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PRESERVAT ION A ' K D PROTECT ION OF FOODVJHILE C A M P I N G

C H ARLENE BAILEY H C lOi

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PHFSEHVATIOK AKD PROTECTION OF POODWHILE CAMPING

I. Why there is a need to preserve and protect food.All perishable foods should be kept as cold as possible andpacked so that it is safe from ants, insects and secure frominquisitive animals.A.. Foods needing minimum refridgeration*

1.. bacon 5* jellies2. cold cuts, 6. jams3. fresh or h a r d cooked eggs 7. fresh fishU. cheesesB. Foods needing more refridgerstion.These foods should be used first or left at home*1. butter U opened containers of2. milk salad dressing3 uncooked meatsThese items should be put into tightly sealed containersor in wrappings of metal foil and kept on ice on under ice.

II. How to preserve and protect food,Modern technology has given us many new refrigeration aids andfor camping the most efficient is the small portable icebox.The are compar-tively inexpensive and come in a wide variety ofsizes, materials and prices and better made than in the pest,.An icebox kept cold by ice ,regardless of hew well built itis, will rarely keep foods at a maximum low temperature for morethan thirty-six hours and even less if opened an d closed a lot*This all depends on the outside temperature, amount of foodstored, raumber of openings a n d closings, and the d e . g r - - - 6 of shade.Ice cubes will not keep food cold as long as a block ofice will. Freeze your own water in milk cartons, plastic bsgs,and wrap in metal foil. It is. easy to handle e n d provides drinking,water a s i t melts* V ^ - v > ' , ^ ^n

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box cold - t h a n to rechill it. Buy an extra "block of ice and storeit in a bucket, psil, basin, and wet leaves, cloth or paper tocover it with.These commercial boxes can cost from ten to twenty dollarswith a ice pick, can opener and bottle opener to two hundreddollars usinn bottled or canned propane gas or electricity,I doubt that the above mentioned types would be very satisfactoryfor the backpacker or hiker* You don't want to go lugging s7 5 > pound ice box: off into the woods* There are other ways tocool food and at little expense. I personally would advise thecanping menues be kept simple, we can all afford to rough itwhile camping. We have always camped from the trunk of the car,keeping the food stored in the trunk. When the children areold enough to heft a backpack, we will head for the woods andthen these other tecniques will come in very handy.There are many types of c r a t e r tight containers on themarket today* I have gathered a few of the one I just hadaround the'house. The variety of canned r t o o d s on the marketis endless,. 1 don't beleive there is any kind of food thatdoesn't come in a can., I'll try to show you here some thevarious ways you c?n preserve and protect your food. Theonly other problem which I have not yet solved is how to preventsome human animal from stealing it,! A simple net bag tied along the shore and enmersed in water.DON'T FOR}EI TO LA3LS THE CANS BY SCRATCHING OH PAIKTIH3 OH WHATTHE CONTENTS ARE..2,. & homemade s;orinf; box, food is placed on the shelf of boxor if waterproofed, in the bottogu This nay also be used as apack hamper to transport food in the car. In a fast stream, thebox could be flooded or float swcy so be sure to anchor it withcord to the shore. Divert current with rock in the stream abovethe spring bos.3 * The food may be placed directly in the stceam itself as long33 the items are marked. This is usually done by using a CofferDam,PURPOSE OF A COFFER DM: To cool canned poods such as food,fruits and breakfast drinks and prevent them from being w a s h e d ,away.HOW TO 3IJILD A COFFER DAI!: Simply arrange rocks, gathered from theshore, and place them in the stream making s half-moon shape by theshore.OTHER HELPFUL HIIJTS: Kark the cans before placing them in the wateras : - , h e paper Isbles will come off. Cans may be marked by scratchingthe top with a nail, or knife point, or fingernail nolish, r"

