A Guide to Freezing Food in a Cooler

Anyone who has ever gone on a camping trip or a long car ride and worried about keeping their food fresh for several days knows the struggle. The shelf life of your dairy-packed, previously frozen casserole depends on factors like the cooler's material and size, the cooling agent used, and how long it was stored.

You can speed up the cooling process by using small pieces of ice because they can cover more of the food's surface. It takes more time for larger pieces to melt. A good compromise is to use a mix of large and small chunks of ice so that you can have refreshing drinks on the first night and still feel safe using the skewers for your chicken dinner the following day.

Easy to find and purchase from park stores, cubed ice is perfect for topping off your coolers throughout your trip. But you can prepare for your trip by freezing water bottles for larger frozen items. Because of the plastic's added (albeit minimal) layer of insulation, larger ice chunks take longer to thaw. Saving room in the fridge by drinking thawed water

When fighting against melting, air is your enemy. If you want to keep your frozen food from thawing too quickly, you should spend as little time as possible digging around in the cooler. Consequently, it is important to organize your meals and store the food in the cooler in the order in which you will use it.

Instead of emptying the cooler of its cold water after the ice has melted, keep it full. Since it will be cooler than the air that would replace it if you removed it, your food and drinks will stay cool for longer. More of your frozen food's surface area will be in contact with the cooling agent if you leave liquid in the cooler. Make sure everything is tightly sealed if you intend to leave the cold water in with the food.

You could use the frozen items you have on hand as a makeshift ice pack. Even though you probably don't bring large amounts of meat when you go camping, a small frozen ham will do double duty as an ice pack, a meal base, and a space saver in your cooler. It may serve as an ice pack so well that it needs to be briefly thawed by the campfire's embers before being used for food preparation. Camping food can double as a cooling agent, so think about what you might want to bring.

Your destination and length of trip will play a role in determining the type of cooler you'll require.

• For short-term storage of light items, a Styrofoam or insulated cooler bag will suffice. For longer excursions, consider the LIFOAM 30-Quart Styrofoam Cooler; for shorter outings, a standard soft-sided cooler like the Ozark Trail 12 Can Soft Side Cooler will suffice, even though it is primarily designed for beverages.
• Pay more attention to ice-holder ratings and the quality of the lid seal, and opt for plastic or stainless steel if you need a large amount of storage space and durability over the course of several days. The cooler's lid seal is more crucial the longer you camp, as you will be opening it multiple times over the course of five days and you want to prevent any stale air from entering. The Coleman 62-Quart Xtreme is a favorite and comes highly recommended. It's a relatively modern plastic cooler, what with its wheels and built-in cup holders.
• When camping near water, it is often convenient to store your cooler in the water (depending on the time of year and water temperature), so a stainless steel cooler like the Coleman 54-Quart Stainless Steel Cooler is a good investment.

Dry ice can be used to prevent frozen food from spoiling if you have the right kind of cooler. This is why you need a cooler of a specific type, like those produced by the industry-leading innovator in outdoor recreation equipment, YETI.

The highly praised yet expensive YETI Tundra 45 costs $350. If you're willing to forego the brand, alternatives like the Costway Outdoor Insulated 40 Quart Cooler Chest are available at a lower price.

Dry ice is a more expensive and dangerous alternative to regular ice that is becoming increasingly popular in the camping and hunting communities. Visit the dry ice directory to find a supplier near you if you want to give this method a try.

It's elementary: if the ice is better protected, it will take longer to melt. Think about the amount and kind of insulation your cooler provides.

• You can buy Styrofoam blocks online from wholesalers, so if you're carrying around a regular plastic bag, you might want to consider squeezing in a thin layer of insulation on the cooler's sides.
• If you have any doubts about how quickly certain foods will defrost (or become more of a hassle once thawed, like chicken), place them in a separate insulted cooler bag before putting them in the cooler.
• Putting a frozen towel in the bottom or on top of the cooler can provide additional insulation.

Since melting is accelerated by direct sunlight, it's important to find a cool, shaded spot as soon as you arrive at your destination. Find holes in frozen lakes (or create one yourself) and set the cooler there, as long as it is not in direct sunlight or in danger of floating away, if you are an adventurous camper who plans to commune with nature in the winter or early spring.

Keep all perishables frozen until just before departure. The cooler's temperature should be lowered before any food is placed inside. In order to pre-cool the cooler before packing, grab a sacrificial bag of ice and let it melt inside the cooler.

Sustaining your camp through food requires careful planning. Think about how long you'll be gone before deciding on a cooler size. You should pre-chill the cooler (and the food) before packing it. Make sure your cooler has adequate insulation, that you have multiple cooling agents of varying sizes, and that you find a suitable location for it as soon as you set up camp. You won't have any trouble eating all the food you cooked for your special trip if you plan ahead.