Cookware for a fire: varieties and selection rules

Every outing is accompanied by cooking. Soup or porridge from a pot, smelling of ear smoke, fried meat or sausages, baked vegetables or herbal preparations cooked in the fresh air, acquire an unprecedented taste. But for the realization of culinary fantasies, you need suitable dishes. Let's figure out how to choose campfire utensils so that our gastronomic delights in nature turn out to be real dishes.

When choosing picnic accessories, you need to decide how we will cook the dish: on a fire or on a burner (mini-stove). A pot for a fire differs from a pot for a burner in a larger wall thickness. In addition, there are no combustible objects (plastic handles and locks) on the fire utensils.

Traditionally campfire utensils were made of cast iron, steel, aluminum or titanium. Cast iron is not popular due to its weight, titanium alloys are expensive, and steel and aluminum are used quite often. Each of these materials has its pros and cons.

So, let's look at several types of utensils for cooking on a fire.

Camping pots are made from aluminium, stainless steel or titanium. There are also enameled objects familiar to everyone.

• Aluminum pans are very light, they are easy to transport or carry. Another advantage of aluminum is that it does not rust. But in aluminum dishes you can only boil water for tea, no more. Cooking porridge in such a pan is unlikely to succeed - it will burn faster than it has time to cook. In addition, the dishes of the early years of production oxidize and release harmful substances. From frequent use, aluminum is deformed and loses its visual appeal. It must be cleaned with a soft sponge, otherwise it quickly becomes unusable.

• titanium cookware - development of the space industry. It is lightweight but durable. Due to the strength of titanium, the walls are very thin. The main advantage when using such a pan is that titanium does not burn the skin and keeps the dish warm for a long time. The main disadvantage is the high cost. However, the durability, hardness and lightness of the titanium alloy will allow you to use products for many years.

• Enameled pots - not a very convenient way to cook on a fire, food burns quickly.

• From stainless steel. Stainless steel pots are also lightweight. "Stainless steel" is a more durable material than aluminum and keeps the temperature longer. But if we talk about cooking on a fire, then some disadvantages become obvious. In recent years, such pans have been produced with a multi-layered bottom so that the dish does not burn. This is convenient for a home stove, but not for a fire. The walls of the pan are thin and quickly burn on fire. The appearance quickly deteriorates, the dish burns.

Cast iron pots are in great demand among outdoor enthusiasts. Such kettles are needed for long-term cooking dishes (ear, pilaf). Due to the density of the walls and bottom, food in such a pot cooks quickly and does not burn. Carbon deposits are easily removed from the pot. Moreover, you can clean it even with a sharp object, it will not be scratched.

It must be remembered that a new bowler must be pre-treated. To protect cast iron from rust, all cast iron products are coated with industrial grease at the factory. It is not harmful, but before use, the product should be calcined on the stove, after sprinkling with salt. To maintain the quality of cast iron cookware, it must be thoroughly washed and treated with fire. Thus, the protective layer will be restored on the product.

You can store a cast iron pot together with other things, but at the same time it should not be subjected to severe mechanical damage. Cast iron is a brittle metal and can crack on impact. For a picnic or a vacation in nature, this is the best option. Delicious food is guaranteed.

It is common to cook in a brazier over a fire (not a burner), setting a shallow pan over the fire using a special stand. The roaster can quickly cook several servings at a time, ensuring even roasting.

Fire pans can be cast iron or steel. As with the saucepan, cast iron has natural non-stick properties. At the same time, the main disadvantage is the large weight. For the manufacture of a steel pan for a fire, high-carbon steel, the so-called blue steel, is used. Such a brazier is not afraid of the flame and serves for years. But it should be remembered that blue steel also requires special care. To avoid rust, the surface must be wiped from moisture and lubricated with oil after use.

Today, the market offers a variety of options for fire utensils. Before making a choice between quality, size or manufacturer, it is necessary to determine the goals and duration of the trip. This will allow you to choose a set of dishes that can "feed" all members of the group.

Most brands indicate on the product the type of tourism and how many people the set is designed for. If going out into nature is planned for only a couple of days, then you can take dishes from any material with you. If the hike lasts a week or more, long transitions and change of places of overnight stay are expected, then in this case it is better to take several light kettles with you.

In the next video you will find an overview of the aluminum cookware set for cooking on an open fire on a camping trip.