Going Camping? Tools for Your Camp Kitchen

We're going camping in a few weeks, on what has become the annual canoe/kayak trip to Saranac Lake Islands in the Adirondaks.  The Saranac Lake islands have really nice, rustic campsites that require a boat to access.  You can take a motor boat, but we're taking a canoe, as usual.  This year we're staying on the middle lake which has much less traffic than the lower lake, and I'm really looking forward to it.   

After reading Jhumpa Lahiri's piece about vacation home kitchens in the NYT earlier this week, I started thinking about all of the organizing I'm going to have to do to pull together my 'camp kitchen.'    Camping, like many pastimes, is partly about stuff - who's got the best, most useful, most multi-purpose get-you-out-of-a-jam type stuff.  Friends and I used to joke about someone's 'kit.'  Like if someone brought a really great multi-purpose gadget, we'd all say, only somewhat jokingly, "nice kit."  So I take my camping gear very seriously and I have strict criteria about what I bring.  Especially for the camp kitchen.

My general rules are these: Each item has to have multiple purposes, or has to be something where some other object cannot do the same function.  Compactness is important, as is weight.   It has to be sturdy, hopefully unbreakable, and ideally re-usable.  The less garbage you bring in, the less you have to carry out.   I haven't gotten to the state yet where I make fancy stuff like bread or cakes, and we generally have a fairly meat-based menu, but having the right kitchen gear can make the difference between good and bad camp food.  Just to be clear, I'm talking mainly about tent camping where you are cooking on a camp fire, not in an RV or trailer with a kitchen.

The thing that I really like about canoe or kayak camping is that you have the ability to bring some of the comforts and conveniences of home - much different than backpacking, where you need to winnow down your belongings to fit in a little, heavy bag that you have to carry on  your back - but you still can get pretty far out in the woods and away from it all.  I grew up in Colorado, and we used to go on camping trips with horses - either carrying everything on our own horse, or having the luxury of a pack horse that could carry even more stuff.  The guy who used to lead our 4-H camping trips (pack trips we called them), Tom Butterfield, a true horseman in every sense of the word, had all sorts of amazing camp gear including a hand made sheepherders' stove made out of a 5 gallon drum cut in half, with a piece of cast iron welded on to the top that could be used as a cooking surface and a hot water pot that hooked on to the side that would provide hot water on demand once the stove was hot.  I went on a trip one year with some professional outfitters in Montana, and they had a fold-up kitchen that included a stove, wash basin and counter space.  Every day we moved, they would fold it up and pack it on the mule.  

I don't have a fold-up kitchen, but here's my list of what I'm planning on bringing to outfit my kitchen, and what I recommend to make any camp cooking experience a little easier. 

First, the essentials - These are all things that I consider to be mandatory in a camp kitchen:

