Camping has increased in popularity a lot. Just back in 2016, as many as 40.5 million Americans regularly went camping, which is 13.7% of the population, and the numbers have been growing ever since. Anyone who has gone camping agrees it is more than just a trip. Sitting around a campfire, talking to each other in the serene atmosphere, and sharing food is something special. Food brings people together, and after a tiring day in the wilderness, enjoying some good food is unmatched. All the more reason that you should carefully plan what you will need for cooking at a camp. Each trip’s duration, environment, and number of campers will vary, so it is difficult to know what you exactly need and what campfire cooking kit you should buy. To help you with that, we have prepared this guide.
Features of a Campfire Cooking Kit
Material
Construction material for any cookware is essential, and even more so when you’re cooking on a campfire. Ideally, the pots and pans in your campfire cooking kit should be made of cast iron, aluminum, stainless steel, or titanium. The handles and lids of these pots and pans should not be made of plastic or glass, as they will not survive the direct flames.
Weight
Undoubtedly weight is an essential consideration in these campfire cooking kits, especially if you’re a light packer. Most of the time, you’ll have to carry your stuff, especially if you’re planning a hiking trip. The more lightweight, the better and easier it is to carry around. That doesn't mean compromising material quality, as a good kit is durable and light.
Cleaning
You’re not going to have the same cleaning supplies at camp as at home. A good campfire cooking kit has pots and pans that clean quickly with just water and a sponge. Being non-stick also helps, as food does not stick to your cookware, so cleaning is as simple as rinsing with water.
What’s included
When it comes to a campfire cooking kit it is understood that it should contain much more than just cookware. These accessories may include utensils, cutlery, bags, and even cleaning supplies. These can be lifesavers, and they significantly add to the value of your cooking kit. The quality of these accessories varies from brand to brand, so choose carefully.
Convenience
When we talk about convenience, it usually means ease of use. Suitable campfire cooking kits have pans and pots with ergonomic designs that are easy to handle on direct fire. They also have good portability because they pack away swiftly into one compact body and unpack easily when needed.
Buying a Ready-Made Campfire Cooking Kit
Nowadays, people often debate whether it is better to buy a complete cooking kit or build one yourself. We recommend you always go for a ready-made option for good reasons. First, if you take the extra step of planning and packing your cooking kit for camping, it takes a lot of time. Especially if you’re a first-time camper with no idea what you will need on a trip. The companies that offer ready-made kits research and construct kits with things suited to campers' needs. Secondly, if you try to build a kit, you’ll often need to buy things separately, significantly increasing your total cost. On the other hand, the ready-made kits provide all these things in one package at competitive prices. Perhaps the most ideal thing about these campfire cooking kits is that they pack away efficiently. This is opposed to building your own kit, as often small things get lost, and you will have to repurchase them. Not to mention the terror of carrying all the clanking cookware around separately while camping.
How To Cook on a Campfire
Camping can be good for your mental health, which is why participants are increasing every year. People new to camping often struggle with the cooking process. Here are three tips that’ll make the cooking part much more straightforward.
Preparing the fire
A common mistake among new campers is that they start cooking too early. A campfire takes around 45 minutes to an hour to be hot enough for cooking. When you begin to see coals forming, that's the right time to put on your food.
Prepare two fires
This doesn't mean that you need to light two fires separately. Just take some coals from the fire you already built and make a separate section for cooking using those coals. This way, the cooking process will be much faster and will not take up space at the central campfire.
Regulate the process and temperature
Use the right cookware for the type of food you’re preparing. For example, if you want to prepare some meat, use a cast iron or aluminum pan. The same goes for the temperature. If you feel like the fire is too hot, take out some of the coals. Cooking on too hot of a fire usually leaves your food raw inside and burns it on the outside.
