Essential equipment to keep your food fresh outdoors

There is nothing better than enjoying food outside in the summer – whether you are on a camping trip or if you have hiked up to a local beauty spot to enjoy the view. 

However, keeping your food fresh while you are making your way to the picnic spot can be a little bit of a pain – especially if it is really warm outside. We had one too many picnics go bad before we decided we were going to discover a way to stop this happening. 

This research led us to the six items on this list – they are the six most essential items to keep your food fresh while you are outdoors. 

Glass Tupperware Bowls 

We found that glass Tupperware was much more affected than plastic Tupperware for two reasons. 

Firstly, the glass Tupperware was slightly more expensive and, as a result, was made in a much better way. The vacuum seals were better and lasted longer, too – even after going through the dishwasher multiple times. 

Secondly, the glass Tupperware stayed cool for much longer. When we packed up our plastic Tupperware, they would start at room temperature and only get warmer. The glass Tupperware, however, started cold and stayed that way for the whole journey. They are the perfect item to store really sensitive food, like potato salad, in. 

A Hamper 

We’ll be the first to admit that we have made the mistake of chucking all our food into a backpack before. Learn from our mistakes and don’t do this. It will only end in a mess. 

After a lot of experimenting, we found that large empty hamper baskets were the best option when it comes to transporting food outdoors. 

Not only do they have space to store your cutlery and pouches to stand bottles up in, but they are lined with breathable cotton, which helps to keep the food cool as you carry it to your ideal picnic location. 

Vacuum Seal Clips 

Some things are just the wrong shape to fit into a Tupperware container. This is where sandwich bags and vacuum sealing clips come in very handy. 

You can store carrots like this, for example. Wrap them up in the sandwich bag, squeeze all the air out of the bag and then place the clip on it. They will then stay fresh for the rest of the day. 

Vacuum seal clips are also very useful for keeping food fresh after the picnic. If you don’t finish a whole bag of crisps or you want to take some of the carrots home with you, then you can rewrap them and put the sealing clip back on. 

Gel Ice Packs 

Ice packs are essential picnicking equipment; however, no one likes how they make everything else in the hamper damp as they start to melt. 

Don’t worry, because we have a solution for this problem as well – gel ice packs. 

These ice packs actually have no water inside them, and they can be used multiple times. Because they have no water, they don’t leak when they start to warm up. Instead, the gel just changes consistency but stays put inside its packet. 

You can also get gel ice cubes which are really useful on picnics or when you don’t want to water down your drink. 

Bamboo Lunch Boxes 

Once you have your food out of your hamper, then there is nothing better to store it in than bamboo lunch boxes. 

These lunch boxes are opaque, so they don’t refract the sunlight and make it stronger as see-through glass and plastic bowls do. 

There are also really easy to stack together when traveling, they are incredibly light, and you can even put them through the dishwasher. 

You can even get bamboo lunch boxes that come with tiny compartments that you can use to store sauces while you travel. 

Glass Jars

Finally, we want to talk about the wonders of glass jars. 

Ten years ago, using glass jars to store drinks in and to drink out of was very in fashion. While this trend may have died off, it doesn’t make glass jars any less practical. 

We love mixing up drinks (punches or alcohol-free juices) before we leave for home. Then we measure out a glass jar or two for everyone going on the trip with us.

If you need to keep the drinks cold, then you can pop a few gel ice cubes into the drinks before you leave.