Campfire dishes: variations and selection rules

Each exit on the nature is accompanied by cooking. Soup or porridge from the pot, smelling like smoke of the ear, roasted meat or sausages, baked vegetables or herbal collection, cooked in the open air, acquire an unprecedented taste. But for the realization of culinary fantasies need suitable utensils. Let's look at how to choose tourist utensils for a fire, so that our gastronomic delights in nature are real dishes.

When choosing picnic accessories, you need to decide how we will prepare the dish: on a fire or on a burner (mini-cooker). The pot for a fire differs from a pan for a torch by a greater wall thickness. In addition, there are no combustible objects on the fireplaces (plastic handles and locks).

Traditionally, campfire dishes for a fire were made of cast iron, steel, aluminum or titanium. Cast iron is not popular due to gravity, titanium alloys are expensive, and steel and aluminum are used quite often. Each of these materials has its pros and cons.

So, consider several types of dishes for cooking on a fire.

Camping pots are made from aluminum, stainless steel or titanium. There are also familiar for all enameled objects.

• Aluminum pans are very light, easy to transport or carry. One more plus of aluminum - it does not rust. But in aluminum dishes you can only boil water for tea, no more. Cook porridge in such a pan is unlikely to succeed - it burns faster than it has time to cook. In addition, the dishes of the early years of release is oxidized and releases harmful substances. From frequent use, aluminum is deformed and loses its visual appeal. It should be cleaned with a soft sponge, otherwise it quickly becomes useless.

• Titanium dishes - development of the space industry. It is light, but durable. Due to the strength of titanium walls are very thin. The main advantage of using such a pan is that titanium does not burn the skin and keeps the dish warm for a long time. The main disadvantage is the high cost. However, the durability, hardness and lightness of titanium alloy will allow to use the products for many years.

• Enameled pans - not a very convenient way of cooking on the fire, the food quickly burns.

• Stainless steel. Stainless steel pots are also light. "Stainless steel" - more durable material than aluminum and keeps the temperature longer. But if we talk about cooking on a fire, then some minuses become obvious. In recent years, such pots are produced with a multilayer bottom so that the dish does not burn. This is convenient for a home cooker, but not for a fire. The walls of the pan are thin and quickly burn on the fire. Appearance spoils quickly, the dish burns.

Cast iron kettles are in great demand among outdoor enthusiasts. Such pots are needed for dishes of long cooking (ear, rice). Due to the density of the walls and bottom, the food in such a pot is cooked quickly, it does not stick. The pot is easily peeled off. And you can even clean it with a sharp object, it will not be scratched.

It must be remembered that the new pot must be pre-processed. To protect the iron from rust, it is still at the factory that all iron products are coated with industrial grease.It is not harmful, but before use, the product should be ignited on the stove, pre-sprinkled with salt. To preserve the quality of cast iron cookware, it must be thoroughly washed and treated with fire. Thus, the protective layer will be restored on the product.

You can store a cast iron pot with other things, however, it should not be subjected to severe mechanical damage. Pig iron is a fragile metal and a crack may appear on impact. For a picnic or a holiday in nature is the best option. Delicious food is guaranteed.

Usually in a roasting pan cooked on a fire (not on the burner), setting a skillet over the fire using a special stand. On the broiler, you can quickly cook several servings at a time, ensuring a uniform roast.

Fire pans can be cast iron and steel. As in the case of the pan, cast iron attracts natural non-stick properties. At the same time, the main disadvantage is a lot of weight. For the manufacture of a steel skillet for a campfire using high carbon, the so-called blue steel. This brazier is not afraid of flame and serves for years. But it should be remembered that blue steel also requires special care. To avoid rust, the surface must be cleaned from moisture and oiled after use.

Today the market offers a variety of options for bonfire. Before making a choice between quality, size or manufacturer, it is necessary to determine the purpose and duration of the campaign. This will allow you to choose a set of dishes that can “feed” all members of the group.

Most brands indicate the type of tourism product and the number of people designed to set. If the exit to nature is planned only for a couple of days, then you can take with you dishes from any material. If the trip lasts a week or more, long transitions and changing overnight places are assumed, then in this case it is better to take along some light bowlers.

In the next video you will find an overview of the aluminum set of dishes for cooking on an open fire on a hike.