Kit out your camp kitchen

I first cooked outdoors as a boy scout on our annual summer camp in the mountains near Grabouw. It was not a good start.
One evening we had to prepare rice. The scout master came over to see how we were doing: We’d filled our billy to the brim with dry rice and dumped it on the coals.
“Don’t you boys know that rice swells to more than three times its size when you add water?” he enquired.
“No worries,” one of us piped up. “We haven’t added any water.”
Washing up also wasn’t one of my strong points (still isn’t, truth be told), and I’d do anything to get out of scrubbing those battered old aluminium pots.
No wonder then that when we came back the following year to set up camp and one of my fellow scouts uncovered a buried pot (still filled with the blackened remains of a failed dinner), I was the prime suspect.
It wasn’t me – honest. The culprit was even more allergic than I was to doing dishes.
There’s no doubt that cooking outdoors can be more challenging than preparing a meal in your kitchen back home. We have some tips for you to help you set up a well-equipped camp kitchen.
Just take a look at all these new goodies we found on the shelves to make your outdoor life easier.

Here's the gear

Addis flexible chopping boards
Chop-chop
Have you had to choose between packing your boogie board and that huge kitchen chopping board because the Uno’s boot was too full?
A chopping board can be difficult to pack, because it’s rigid and takes up space.
The solution is this flexible one from Addis – sold in a pack of two. It’s roughly A4 size and is made of thin, flexible plastic, so you can roll it up like a place mat.
We like the two different-coloured boards, red for meat and green for greens, to avoid cross-contamination.
Price: R15 for a pack of two from Outdoor Warehouse.
Contact: 0800 003 051; www.outdoorwarehouse.co.za
Go! says: You would need a table or other flat surface – like an ammo box or an aluminium tray – to use them on.

GSI Bugaboo base camper pot set
Pots for a pro
GSI poducts don’t come cheap, but they last. In this set, everything packs inside the largest pot, like one of those Russian doll families. The removable folding handle clips onto the pot or pan that you’re using, but can be unclipped and stowed separately for easy packing (no more protruding handles to get in the way).
The full set comprises a large pot, a small pot, a frying pan, four mugs and a “strainer lid” for the pots to drain pasta or rice.
Price: There’s a 3-litre (R1 070) and a 5-litre set (R1 248).
Contact: RAM Mountaineering 021 532 0549; www.rammountain.co.za
Go! says: You can leave the steel wool at home. They come with non-stick Teflon coating.

Volcano Millennium pan
For a bush fry-up
Camp cookware takes a hammering – it rattles around in the ammo box, is rammed into the trailer, is blackened over hot coals…That’s why we say buy the best quality you can afford, like this pan which is made of extra-thick aluminium, so it won’t buckle or bend.
It’s also sealed with a hard-wearing non-stick coating, so your eggs and bacon won’t fall apart when you flip them.
The pan comes in three sizes: small (32 cm diameter), medium (39,5 cm) and large (44 cm), and can be used on a gas stove, over the fire or directly on the coals.
Price: Small: R275; medium: R350; large: R400.
Contact: Volcano Cookware 011 914 5060; www.volcanocookware.co.za
Go! says: Use plastic or wooden spatulas if you want your pan’s non-stick coating to last.

16-piece melamine crockery set
Oh, oh, oh, melamine…
At first glance this tough melamine crockery set looks just like real china! The full set consists of four dinner plates, four side plates, four bowls and four mugs, and it’s all packed in a handy Addis plastic cake container carry-pack.
Price: R370 from Safari Centre.
Contact: 021 595 3910; www.safaricentre.co.za
Go! says: You can pick up melamine sets for less, but this one is good and solid.

