Summer is coming. It is a perfect time to lie on a beach, travel on a road trip, or have a picnic in the peaceful countryside. The trip will get more and more pleasant when you go with your friends or family.
These occasions are never ideal without bringing some food prepared from home. However, keeping the food fresh on a long journey can be complicated and cumbersome, not to mention, in some cases, unhygienic.
Have you experienced a disaster trip with spoiled food before reaching the destination? It must have been a trip to remember right (although not in the most positive light)?
Some trips may be short, but some could last for more than 20 hours. Not properly preserving your food while on the road can result in indigestion and even food poisoning, as well as wasting what could have been a delicious meal.
So the question is, “How can you preserve the food during the whole trip?”
You’ve got the answer here in this essay. To tackle this task, we will discuss some common ways to preserve food on the go. Besides traditional tips, you can also use a butcher knives to shred food and the best food saver vacuum sealer machine. Here we go!
Choose The Right Cooler Or Food Preserver
Coolers exist in a variety of shapes, sizes, and price points. Deciding from among many possibilities can be difficult, so here is some advice.
You don’t require purchasing the most expensive cooler, just common ones. Bring two coolers for a long road journey if possible, one for food and the other for drinks.
For cold beverages, use a cooler that can be opened easily, and it should have a bottom drain for water from the melted ice to escape. In contrast, the cooler for food should be more fixed and have restricted access during the trip.
Choose an appropriate cooler
Make sure you open the food cooler as little as possible and place it in a dark area like a trunk when not in use. If available, cover the cooler in a sleeping bag while you are on the road or at the campsite.
Make Ice Packs
On a long journey, ice packs would be more effective than crushed ice in keeping your drinks cool until you reach the destination.
Ice packs are simple to produce. Fill a bottle or other container with drink water and pre-freeze it. You can also make ice out of drinks like coke or juice for better taste.
This method provides you with ice and additional clean drinking water for your ride back home after the ice has melted. Under the scorching summer heat, ice packs will keep the throats from being parched.
Buy Fresh Produce
Purchasing fresh ingredients is the simplest way to conserve food while traveling. On the day of your trip, buying fresh food and vegetables from the local farmers’ market is a brilliant idea. They can last up twice longer than food bought from the supermarket.
Buy fresh produce
Remember not to wash produce if you intend to store it in vegetable storage bags. If it is not dry when packed, these bags will not help it last longer outside the fridge.
A dumpy, humid, or condensation environment can attract more bacteria or cause the food to rot faster. You may use salt to coat your food or dry it in the oven or over warm air.
Pack Logically
While packing, you should make a list of food and decide which ingredient to consume first. Always arrange food that will often be used at the top while those that should be eaten last at the bottom. Put your ice packs at the top of the cooler as cold air travels downwards.
Heated food delivery bags can help keep meals warm by providing insulation. On the other hand, remember to keep drinks in an iced, compact container because the smaller space can help keep them cold for longer.
Perishable foods such as meat and diaries should be stored directly on top of the ice. For the food that needs to keep dry, put it in a sealed plastic container such as zip-lock bags. If there is room left, use frozen water bottles to fill it.
Pack logically
You can also bring a thermometer to check the temperature of cold food. Make sure to keep the temperature of the container at at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare Delicate Food
You will have fewer issues washing up and avoiding cross-contamination on the road if you prepare perishable food before traveling. Put meat in a separate plastic sack, for instance.
You can shape hamburger patties at home and place them in a bag. Then put them in the fridge the night before if you plan on eating them during the day. You can freeze and thaw them within the ice cooler if you want to use them within 2-3 days.
Vacuum Seal Food
This recommendation is the most modern method to preserve food in this essay.
Different microorganisms can contaminate food, causing health problems for everyone who consumes it. To prevent this, especially when your trip can last for more than 20 hours, you can use a food vacuum sealer machine.
This appliance works by sucking the air out of a plastic bag before sealing it with heat. This maneuver keeps food fresher for longer by creating an environment that makes it very hard for bacteria to either penetrate or thrive while taking less than 5 minutes to perform.
To use the vacuum sealer machine:
- Fill a vacuum bag with your food.
- Fasten the bar sealer onto the top of the vacuum bag.
- Turn on the machine.
- Remove the sealed bag.
Now you have a bag with well-preserved food and can conveniently bring it on the trip.
Conclusion
If you don’t want your trip to turn into a tragedy, you must properly preserve your food when traveling. By following the guidelines mentioned above, you can do your utmost to protect your friends and family from nasty foodborne illnesses and have some enjoyable meals on your trip.