Camp cleanliness: Washing up (Part 1)
Posted BY Ian under camping-advice
"Washing up - After a meal is over, there is often a mad rush for the washing up place and consequent confusion."
Not so sure I've ever been on a camp like that."To avoid this, there ought to be a system from the very first in washing up, just as much as in the actual cooking."Agreed. The system need not be sophisticated but it certainly pays to be prepared:
- Wash the preparation utensils as you go along.
- Put water on to heat whilst you are eating such that there is plenty when it comes to the main washing up session.
- Organize your dishes such that items needing little washing (cups) are washed before moderately dirty dishes (plates), and leave the very dirtiest dishes (pots/pans) until last.
- Have enough bowls for the quantity of washing up to be done. It helps to have bowls to:
- rinse off the worst of the food
- wash properly with soap and cloth/scouring pad as appropriate
- rinse with clean water
- For a short trip, you can get away with taking cloths to dry dishes. For a longer trip you will find these difficult to keep clean. Shaking the water off is an acceptable practice.
- Have somewhere to store clean dishes. There's no point washing the if they then get dirty before the next meal.
Never leave the dishes until later. They will attract flies and other vermin to your campsite, and they always look worse when left around to congeal. Yes - I must admit to having sinned in the past.
In later articles I will look at the important issue of responsible waste disposal as well as tips for cleaning dishes with natural products.
All quotes from: Camp Cooking and Catering by J.T. Gorman, Late Commandant Army School of Cookery for India - Second Edition 1933