Greensport 24-piece cutleryand utensil set
Look in the bag!
This set contains pretty much all the cutlery and utensils you could need for your outdoor dining experience for four people. There are knives, forks and spoons, as well as a host of other implements: a bottle opener, carving knife and fork, serving spoon, bread knife and even a compact chopping board.
But what really sealed the deal for us is the handy folding carry bag, which ensures that everything stays neatly packed – that lessens the chances of the bottle opener disappearing.
Greensport has a reputation for good design and quality.
Price: R260 from Safari Centre.
Contact: 021 595 3910; www.safaricentre.co.za
Go! says: One of those hanging sets of knives, forks and spoons works well if you camp in one place and don’t need to pack up every day. Makro sells a good 32-piece set for R250.

GSI nesting wine glasses
Leave the crystal at home
Just because you’re sleeping in a tent it doesn’t mean you have to drink your Tassies out of a coffee mug. Here’s something classier (except if you pack the crystal): These goblets, made of hard and surprisingly glass-like Lexan plastic (the same stuff used in astronauts’ helmet visors, we’re told), are strong and light.
The bonus is that they are easy to pack thanks to the removable stem, so you can stow the base inside the bowl.
If you’re planning a party, you also get champagne flutes and beer mugs made of the same material.
Price: R160 from Duesouth.
Contact: 021 938 1911; www.duesouth.co.za
Go! says: An alternative is stainless steel tumblers and goblets, which are unbreakable. Makro sells a stainless steel goblet for R14.

Snappy egg carrier
Eggceptional
Awhile back we tried out one of those yellow egg carriers and discovered that they only work with small eggs – a problem if you enjoy a hearty English breakfast when you’re camping. This Snappy container has ten large pockets to accommodate larger-sized eggs.
Price: R48 from Outdoor Warehouse.
Contact: 0800 003 051; www.outdoorwarehouse.co.za
Go! says: It inspires confidence – the plastic is thick and the clasps snap shut tightly.

Coghlan’s refillable squeeze tubes
Put the squeeze on
These won’t help if your family ploughs through an entire tub of Skippy peanut butter in one trip; rather just pack the whole tub. For smaller volumes of peanut butter, jam, mayonnaise and any other spread or condiment, they work like a charm. Simply slide the plastic clip off the end of the tube, spoon in the filling of your choice and reseal it.
Price: R35 from outdoor stores for two tubes, about 5 x 16,5cm each.
Contact: Eiger Equipment 021 555 0363; www.eigerequipment.co.za
Go! says: The tubes are strong and reliable, but rather play it safe and pack them on top of the tins of bully beef.

Sea to Summit kitchen sink
Everything and the kitchen sink
Kitchen sink jokes aside, this collapsible kitchen sink is one of our favourite camp accessories. It’s amazing that something so small can open up into something so big…and useful.
It comes in 5-, 10- and 20-litre versions, and is made of thin but strong nylon fabric. It has a stainless steel stiffening ring at the top, so it holds its shape perfectly.
Price: 5-litre sink: R170; 10-litre sink: R200; 20-litre sink: R250.
Contact: Adventure Inc 021 532 0549; www.adventureinc.co.za
Go! says: The 5-litre one makes a great portable water bowl for Fido.

Leisure Quip Russian tea kettle
Little big kettle
Don’t ask us why it’s called a Russian tea kettle, but we like this one because it comes with a folding handle, which means it’s much easier to pack into the boot of the Citi Golf.
It’s not as large as a Women’s Institute urn, but it holds 1,5 litres – enough water so the average family can each get a cup of coffee.
Price: R130 from Makro.
Contact: 0860 300 999; www.makro.co.za;
Go! says: Stainless steel kettles like this one are better than aluminium, because you can wash the soot off more easily.

Nalgene travel kit
The tough ones
These plastic bottles are excellent for decanting small volumes of things such as olive oil, soya sauce and washing-up liquid. Made by Nalgene, which is world-renowned for its high-quality plastic drinking and storage bottles, they’re guaranteed leak-proof and are virtually indestructible. The colour-coded lids are a nice touch too… dressing the salad with detergent will not go down well.
Price: R85 from outdoor stores.
Contact: Eiger Equipment; 021 555 0363; www.eigerequipment.co.za
Go! says: Also suitable for shampoo, conditioner and other toiletries.