All the Outdoors Goodness You Want in Quick, Easy Steps

Campfires have been traditionally used for cooking for as long as man discovered fire. Since it's such an old cooking technique, you'd think that campfire cooking would have been mastered by now. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. It is still as tricky as ever. Add to that the complication that some parks impose by banning campfires in some areas. But if you're lucky enough to get your chance at campfire cooking, here are tips you can use for your own safety and cooking enjoyment:

Bring the grill

Most campsites have onsite grills but it's always best to ask. Grilling is the best and simplest method you can use for campfire cooking. This method uses direct heat, so it's best utilized for smaller cuts of meat, hamburgers, sausages, toast and barbeques. It's important to pay close attention to the food while grilling it because this method employs direct heat. Food can get burned or catch fire easily.

Another type of cooking you can use with a campfire is roasting, perfect for skewered meats, chicken, hotdogs, sausages and marshmallows. Using skewers (preferably metal to avoid burning), you can cook food over your campfire. In a few minutes, you should be ready to eat.

Prepare the food

The secret to successful campfire cooking is to have the food prepared before going on your trip. This helps you enjoy your time more and saves you a lot of effort from trying to cut, chop or grind your ingredients. If the food is prepared beforehand, you can get cooking as soon as the campfire is ready.

Be practical

Some things that we associate with campfire cooking may not be plausible, such as a pot of soup that hangs over the flames. If set up using found wood, it might prove to be unstable and also difficult to build. If you truly want to use things like this for your campfire, make sure you know the right techniques to use for safe cooking. If all else fails, use a metal rigging to secure the pot in place or just avoid it entirely.

Use ingredients that are easy to cook

Campfire cooking shouldn’t take hours for just a piece of steak. Use recipes that are tried and tested. If you must experiment, have a backup plan. Choose recipes that you know will succeed with and make sure they will cook easily. Try stuffed fish, bacon wrapped steaks, buttered corn on the cob, sliced vegetables, roast beef or pork with prepared sauce and top with fresh fruits, pies or tarts.

Seven Important Things Why Cooking Measurement Spells Success

There is a special reason why recipes are very specific with ingredient and temperature measurements. It is the key to making the cooking experience a success. However, don’t be too strict on this because a little deviation won’t hurt. What are the things that you should know about cooking measurements? Keep reading to find out.

1. Accuracy in measurement is good but every good cook knows that slight deviations may actually improve the taste of what you are cooking. However, there are some recipes that require the exact measurement for cooking to be considered a success. Following exact measurements helps for a smooth performance of the cooking process.

2. One of the best ways in measuring cooking ingredients is to measure at home by putting all the ingredients in plastic bags. This only works for dry ingredients.

3. Liquid is measured in volume as well as some solids like sugar, flour, salt and spices. Meats are measured in mass or counts.

4. It is important that you know the conversions of cooking measurements. In case you don’t have some of the utensils, it is easier that you know the conversions so you can make the necessary adjustments. This is also true when you have to multiply the amount because you are serving more people. For example, use cups instead of teaspoons by converting the measurements.

5. Following the exact temperature of a utensil to be used is important. It is the cooking surface that requires a certain temperature and the problem is, it can’t be readily measured as in the case of heating plates or burners. But thanks to technology, you can now do the exact measurements with utensils that can be bought that come with thermostats that regulate temperature.

6. Measuring utensil temperature indirectly can be done by doing the measurement on one side of, for example, a waffle plate or pan. This is important when cooking meat. The reason for this is that, the exact temperature will yield the best taste and will assure that all the microorganisms are killed.

7. When using teaspoons, it is good to know that measurements in the UK are quite different in the US. Basically, modern measurements have an equal amount in teaspoons, meaning a level teaspoon in the US is same as that in the UK, approximately 5 ml. However, old UK recipes use heaping teaspoons rather than level teaspoons. I’d find out first, if I were you.

Cooking measurements are very important. If you are serious about the art of cooking, you must be aware by now that you need to know the different conversions and measurements you need to ensure food safety and success.