We really enjoy cooking a delicious meal at the end of a long day of walking. We love the smell of garlic and onion cooking on a camp stove, or the rich flavour of a delicious cheese stirred into a risotto. And we like to add veggies like snowpeas and celery into our pasta sauces, for a bit of crispy freshness.

These ingredients can make camping food really special. They make you happy that you’re not boiling the stove for yet another pre-packaged, dehydrated hiking meal. But they are often perishable. They won’t stay fresh forever.

Many Tasty Hikes recipes use perishable ingredients. We have taken these ingredients in our backpacks, often on long, multi-day walks, and have never had any problems. But you should always use your own judgement as to whether an ingredient is right for you.

Here are a few tips for walking with perishable ingredients:

• Get the freshest fruit and vegetables you can find.
• Buy processed ingredients like cheese and curry paste with the longest possible use-by date, ideally vacuum sealed.
• If you’re going on a multi-day walk, eat the meals with the most perishable ingredients first.
• Obviously food lasts longer in cold conditions, so bear this in mind if you’re going to be walking in a hot climate.
• Try to store perishable ingredients in the middle of your backpack, where they will be insulated from the heat by your clothes and other stuff.