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waterproof paint. This saves the confusion of wondering what isin e a c h can.BREAKING CAMP: Rearrange the stones back on the shore beforeleaving the comping site, so that the pool will not be slow movingpermanstely,ALTERNATIVE: Cans may also ' e narked and p l a c e d , in a mesh b a r ;and anchored to the shore securely.ANOTHER ADVANTAGE: The dan, while coolinc the food, will preventit from being w a s h e d , away. There is virtually no chance that ananimal will disturb the conned goods or' the food.

lu > A Desert Ice Box may also be used and is very simple to make,PURPOSi:; 0? A DESERT ICE BOX: To keep foods cool by evaporationand protect the food from animals,HOT TO BUILD A DESERT ICE BOX: Use a wooden chest which is openon either one or two sides', with a shelf or two depending on thesize of the box desired, hang by a rope from the tree. Place ashallow pan on the t o r* of the bo?c and cover it with a burlap cloth,OTHER HELPFUL KBITS: "Hang the box in the shade as air speedsevaporation of water and the water in the pan will drip down thecloth, keeping the cloth wet and the food inside the feox cool,,5* Other food may be tied high off the ground in the same mannerwithout the evaporation method.

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78Waterfront a cold, mountain brook runsthrough this box, keeps the foodsstored inside cool, fresh, ready to use

A "wooden or metal spring box is idealfor campers who'select sites near a fast-ihoving, cold stream. Spring-box designincludes adequate holes at the bottomof opposite sides. When box is anchoredin a cold stream, the water runs in oneside of box, out the other. Perishablesstored on the shelf above the water levelkeep cool and fresh. Some camperswrap foods in a waterproof container ora plastic bag and place them in the bot-tom of boxright in water. Anchor thebo x with a stout cord to astake or rockon the shore. Or, place a fewrocks far Tther up in stream to divert strong cur-rent and put less pressure on the box.Tactics like these are especially impor-tant in rainy weather, as stream willru n with stronger current than usual.

You can build a c o f f e r dam to corralcanned foods in a stream rocks preventthe cans from washing away from camp

A coffer da m consists of rocks arranged so theyprotect a half-moon by shore in a stream. Cannedfoods such as fruits an d breakfast juices, softdrinks, stay cool when placed in this protectedarea of water. It's wiseto mark all the cans beforeyou put them in the water. The paper labels willcome of f when wet. You can rflark th e cans byscratching identification on top with nail or a

point of a knife. Or, you can label cans with finger-nail polish or waterproof paint. This marking letsyo u avoid th e frustrating experience of having toguess what each c an contains. Before yo u leaveca mp, rearrange the stones to their normal po-sitions, so pool will not be slow-moving perma-nently. Some campers mark cans,' tie them in amesh bag, then anchor mesh bag securely to shore.

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Versatile portable refrigerator changesfrom one power source to anotherwith no e f f o r t needed for the "switch"This universal camp refrigerator can be run onstandard 110-volt electricity, on low voltage,off propane gas cylinders, or off a throw-awaycontainer of LP gas. Y ou can perform the quickswitch from one power to another without open-ing the refrigerator cabinet. To use refrigeratoron low voltage, plug special 12-foot cord intocigarette lighter outlet and into a plug on theunit. Handsome plastic exterior is impervious toshock, will not fade in sunshine, resists staining.Interior is polystyrene. The refrigerator, empty,weighs an easy-to-carry twenty-eight pounds.

No straining needed! One person cantote this lightweight, plastic cooler,even when it is filled with food supplyModern cooler counts on molded expandable poly-styrene to give it a lightweight construction thatcampers like. This high-insulation plastic is stur-dy enough to withstand an accidental fall orknock. In addition, i t resists mold and mildeweven when the weather is less than ideal. Thewashable polystyrene stays fresh and odor-free,is buoya nt in w ater. Coolers like this are availablein many sizes an d shapes. Some of them are round,shaped like a covered bucket. Small, inexpensivemodels hold extra ice, supplement storage spaceoffered by the larger sizes of coolers.