1. Folding grill - Most campsites I've been to promise a fire ring with a grill, but you would NEVER want to cook on the grill they provide, usually because they are bent out of shape and filthy.  A grill with fold-down legs lets you grill directly over the fire, and you can also put pots and pans on it above the flame.   It's true that you can always sharpen a stick and stick your meat directly in the fire, but after a few days, that gets a little old.
2. Cooler - It doesn't have to be a big one or even one with fancy wheels and cup holders. I usually try to use the stuff that needs to be refrigerated on the first few days and nights so that we aren't dependent on the cooler when all of the ice is gone.  One important thing we learned last year - get block ice rather than ice cubes.  It lasts MUCH longer.  Camping Blogger had the great idea to use 1-gallon milk jugs to make ice blocks which seems really smart.
3. Can opener - Even if it's just the one on your Swiss army knife, you need a can opener.  Canned food is very convenient for camping.  It's heavy, but it comes with it's own cooking pot and serving dish (hobo style) and doesn't need refrigeration.  After you're done with it,  you can compress it and easily take it with you when you leave.  That said, I like to use canned food to supplement the regular menu, not just as the main dish.
4. Leather work gloves - These were a recent discovery for me.  After years of bringing a grungy old pot holder, last year I brought leather work gloves for gathering wood.  I quickly realized they are a MUST HAVE for cooking and working around the fire.  You can easily add wood, move the hot grill, move hot pots, turn food over the fire and generally just be around the camp fire doing stuff all without getting burnt.  Leather work gloves are a must.
5. Heavy duty tinfoil - Multi-purpose and often re-usable, you can wrap potatoes in tinfoil and bury them in the coals for excellent baked potatoes, you can make a makeshift pan to cook bacon, meat or vegetables, you can store and carry food in tinfoil (as long as it's not acidic like tomatoes).
6. Pocket knife - At the very least, you need a good, sharp pocket knife, like a Swiss Army knife or a Leatherman.  One with a can opener, an awl and a small pair of scissors is great.  But mainly you just need a good sharp knife.
7. Kitchen knife -  A good sharp basic cooking knife is a necessity if you plan on doing any sort of 'real' cooking besides just throwing meat on the grill.  I have a small-ish chefs knife that I made a cover for (cardboard and duct tape!) to reduce the likelihood of accidental cuts.
8. Small cutting board - Another necessity if you plan on doing real cooking that demands chopping or cutting.  Most picnic tables are pretty dirty.  I have a small plastic one with a handle that can also be used to serve food.
9. Multi-purpose lighter - One of the long ones that allow you to start fires (or light candles) without burning your fingers.  I've actually yet to find one of these that doesn't break easily or stop working after a few times, has easy-to-use child-proof features (most of them are adult-proof as well) and is refillable.  So bring a few in case you have trouble. And always bring a back-up of water-proof matches.
10. Utensil set - There are lots of different varieties of these, I have the MSR Alpine Kitchen Cupboard  which includes a plastic bowl into which the utensils fold away for storage and carrying.  Note: the utensils are heat resistant, but the bowl they come in is not.  The spoon/ladle has measuring cup markings (convenient for making pancakes), and it includes a pasta strainer and a spatula (also convenient for pancakes).  I added a metal pot grabber to my kit to grab and lift cans and metal pots off the fire or grill.  It also includes some small plastic containers, but I haven't found these to be very useful.
11. Small gas backpackers stove -  I have another MSR product, the Super Fly stove.   I definitely have some usability issues with this stove - it's just a burner that you screw onto a butane canister - so the balance is very iffy if you don't have it on a completely flat surface, and actively stirring something isn't a great idea.  You also really need a wind screen of some sort to block any wind so it heats properly.   I primarily use it to heat water for coffee, tea, hot chocolate, soup, and hot Tang (yes, hot Tang).  It's great to have in the mornings when you don't feel like starting a fire, or it's raining and you can't start a fire and you want something hot to eat or drink, and it's really small and light.  Always bring an extra butane canister since it's difficult to tell how much fuel each of them contain.
12. A small kettle/pot that fits on your gas stove - Something small and light that has a lid and a handle of some sort for pouring.
13. Paper towels - At home, I try to use cloth kitchen towels more than paper towels.  But when you're camping, it's kind of pointless to bring cloth towels that may end up getting ruined.   Paper towels can be disposed of in the fire, and can also be used as kindling in a pinch.
14. Paper plates - I know this isn't very eco of me, but I much prefer to have paper plates camping than metal or plastic ones.  First, they are multi-purpose: use them to eat off of, fan a slow fire, start a recalcitrant fire, leave notes for fellow campers.  Second, you don't have to wash them.  Third, you can burn them when you're finished with them so you have less garbage to carry out.  I just get the plain paper ones rather than the wax covered ones.  If you want a truly multi-purpose plate, consider bringing a Frisbee.  You can use it as a plate (with a lip so your food doesn't slide off) or for many other things besides tossing back and forth.
15. Spoon and fork - In general, everyone is responsible for their own knife, fork and spoon.  But it is nice to have a few extras hanging around in case you have company drop by.
16. Stanley cup - I don't mean a hockey trophy.  I mean a 2 in 1 cup and bowl  made by the tool makers Stanley.  It has an interlocking cup and bowl, a tight-fitting lid and it's big enough to hold a satisfyingly large amount of tea, coffee or soup.  It also insulates drinks if you use it while the two parts are interlocked together.
17. Plastic garbage bags - Some camp sites have garbage service, but many of them don't because the garbage attracts animals.  Plastic garbage bags are a must for any multi-day camping trip.  Be prepared with some rope and hooks to hang your garbage in a tree overnight so animals can't get to it.
18. Ziplock bags and plastic deli containers - Both for keeping leftovers and for storing food in a watery cooler. 
19. 5 gallon plastic bucket with a tight lid - We actually have two of these that we bring:  1 for getting water and/or washing dishes and the other for storing food in a place that prying little animals can't get to it.
20. Cast iron pan - For eggs, bacon, pancakes, any kind of sautéing, a well-seasoned cast iron pan is the best.  Obviously, they aren't light, but the versatility is worth it.  I don't recommend cookware with Teflon, especially if you are going to use it over the fire.  There's a lot of information about toxic chemicals that are released by Teflon cookware, especially at high temperatures.
    
