Nine essential food rules for camping

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When I camped as a child, I remember the feeling of freedom and adventure, the exhilaration of being outdoors 24/7. But also, there were the sausages – it was the only time they appeared at every meal and the ketchup flowed freely.

Naturally, I wanted to share this formative experience with my own children (now aged 17, 15 and nine), so when my eldest was born, we vowed to spend time under canvas every year. We invested in a family tent and all the required paraphernalia, at which point there was no turning back.

I can tell you that food can make or break a camping trip. Morale will plummet in the face of a shortage of snacks, whether you’re with children or not. Preparation is key and everyone will eat twice as much as you think. Since 2013, we’ve teamed up with a group of neighbours for an annual camping trip. Initially, the menu revolved around pork products and marshmallows, but gradually our repertoire has expanded. Here’s what we have learned along the way, plus advice from outdoor experts.

Freeze items before you leave. Bacon, bolognese, sausages, even plastic milk bottles – all these can double up as ice blocks to keep everything else chilled, slowly thawing into something usable. If there’s any space left, wedge in those chilled cans of G&Ts (strictly to eliminate air pockets, of course).

There are other ways you can think ahead, too. “Channel your inner scout leader when preparing for camping,” advises Genevieve Taylor, founder of Bristol Fire School and author of How to BBQ. “I pour pancake mixture into a flask or a wide-necked bottle so I can rustle up Scotch pancakes for breakfast. I also tip some couscous into a ziplock bag, crumble in a stock cube and a few spices, then all you need to do is add hot water.”