And now... The Tongue in Cheek Sarcastic Production Of...
KEEPING KOSHER WHILST CAMPING
or
Geeze did you pack enough stuff??
The whole thing about camping and keeping kosher is one of the main reasons Jews like to stay in hotels. Remembering Kosher means Clean, so lets go over how to keep a clean eating environment while reduced to primitive forms of sanitation and food storage.
RULE ONE : Plan your menu carefully.
If you want to keep strict kosher rules while in the forest, and do not want to mix milk or meat on the same plate. The simple solution is don't bring milk... or don't bring meat. If you're car camping, keep a cooler full of steaks, burgers, chickens, and bring your meat dishes along. For longer treks deeper into the woods, bring kosher freeze dried meals and here's another hint... some brands smoked salmon that comes in those laminated packages does NOT require refrigeration. Also canned goods and powdered soup do not require refrigeration, however cans are heavy.
RULE TWO : What to do on Shabbat
Well as you all know, you cannot light a fire, or turn on a stove or set up your nifty "jet-boil" system to make a few eggs on Shabbat. However this does not mean you cannot have a nice fire with lots of logs and burning coals that's already going. That brings us to our best friend.
The Dutch Oven
The one pictured above is SPECIFICALLY designed for open fire cooking. Good wire bale for hanging over flames... AND... legs and a concave lid. The legs and the lid are designed so you can spread out coals... put the pot on the coals without smothering them, put your food in the pot, put the lid on, and add coals on top of the lid. BOOM a 350 degree oven that will stay hot so long as you keep up with fresh coals. You're not dousing or kindling a flame, you're simply moving hot coals, which is not prohibited.
What's that you say? A griddle you need for latkes? No problem... take the lid off the pot, put the pot upside down near the fire, put coals between the legs... put the lid upside down over the legs... and the bottom of the lid becomes the top of the griddle.
If you happen to be in an area that doesn't allow open fires, then you're left with the wonderful world of dried fruit and dried meat. Pemmican... OM NOM NOM.
RULE THREE : PLATES AND STUFF
Well many people wonder what is a good thing to bring camping? Lexan plastic cups and plates? Those metal ones with the speckled enamel paint? What about silverware? Stainless Steel? Aluminum? Titanium?
Honest answer... I will swear by REI's camping selection. I love REI products and they can have as much money as they want for them. They sell everything you could possibly need, and remember... what ever they sell at REI, you can find knockoffs for cheap at Wal-Mart. Sure, You can buy a very nice mess kit at REI for 20 bucks made out of lightweight indestructible plastic, OR... you could go to Wal Mart and spend 5 bucks on an aluminum one that looks like it would destroy itself after the 5th use... but how ofter are you going to use it? The only question you have in regards to camping gear are how much money you want to spend, and how often are you going to use it.
Jews have existed with the strict rules of shabbat since antiquity, they knew how to cook food, they knew what would keep without refrigeration, they knew how to make cholent without ovens. A little practice, a little know how, and a little faith in yourself, and you can survive in the wilderness without the comforts of technology.
With our collective knowledge, we can most surely figure this out ourselves.
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