Hi Everyone,
Tomorrow is Mashramani and apart from the main event – the parade of costumes and bands in various parts of the country – the number one activity that many will be participating in is some form of picnic. Whether you plan to gather on the pasture, roadside, rooftop, balcony or verandah, here are a few tips about food to make and serve outdoors.
● Make things that can be served at room temperature. The last thing you want at a picnic is for people to get sick. Try to use a cooler but definitely leave home things that will spoil easily such as fried rice, chowmein, potato salad and coleslaw.
● Make foods that can be easily transported. Therefore, don’t make a large pot of soup, stew, or dhal and worry about the lid being secure as you transport the food.
● Make foods that can be wrapped or parceled individually. Think about the way people eat at a picnic, they frequently have something they are eating in one hand and a drink in another. Therefore, wrapping the food in individual servings makes for ideal picnic noshing.
● While picnic baskets are romantic, be realistic and pack your food in large sturdy bags that are easier to carry. Always take into consideration where you may have to park your vehicle and the trek you have to make to your spot on the grass.
● When packing, avoid your precious Pyrex and other wares that can break easily. Airtight plastic containers are ideal for these purposes. The containers also make it easy to pack and stack your individually parceled food.
● When you are finished cooking your picnic feast, wait for the food to cool before wrapping it. Covering up the food while it is still very hot can cause it to steam, get soggy or spoil quickly.
● What are some foods that you can make to carry and that will keep well at room temperature?
● Fried chicken
● Fried fish
● Fish cakes
● Cheese
● Fruit
● Bakes and salt fish
● Tuna sandwiches (minus lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers)
● Plantain chips
● Roti and curry (made with boneless meat, wrapped and kept cool)
If you carry things like Channa and Cassava balls, keep them cool. The onions in the Channa can cause it to go off and the seasonings in the cassava balls can affect it in the heat too.
And if you MUST carry potato salad, secure it in an airtight container and keep it in the cooler with ice. Only make just enough salad to be had at one-go, that way, when the ice eventually diminishes, you won’t have to worry about the salad spoiling.
Another compelling reason for parceling the food by servings beforehand is to avoid the constant to and fro of dipping into the food that can cause it to spoil. Unfortunately, it is easy to become food poisoned on picnics because of the free for all way of accessing the food.
In terms of beverages, I would suggest freezing them and then packing into a cooler with ice, that way they would stay cold longer. Of course doing this makes the cooler heavier, so take into consideration your “carrying” distance. Pack extra water. At times, no matter how many sweet drinks or juices you have, water is the only thing that can slake your thirst. That is certainly true for me.
Other must-have things on a picnic:
● Lots of wet wipes
● Lots of napkins
● Plates, cups, forks (Invest in the sturdy plastic ones that you can reuse. There is nothing worse than trying to balance a flimsy, easily crushable plate.)
● Walk with a blanket, sheet, spread or rug if you don’t want to sit directly on the ground.
● Trash bags – please, leave no trace that you were there, bag your garbage and dispose of it properly.
Happy Republic Day!
Cynthia
Cynthia@tasteslikehome.org
www.tasteslikehome.org
