Help me preserve casserole (!?!)

Jay-Jay_4 · 16 March 2005 at 9:17PM

I need some help!

I want to take some casserole on a camping trip but I won't have access to a fridge or anything cold. We will be eating it on Saturday evening but the last chance we'll have to keep it cold is Friday Evening so I was thinking.....

Could I pour it into zip-lock bags and freeze it, then remove it from the freezer on Friday morning and keep it in a cool box with freezer packs until late afternoon. Then it will probably defrost overnight and be defrosted for morning. I then need to pack it in a rucksack and carry it all day until tea-time.

Do you think that I'll die of food poisoning? Oh and before we get really in-depth about hygiene please bear in mind that I will be using water from streams for drinking for the whole weekend :eek:

The other option is to take a tinned meal and decant it into bags in the morning but the tinned ones are all foul! I can't stand the vacume packed Wayfarer meals either **insert sicky smilie**

The other alternative is something like super-noodles if the casserole isn't do-able

Thanks for reading

vanoonoo · 16 March 2005 at 10:42PM

Jay-Jay wrote:

I need some help!

I want to take some casserole on a camping trip but I won't have access to a fridge or anything cold. We will be eating it on Saturday evening but the last chance we'll have to keep it cold is Friday Evening so I was thinking.....

Could I pour it into zip-lock bags and freeze it, then remove it from the freezer on Friday morning and keep it in a cool box with freezer packs until late afternoon. Then it will probably defrost overnight and be defrosted for morning. I then need to pack it in a rucksack and carry it all day until tea-time.

Do you think that I'll die of food poisoning? Oh and before we get really in-depth about hygiene please bear in mind that I will be using water from streams for drinking for the whole weekend :eek:

The other option is to take a tinned meal and decant it into bags in the morning but the tinned ones are all foul! I can't stand the vacume packed Wayfarer meals either **insert sicky smilie**

The other alternative is something like super-noodles if the casserole isn't do-able

Thanks for reading

I reckon that would be ok if its basically going to be kept cold until saturday morning and then carried for a few hours. the only thing I would be worried about would be the bags opening up in my rucksack so you might want to put the ziplock bags into a tupperware type box - more to carry I know but less likely to cause chaos.

from person choice and ease I'd take smash and beans a can opener and a bottle of vodka

Jay-Jay_4 · 16 March 2005 at 11:03PM

I'm taking Smash (buttery) for with it

I can't stand beans couldn't share a tent with someone who's eaten a tin? :eek:

Hmmmmmm....may be taking a teeny weeny bottle of something though

:rolleyes:

Queenie · 17 March 2005 at 7:58AM

If it's beef or lamb - I would say yes, go for it

Alternatively, you could make a meatloaf, less squidgy

Lillibet_2 · 17 March 2005 at 9:56AM

I think we all get a bit too hung up on hygine & food poisioning some times, I swear manufactureres & marketers promote these to make you throw stuff away & buy new more often! We lived with out fridges & anti-bacterical washing up liquid in the past! I think frozen & slowly defrosted would be fine & wouldn't hesitiate to do it, espeically if you re-heat it really well before you come to eat it. If you are really concerend thoguh you could make it vegaterian & remove the meat risk?

Don't forget iodine to purify the water so you don't get any nasty parasites though; This is something I wouldn't risk!

HTH
Lillibet

mink35 · 17 March 2005 at 9:56AM

J-J - why do you need to take it out of the freezer Friday morning? Could you not leave it until as late as possible on the Friday so hopefully it will stay frozen longer?

Jay-Jay_4 · 17 March 2005 at 3:05PM

mink35 wrote:

J-J - why do you need to take it out of the freezer Friday morning? Could you not leave it until as late as possible on the Friday so hopefully it will stay frozen longer?

We're camping in Scotland!!! I live in Lancashire so we'll be setting off on Friday morning and leaving coolbox in the car on friday (early) evening.

Thanks for all your advice. The more I think about it the more I'm inclined to agree that I'll probably survive after eating it!!!! I'm reckoning on it being pretty cold up there even in June so that should help.

We've really racked our brains for food that's full of carbohydrate but nice to eat (rather than all the pre-packed energy foods) I'm a pretty fussy eater and can't eat lots of things so homemade casserole on top of a Scottish mountain would be lovely, even if it IS mixed with instant Smash :rolleyes:

Now.....does anyone know how to make those lovely energy bars with oats and choc and dried fruit?

Allexie · 17 March 2005 at 4:05PM

These look nice....no choc in them tho......mind you...think they might travel better without....

http://www.sandisrecipecorner.com/recipe1522N.htm

Galtizz · 17 March 2005 at 4:17PM

Re the casserole, I think you'll survive too, but just to be on the safe side, you could dig a hole and sort of bury it, I think in the ground is cooler than on the ground, if your in Scotland you might reach the perma frost without too much digging. DH makes me watch Ray Mears far to often

You could dig the hole under the groundsheet of the porch bit of your tent before you put the tent up to stop animals and beasties trying to eat it. You'd probably have to bury it in something a bit substantal either tuperware type thing or little luch box cool bag thing.

Sorry, don't know how to make oat bars but I'm sure there is a thread on here that mentions porridge in a drawer (same sort of thing) I'll see if I can find it.

Galtizz · 17 March 2005 at 4:31PM

Galtizz wrote:

Sorry, don't know how to make oat bars but I'm sure there is a thread on here that mentions porridge in a drawer (same sort of thing) I'll see if I can find it.

Found it but it is basically, pour porridge in a drawer and leave to go cold and hard YUK!

Here are a couple of links:

White chocolate and apricot crips bars
Cereal Bars
Vegan/ Veggie cereal Bars (if you're not vegan substitue carob for 'proper' chocolate)

vanoonoo · 17 March 2005 at 5:00PM

do you like things like cous cous and pulses?

I know you said no beans - but needs must ya know and it could be kinda like that mel brookes film where they are all sitting round the campfire

we've always done things like pasta and sauce (most of them can be made up wiht just water not the milk and butter as suggested) or pasta and toms and salami when camping. salami is quite nutritious and lasts ok out of the fridge.

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Help me preserve casserole (!?!)

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