Best way to pack a cooler?

[micheleq]

Hi everyone,

I posted this on the family board and didn't get much of a response.

What is the best way to pack a cooler with some perishable items for a 3-4 hour car trip? Ice over everything, or ice packs? I have a soft-sided neoprene cooler with a hard shell inside. I am going on a girls' weekend this Friday and was going to bring cheese & crackers, some dip, salad...nothing too crazy, but I want to it stay cool for the drive.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

When we do a cooler, we put drinks in with ice around them, then anything hard that needs to be kept cold and add ice on top of that, topping with anything that is more delicate with ice on top.

Probably overkill but I don't want anyone to get sick from food that has gone bad because it's too warm.

 

[ah1126]

My favorite it to freeze water in a milk jug or water bottles. The bigger the ice, the longer it stays frozen.

 

[TupperMom7]

We freeze OJ cartons 3/4 full of water and they last a long time. You can just pop them in the freezer of your motel too to use on the way back. Put things like cheese, dip, etc. on the ice and cover it with more ice. If you were bringing mustard, ketchup, etc. from your fridge, you wouldn't need that to touch the big ice as just being in the cooler would be enough. Doesn't sound like you're bringing a big cooler though. If it's only for a few hours, you could even get by with icepaks in the softside cooler.

 

[MrsPete]

Have everything cold before it goes into the cooler; that means your ice won't be wasted in bringing room temperature things down to cold. Freezing a few things is a great idea (individual-sized juices and sandwich meat are great).

Keep squish-able stuff -- like grapes -- for the top layer.

Remember: Cold goes down, heat goes up. So things that NEED to be kept cold (like milk) should go to the bottom. Things that you WANT to keep cold (like sodas) can go higher in the cooler.

After your food's in place, fill the cooler with ice, shaking everything a bit to encourage the ice to "fill in" spaces between your packages.

Do not empty out cold water -- it's still cold and keeps your ice going longer. A big chunk of ice will last much longer than little bits of ice.

 

[micheleq]

Thank you, thank you everyone! There truly is an answer to everything on the DIS