Lined cooler holds eleven full gallonsor up to forty pounds of iceyet weighs only four-and-a-half poundsOne-piece green cooler body holds the cold forhours. Body is molded of bead-foam insulationthat works effectively on temperature control.Removable lid fits firmly, too, so contributesto the airtight qualities of cooler. The lid seals inplace when bail handle is raised. Inside cooler,copolymer plastic lining resists rust, it won't chipor crack or collect odors. This, like all coolers andiceboxes, does the best job when you place it ina shady place in camp, and open and close itquickly when you reach for items. Nev er leave thelid off for an extended length of time.

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Oval-shaped cooler takes care of extrasupplies of ice, is ideal holder fo rsoft drinks, melons, other bulky foodsOval shape and bail handle contribute to thecarrying ease of this colorful cooler. Campersappreciate the big four-gallon capacity cooleroffers, especially when extra ice needs an in-sulated storage spot. Fiberglass insulation andvinyl-coated liner that is varnished for addi-tional protection keep the interior frosty cool.This cooler comes with or without a food trayand is priced under nine dollars. You can dependon this camping helper the year-roundit isa handy item to include in your picnic gear,or, put cooler to work at a ba ck- yard barbecue.

Upright icebox features shelf storagearea as well as the push-buttonfaucet fo r drinking water and drainageRemovable plastic ice tray fits in top of this up-right icebox, holdji twenty-five pound cake of ice,

" Faucet on ice tray simplifies drainage of water-yo u don't have to remove tray. Interior of thebox wipes clean wjth damp cloth. All of the in-terior corners are rounded so there's no place fordirt or soil to:collect. Handles on sides of unitlet you strap box in place for traveling. The non-skid rubbe r legs help keep the box in place in caror wagon as well as on a table or rock in camp.The lightweight aluminum construction makesicebox easy to transport while you're in camp.

Aluminum and plastic combine to formthis sturdy ic e chest that will

v "give yo u years of dependable serviceAluminum and plastic mak e a practical combina-tion of materials for a camper's icebox. Bothmaterials are lightweight; box can be carriedeasily even when loaded. Both materials resistrusticebox stays new-looking for years. Onemodel of this icebox measures ten and a half bynineteen by eleven and a half inches. It holdstwenty-four twelve-ounce bottles and has an icecapacity of forty pounds. A slightly-larger ver-sion holds forty twelve-ounce bottles and seventypounds of ice. Prices range from twenty totwenty-six dollars, depending upon the capacity.

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Inexpensive desert icebox cools supplyo f perishable foods without aid fromrunning water, without need of real iceCampers who head fo r areas fa r from cool streamsand far from ice supplies can keep perishablefoods in a desert icebox. The law of evaporation,operates as the cooling agen t. This type of box forcooling food is easy to construct, assemble. Anywooden chest, such as an orange crate, forms themain structure. This box is covered with coarseburlap which is slit up one sideslit lets yo ureach inside to the stored food. Wet the burlapan d hang desert icebox in the shade where breezesca n speed evaporation of water in burlap. Eithersoak burlap by hand when it starts to dry, or puta pan of water on top of box and place end of bur-lap in it. Water from pan will creep down side ofbo x and do the soaking automatically. Evapora-tion will cool inside of box and the food by severaldegrees. A hot, dry climate just increases theefficiency. If no tree is handy , you can set box onshady rocks or even in shade of the vehicle or tent.

Four-legged visitors are foiled byfood hanging out of reach. Lengthof clothes line and a simple single-wheel pulley combine to form a food-lifting device. Attach about thirtyfeet of clothes line to pulley. Throw

end of line with pulley over treelimb that's ten or fifteen feet offground. Thread other end of linethrough pulley to about height oflimb. Then, pull pulley back up tolimb, snub the loop of line about tree

t runk or another lower branch. At-tach the food to loose end of rope,raise food up out of reach. In bearareas, be sure to include ham, bacon,and chocolate in the raised package.These ar e food favorites of bears.