Words by Rachel
2 mins
Now the weather is finally picking up we’re busy planning picnics, barbecues and big walks in the countryside. We love packing a hamper full of delicious cold meats, crusty bread and cheese before heading out into the wilderness. Round up your friends, roll up the picnic blanket and follow these tips for a perfect day.
Three things we always forget
Rather than list everything you should bring, we’re going to give you a heads up on the three things that are often forgotten:
1. Essential utensils: There’s nothing worse than settling down on the blanket, ready to quench your thirst only to realise you forgot to pack a bottle opener. Disaster. Most hampers come with bottle openers and corkscrews in their own compartment, but be sure to check they haven’t wandered off. Cutlery may seem like an obvious one, but something we’ve forgotten in the past is a good, sharp knife. It’s essential for chopping up fruit, pies and cold cuts for sharing. A small chopping board is a good idea too, and doubles as a nice surface to serve slices of meat, pie, quiche or cheese.
2. Keep it cool: Perishable items like meat and dairy must be kept cool to avoid bacteria growth. THE USDA (US department of agriculture) state that cooked meat shouldn’t be left in temperatures of 4°C – 60°C for longer than two hours. So ice is key if your journey is going to be a long one. Cool bags work well, or be extra green and reuse the ice-packs from your box. Keep them in the freezer until you’re ready to set off and slip them around the perishable items in your hamper.
3. The clean-up kit: It’s important to properly dispose of your rubbish to protect our beautiful British wildlife. The RSPCA receive more than 5,000 calls a year regarding litter related injuries to creatures like deer, hedgehogs and badgers. We bring extra bags to take our rubbish home so we can sort through and separate the recyclables. If you’ve bought your ice-packs along with you wait for them to melt, burst them and use the water to rinse off plates and sticky fingers.
Our favourite picnics
We love classic cold cuts like roast chicken and ham, as well as charcuterie such as chorizo, salami and lonza. Combine these with lovely cheeses to make huge sandwiches and wraps, or add them to your favourite leaves and veggies for a fresh salad. Sausage rolls are perfect for picnic snacking. We like to wrap chunks of chorizo and a dollop of apple sauce in puff pastry and bake in the oven. This twist on the average sausage roll is always a family favourite.
If you don’t have a hamper recycle your box and use it as a makeshift picnic basket. There’s plenty of room for sandwiches, cold cuts, cheese, olives and everything else you need for a fantastic picnic. Be sure to tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram if you upload any picnic snaps, we love seeing your creations.
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