    Nice to have items:
21. Plastic table cloth - Where we're going, all of the camp sites have picnic tables, but they are pretty grungy.  A plastic tablecloth gives you a clean surface and adds a bit of homey-ness.  It can also double as a rain tarp in a pinch.
22. Biodegradable soap - You can actually get away without having this if you are going on a shorter trip, or if you just use your grill.  If you do get soap, just be sure that it's biodegradable and wash your dishes away from the water.
23. Candles - Not just for light, but for romantic ambiance as well.
24. Larger pot  - I'm not a big pasta while camping fan, so I generally don't bring one of these.  But pasta is really easy to make, either over the fire or using the camp stove, so a pot big enough to boil enough water for pasta for 2-4 can come in handy.  It’s also good for keeping some warm water on the go for washing and cleaning up.
25. Sponge - When you go camping, you're never REALLY clean, but you can pretend you are if you have a sponge handy.
26. Water filter - Last year we went out for a full week without making any trips back in to town to get supplies.  This meant that we either needed to bring all of the water we would need for 7 days, or find a way to filter our own.  We got the Katadyn Camp filter  that you simply fill up and hang from a tree and let gravity do the rest (many other filters require you to manually pump water).  It worked really well and I'm a big fan of this type of filter.
27. Collapsible water jug - The counterpart to the water filter.  We use a collapsible plastic jug since it's easier to pack and carry.
28. Fuel sticks - In case you haven't practiced your survivor fire starting skills, or if it's rainy and damp, these fire starters can mean the difference between having a fire and not having one.
29. The Stanley cups work well around camp, but if you will be hiking or out on the lake, a thermos is a great thing to bring to keep warm drinks while you are out exploring. 
30. A Tree Huggerz.  No, I don't mean a hippie.  A Tree Huggerz is a camp organizer that you wrap around a tree so you can keep stuff off the ground.  It has pockets and hooks that you can use to store tools, hang towels and keep stuff organized.

Here's a decent site with some tips on starting a fire for cooking and some easy campfire recipes. 

Now I just need to put together a menu...

*I've linked to a lot of products on the Campmor site because I LOVE Campmor (not because they are paying me anything).  They have a great selection of products, a nice website and really great catalogs that I get in the mail twice a year with hand drawings of many of the products they have available.  They've always been really good with customer service, and they aren't a chain store.

Comments

[Camping or picnic]

Thanks for the steps.. I'm gonna follow these for my next camping.
https://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=817789614&email=7cff47bb7cdcb76fbfa15e66c81a1961

[campgrounds in oregon]

This is sufficient i mean to say you have covered all the points and kitchen accessories.Well when i was on the camping many of the things from this list has been covered up.Thanks for the list.

[texas camping]

quite a good list and i must say interesting too. as there a lot of things, which others might think as unnecessary.