with a blanket or tarp for added insulation.
- Regularly shift your cooler's location throughout the day to ensure it remains shaded.
Monitor your cooler's temperature using a refrigerator thermometer. Utilize refrigerator thermometers to track cooler temperatures. Meat should be stored in a cooler at or below 0 °F (−18 °C), while other perishable items should remain below 40 °F (4 °C), akin to refrigerator conditions.
- Dispose of perishable food (e.g., poultry, meat, eggs, leftovers) stored above 40 °F (4 °C) for 2 hours or longer.
Cooling without a Functioning Refrigerator
Maintain a supply of freezer packs and ice in your freezer. Reserve space in your freezer for ice cubes and freezer packs, especially during power outages when food preservation is at risk.
- Block or dry ice is effective for extended freezer cooling. Roughly 50 pounds (23 kg) of dry ice can keep a fully stocked 18-cubic-foot (0.509703 cubic meters) freezer within the safe temperature range for 2 days.
Prepare 2-liter (2,000 ml) juice containers filled with water as backup. During power outages, use them to maintain food temperatures in your refrigerator, freezer, and coolers. Thaw them for clean, cold drinking water as needed.
Regularly monitor freezer and refrigerator temperatures. Use appliance thermometers to check that your freezer stays at 0 °F (−18 °C) or below, and your refrigerator remains at 40 °F (4 °C) or lower.
- Appliance thermometers help identify safe-to-eat foods.
- Dispose of perishable items (meat, eggs, poultry, leftovers) stored above 40 °F (4 °C) for 2 hours or more.
Utilize your freezer for non-immediate refrigerated items. Items like milk, fresh poultry and meat, and leftovers are prone to spoilage in the fridge. Transfer them to the freezer immediately during power outages to maintain safe temperatures for longer.
- Group these items closely to retain lower temperatures through contact.
Keep root vegetables fresh by filling your crisper drawer with sand. Purchase sand from a hardware store and fill your crisper drawer with it. This method minimizes moisture, which typically causes root vegetables and fruits to rot.
- Root vegetables and fruits include carrots, apples, pears, and beets.
Construct a pot-in-a-pot refrigerator for inexpensive solar cooling. These economical pot-in-a-pot fridges are easy to make with a few pots, sand, and water. Moist sand, aided by evaporation, chills vegetables and beverages.
- Use water from melted ice or juice containers to keep the sand moist.
- Pot-in-a-pot refrigerators are ineffective in high humidity conditions due to minimal evaporation.
Materials Needed
Using a Cooler for Food Storage
- 2-liter (2,000 ml) juice containers
- 2 coolers
- Thermal ice packs
- Ice
- Dry ice
- Blanket or tarp
- Appliance thermometer
Preserving Food Freshness during Power Cuts
- 2 appliance thermometers
- 2-liter (2,000 ml) juice containers
- Sand
- Freezer packs
- Ice cubes
- Block or dry ice
- Two unglazed clay (terracotta) pots, one larger than the other
- Appliance thermometer
- Sand
- Water
- Cloth to cover the pots
- Clay, cork, or similar material to seal holes in pots (if any)
Useful Advice
Cautionary Notes
- Foodborne bacteria thrives within the temperature range of 41 to 140 °F (5 to 60 °C), commonly referred to as the danger zone.
- Ensure your refrigerator maintains a temperature of 41 °F (5 °C) or below, while your freezer should be kept at 0 °F (−18 °C) or lower.
