The Camping Forum

[badger]

I have always taken simple food with me on trips or bought what i needed from farm shop etc.... Am going to start making my own special meals,freeze them and then boil them in my trusty mess-tin; I just wanted to know what bags are best for this process??? Well i know the kind of bags i need,i mean which can be re-used and last longest etc.... Asda or wherever?

[Admin]

I have always taken simple food with me on trips or bought what i needed from farm shop etc.... Am going to start making my own special meals,freeze them and then boil them in my trusty mess-tin; I just wanted to know what bags are best for this process??? Well i know the kind of bags i need,i mean which can be re-used and last longest etc.... Asda or wherever?

Yup normal freezer bags from tesco, asda etc. etc.

My wife when i worked shifts used to make six meals rather than five and would bag and freeze one so i had a supply when i was rota'd on nights.. some stuff food works out better than others.. I would say check before you go though as i was microwaving rather than boiling in the bag but they should be ok but just check beforehand

Foods with plenty of sauce I would think would be best for boiling but dont worry about bigger item such as potts they will still heat though just be far quicker if plenty of sauce

[M0KAS]

the thing is, how long do you intend to keep them frozen??, dried foods would be better, and dont forget the MRA's, thy have come along way, the just add hot water and wait ones are really good, esp the hot pot one,

[Vicks2112]

I attended a scout camp where the kids were being taught expedition camping skills. The food had been pre-cooked in batches, one lot of brown stew and another lot of pasta bolognese (with pasta in it). The leader had put two ladle fulls in each bag which was suitable for boiling - bag and all - in a saucepan. The kids specified which they wanted and where handed the bag of food, a pan, a pocket rocket and a fuel cannister and off they went to get some water.

The kids heated the food and then ate the food right out of the bag. No dishes to wash - although the kids did use a plate to rest the bag on while they were eating, they didn't need to dirty the plate. The leader told me that the bags were from Asda, that there were two types for sale there and make sure not to get the ones with the perforations. I had to make sure I got the cheap economy 'roast' bags as they did not have the perforations. They were tied with a twist.

I've been unable to find the correct bags, but I did get some which were made by Baco and they are called 'Cook In' bags (8 in the packet). I'm going camping next week and been cooking pasta and stews in anticipation. I've put them into the Baco bag, tied them and froze them. Hopefully that's the first few days of meals sorted out already.

Before I found the Baco bags, I thought I'd try the same thing with Freezer bags as I had nothing else. Unfortunately the bag melted in the boiling water and my chilli was ruined, I couldn't risk eating it.

[badger]

off to asda/tesco i go..... I have wanted to do it before but never had the time before hand 2 look into what bags to buy etc.... Thanks guys.

I can see my menu now.... Beef stew and dumplings
Chicken Madras
Spag Bol
And defo choc pudding and custard.

Thanks vicks; i was thinking about those bags 2;

[Wayne]

Interesting topic. Let us know how you go on and what did / didn't work

[M0KAS]

And defo choc pudding and custard.

That reminds me of my school days, hmmm, i could just go for that right now, think ill be lazy and have bananas n custard

[nutgone]

The absolute best system for this would be a vacuum packing machine.

They're really meant for the catering industry, but smaller domestic models are widely available these days.

They usually come with a strip of plastic bag (a plastic tube in effect) which is heat sealed by the machine, whilst it also sucks all the air out.

This leaves you with a bag as big as it needs to be, & no air in with the food, so it lasts longer.

They can then be dropped in a pan of hot/boiling water, & as they're vacuum packed, they shouldn't explode when heated.

I've no idea how much a system like this costs, but would guess Amazon or ebay would be your first stop.

I myself prefer dehydrated meals, if I have to go down the pre-packed route (I normally like to cook from scratch, but can't always be bothered).
Dried meals are very light & there's so much variety these days. I usually get mine from a local pound shop type of place, they have all sorts, some common brands, usually 50p each.

I like the idea of frozen, home cooked, portions though. They could also act like little ice packs, in one of those miniature cool bags (the lunch-box/bag sized ones). They'd keep your milk fresh for a couple of days.

[badger]

thanx for all the input folks; Yea i will post what i did and how they were the vacuum idea very interesting.

When i cook a meal,chicken madras lets say... I make loads and then freezer tub lots of extra portions and they always taste great when defrosted and heated up so that was what got me thinking about this.... True about the dried stuff though.. I love chicken and mushroom pasta sauce

[Vicks2112]

I have a domestic sized vacuum gadget, I got mine from Lidl last year about £20. I do use it alot, but it does not seal the cook in baco bags which is weird! When I buy a big block of cheese I cut it into smaller pieces and vac pack them. I never have problems with cheese going off then. If I open a bag of fresh pasta and only use a wee bit, I vac out the air and seal the bag and it keeps for longer in the fridge. It seals crisp bags or any snack that you get in a big size, like popcorn.

If you vac pack a steak in a marinade, by taking all the air out you literally suck all the marinade into the steak and so you don't have to leave it overnight to absorb the flavour. Vac packed steak won't mess up the coolbox or cool bag either.

In the last few days I've used it to vac pack my kids boxers and socks in anticipation of our fortnight long holiday. I even rolled up their t-shirts, put three in a bag and vac packed that too. So they've now got 6 t-shirts each, and when the first three have been mucked up there'll be three relatively well ironed t-shirts ready for them for the next few days.

I've vac packed two of the four towels I'm bringing, again for use later in the holiday.

Obviously the domestic sized vac gadget will only do small things. But my butcher has an industrial vac packer and he's offered to vac anything I need.

[nutgone]

I guess it doesn't do to stand still too long in your house! You'll end up getting vac-packed as well!

Good to know they're a handy gadget though, I'll keep my eyes open in Lidl & Aldi

[Wayne]

I guess it doesn't do to stand still too long in your house! You'll end up getting vac-packed as well!

Good to know they're a handy gadget though, I'll keep my eyes open in Lidl & Aldi

Sounds like a good gadget though, will keep my eyes open.