How Do You Keep Food From Getting Soggy in a Cooler?
Q. My dad and I went on a camping trip. We brought a big cooler full of food with lots of ice. But it was super hot, so the ice melted and swamped our food. The buns were soggy, and my graham crackers were half-soaked. What can we do to avoid this?
— Waterlogged Will, Bakersfield, Calif.
A. I’ve got just the answer for your troubles, Waterboy. Instead of a bunch of ice, try this: Get three or four large empty plastic bottles, like a 64-oz. jug from apple juice, Gatorade, etc. A couple of days before your next camping trip, fill them up with fresh water and toss them in the freezer. When it’s time to go on your trip, skip the bag of ice and just put those frozen water bottles inside your cooler. They’ll stay cold for a long time. And when they do finally melt, instead of a bunch of soggy food and melted ice, you’ll have four bottles of fresh water, perfect for drinking, washing, whatever.
I purchased some Lock n Lock containers they are watertight and when necessary to put things I don’t want to get wet in the cooler I use them. They also work for your gear you don’t want to get wet in the rain and they are normally cheaper than camping gear specified as water tight.
I ziplock all items that go in the ice chest to prevent cross contamination and the soggies.
its never a good idea to put “dry food” or food that doesnt need cooling in an ice chest with water, put it in a seperate box or an ice chest without ice
If you freeze all of the food that is freezeable, such as eggs in a bag and frozen flat or meat items, your need for ice will be greatly minimized. Also, when possible, leave the cooler plug open so the excess water can drain out.
Frozen half gallon milk jugs will solve your problem. Plus, When they do melt, you have a jug full of clean drinking water!
i always use frozen bottles
put your dry goods in a separate container, like a rubbermaid bin. This way, all items that don’t require cooling will be kept nice and dry – and chips and crackers stay crispy!! We’ve had this happen all too many times, and we plan on using frozen water bottles like mentioned above, or blue ice, and we also are planning on putting our meat in a smaller cooler (we have a huge rolling Coleman cooler) that we can use dry ice to keep it cold/frozen longer.
Similar idea to the large jug, but I use smaller plastic bottles of water. Freeze them a few days ahead of time; they fit in between the foods better than the bigger jugs.
I do the same. The small bottles are more versatile.
Great idea, Gear Guy! Thanks! (I just went camping this weekend with my dad and the tortillas got soaked with water because all the ice melted).
Since freezing water causes it to expand, don’t fill them up completely. Leave some room for the expansion.