how to pack frozen food for a car ride

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A cooler packed with ice is the easiest fashion to keep frozen food frozen, or at least cold enough to be safe to eat afterward. When the temperature of nutrient rises above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, it's good for almost two hours before leaner starts to increase to dangerous levels. Luckily, you lot can put frozen food transported for a few hours in a well-packed libation back into the freezer when you arrive at your destination, and that aforementioned libation tin extend the safe life of your food if you're camping. Here's the best way to practise it!

Option Your Cooler

Cheap cream chests work well to proceed nutrient cold, peculiarly for shorter trips. For an extended road trip, or if you're going car camping, a rigid cooler made from fiberglass or plastic is a sturdier option. If y'all program to take a lot of food, two small or medium coolers might exist easier to comport than one large one, especially since you need to pack the coolers full to maximize cooling efficiency, and they can get heavy in a hurry.

Load Up the Ice

Before you load your cooler with food, put some water ice or a few frozen gel-packs into the libation and put the chapeau on it for an hour, so the frozen items don't expend any energy in cooling downwardly the container. Ice blocks and gel-packs last the longest, but if y'all don't have whatever, put ice cubes in a plastic purse with a tight seal, add some h2o and freeze the bag to make an water ice block. Accept plenty ice in any course to fill upward any empty spaces in the cooler after the food is packed.

Pack It Tight

Packages containing raw meat belong in the bottom of a libation where they tin can't drip onto other foods, potentially contaminating them. If y'all're only bringing one cooler, put the items you'll utilise the most often on the tiptop. If yous have more than than i libation, pack 1 with items accessed often such equally condiments and drinks. You'll also desire to pack food in storage containers or sealable plastic bags so it stays dry as the ice melts. Put some water ice at the bottom of the cooler, and around the nutrient as you pack, simply save the majority of it for the top of the cooler to maintain a consequent temperature because cold air sinks. Pack the cooler completely full to keep food cold longer.

Wrap It Up and Stow It

To insulate the cooler further and keep it cold even longer, wrap information technology up in some thick towels or a blanket. Keep it somewhere in the main compartment of your car and avoid putting it in the body where it can heat up faster away from air workout. If you're camping, keep the cooler in the shade covered with a tarp when not in employ, and access it equally infrequently as possible.

References

Writer Bio

Since 1997, Maria Christensen has written nigh business, history, food, culture and travel for diverse publications. She ran her own business writing employee handbooks and business process manuals for small businesses, authored a guidebook to Seattle, and works equally an accountant for a software visitor. Christensen studied communications at the University of Washington and history at Armstrong Atlantic State University.

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