Whether you’re heading for the mountains or a trip down the coast, cooking on a camping holiday is an essential part of any outdoor trip – and it’s surprisingly often overlooked.
If you’re unfamiliar with camping cooking equipment, you’ve probably spent your time outdoors eating tinned food or sitting around a campfire waiting for your baked potato to crisp up in the flames.
We know that one of the most memorable parts of camping is getting to roast marshmallows on an open fire, surrounded by the great outdoors. However, if you were to rely on marshmallows and s’mores to fill you up – you’d be left pretty hungry and not have a great deal of energy to enjoy yourself!
It’s worth brushing up on your knowledge of what’s out there, as these days there are a whole host of innovative cooking devices specially made for camping. You won’t even be able to tell you’ve left your kitchen! Well.. except for the scenic views.
In this detailed guide, we will look at some camping cookware that will help you enjoy your camping experience to the fullest. Read on to find out more about the essential camping cooking kit you need, from stoves and fuel to cutlery and utensils…
If your trip involves staying at a lovely campsite, chances are you won’t be permitted to have an open fire. So if you’re still wanting to be able to cook, you must have access to a good camping stove. Or a BBQ!
There’s so much to choose from when it comes to camping stoves. It’ll depend on your preferred fuel type or what you feel most comfortable using. That’s why it can be important to establish what you’ll want to use it for:
There’s a camping stove out there to suit your needs, you just need to decide what its purpose will be.
The question is, do you need a camping stove that’s lightweight and can be used to whip up something quick and easy? Or do you need a stove that’ll suffice for a whole family? Here are the four main types to choose from.
Gas stoves are a great tool, and the time it takes to assemble one is minimal. Gas camping stoves are well suited to casual camping or short backpacking trips as they’re lightweight.
There are many different types of gas stoves available. So whether you need a single or multiple-burners is entirely up to you. Some models can include a grill. You won’t be stuck having to make the same meal every day of your trip!
Cadac is a leader in the outdoor cooking equipment world, guaranteeing quality in every product. Of course, there are many different great brands, and Cadac offers a variety of different cooking equipment, including lightweight gas stoves. It’s a brand that’s definitely worth checking out.
Gas stoves traditionally come in either butane, propane, or a mixture of the two gases in the fuel cylinders. The key difference between the two gases is the temperature at which they operate – their boiling points. Propane, for example, has a lower boiling point than butane of -42°C, so it can operate at very low temperatures.
Liquid fuel stoves tend to be quite compact, and they use refillable fuel bottles that contain methylated spirits, Coleman fuel, kerosene, or paraffin.
If your main priority is reliability – a liquid fuel stove will do the job as they work incredibly well in extreme temperatures. The only downside to liquid fuel stoves is that they can be difficult to operate in comparison to other types of stoves, and they do require regular maintenance and cleaning to prevent any premature breakage.
A favourite with tough terrain hiking due to being a minimalist asset. Alcohol burner stoves, such as those manufactured by Trangia, are powered by methylated spirits and are effective across a wide range of conditions.
The consensus is that these stoves are the most unlikely to fail you when you’re out in the wilderness, as there are virtually no moving parts, so very little maintenance is required. All you need to do is fill it and light it – then you’re good to go!
Most alcohol burner stoves also come with pots and pans included, which slot in with one another to make storage and transport much easier.
A solid fuel stove will use fuel such as alcohol gel or ‘hex’ blocks. These stoves are safe to use and relatively easy to use. Brilliantly suited for camping trips that involve the whole family as opposed to a solo trip.
The drawbacks to opting for a solid fuel stove are that in comparison to other choices out there – they burn slowly and are quite inefficient. It’s also harder to get your hands on the fuel blocks themselves, which you’ll need if you’re using a solid fuel stove.
There’s more to consider than a good stove if you want to enjoy great meals on your camping trips. These include:
It’s important to make sure that the materials you purchase are equipped for the great outdoors, as cooking materials for camping are more hardwearing and durable than the cookware you purchase for your home. This is because they need to be able to withstand more wear and tear, and of course – outdoor use.
Most camping cook sets are made out of aluminium, as it is an extremely lightweight material.
Keep a lookout for cook sets that have space-saving features, such as being able to fold and slot in together so that you can carry them with ease. Opt for non-stick pots and pans – because let’s be honest, you don’t want to spend your camping trip scrubbing away at your cookware!
If you forget these, you’ll be forced to eat out of the pan (not ideal), so we highly recommend adding camping cutlery and crockery to your camping necessities list.
Invest in some reusable cutlery, as this way you can keep them for future trips along with saving money as you won’t be constantly replacing your camping cutlery. Why not be conscious of your impact on the environment you love to see thriving and buy metal to reduce your plastic footprint?
Read more: How to cut plastic while camping and hiking
When you think about what you need from camping cutlery, think durable. That’s the main feature you should be looking for, as there’s no point in purchasing easily breakable camping utensils that you’ll have to replace after every trip.
The last thing you’ll want is all your cutlery floating around in your backpack, so consider looking at purchasing a pack that will have everything you need that comes in a compartment in a set for storage purposes.
One of the biggest inconveniences of camping cookware is the amount of unnecessary space it can take up. It’s worth looking into collapsible style camping bowls as this can save you space and avoidable dead weight.
The goal of camping cookware is to find worthwhile, durable additions. There’s no need to worry too much about scratches or artificial damage, the main focus should be reliability and getting as much use out of them as possible. This way you can enjoy your outdoor feasts without having to worry that your fork will snap mid-meal!
Getting a good night’s sleep is an essential part of any camping holiday. After all, you can’t enjoy an outdoor holiday to the fullest if you’re running on fumes. Here’s the Winfields guide on camping beds & airbeds.
Everything you need to know on the camping gas and which gas you’ll need for your camping stove.
