Unless you are planning to pitch your tent in the backyard and pop into the home kitchen for your meals you don’t need to worry about camping cookware. You are here because are probably planning to take your tent out into the great wilderness for an adventurous vacation or family weekend. Whether you are far away from civilization or even pitching a tent at a handy campsite with modern cons, you will be reliant on eating the foods you cook yourself in camp.
The two most popular methods of camp cooking in the wilds are over an outdoor fire which you will have built yourself, giving a focal point to the camp, or by using a portable stove. It is sensible to buy camping cookware, which will adapt to most methods, as you can never know exactly when a stove may let you down, and you have to count on your camp fire for meals.
Luckily the camping cookware available today comes in a good variety of choice with some even satisfying the exacting standards of the gourmet camp cook. If you are planning to camp a lot, then its best to find something of good long-lasting quality, rather than the cheapest that you can find believe me. The most important consideration is the weight of your camping cookware itself if you will be moving around with it as you won’t want to be burdened with too much weight when carrying it.
Even campers who can’t cook will need some kind of cooking equipment, even if it is only to boil a packet of hydrated camp food into life. If you fall into this category, then the cheapest yet best choice would be an aluminum pan with a lid. You can throw some plastic dishes inside to eat from, and a fold-up spoon and that will really be all you need if the wilderness is not the place you intend to turn to cookery.
Those who have higher ambitions than boil in the bag camping food would be better advised to invest in the most durable and lightweight equipment, which is titanium. You can heat food quickly in a non-corrosive aluminum pan, and it is the toughest cookware there is, so although it is the most expensive, it will last far longer than cheaper camping cookware options.
You will need at least a cooking pan and a frying pan, but some have dual purpose lids that act as strainers or plates as well as actual lids. Look for pans with well-fitting lids as they help the food to cook more efficiently as well as saving fuel. If you need to carry your cookware, then forget about cast iron due to the weight.
You could even invest in a set of pans that fit inside one another if a lot of cooking is planned and look for ones that will also hold your dishes and folding cutlery, so everything can be packed neatly inside to save space.
If you are planning to make coffee while camping, it really is worth investing in a decent camping coffee machine too if you like your coffee. There is an outdoors mini camper expresso machine available with expresso cups, which is well worth the investment for anyone who isn’t human without their coffee. Check REI recommendations for coffee makers.
The most important considerations to keep in mind when selecting your camping cookware are weight, durability, and versatility. Good quality is worth it for those who plan to cook, whilst the basics only are necessary for those who can’t cook.
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