20 Ways To Keep Food Warm Without Electricity
It may seem impossible to enjoy a hot meal hours after you have prepared it without keeping it on the stove. Even if there is no electricity available at your campsite, picnic, party, or work area, you don’t have to limit your menu to sandwiches. Plenty of tried and tested methods exist that will keep food warm until you are ready to enjoy it, even when you are miles from home.
Keeping food warm without electricity requires insulation or another heat source. Always pack food while it is piping hot. Insulated food covers can include using aluminum foil, thermos flasks, or thermal bags. For large quantities, try chafing dishes, use a BBQ grill, or invest in a wonderbag.
To keep food warm without electricity, you need to have a plan. There are multiple approaches you can try, and most are super simple. You might already have everything you need to keep your packed food steaming and tasty long after it was prepared.
How To Keep Food Warm Without Electricity
Food starts cooling down as soon as it is removed from the heat source. There are ways to step in and slow down the cooling, and some methods even prolong the cooking process.
There are a surprising number of options to choose from, and the method you choose should depend on the following factors:
- The type of food you want to keep warm.
- How long the food needs to stay warm before it is consumed?
- The quantity of food that you need to keep warm.
- Where you will be enjoying the food; if you are traveling, you will need a different approach from if you are at home.
- What resources do you already have available that you could use to keep the food warm?
Keeping your food warm enough to be appetizing can be challenging if you’re far from a microwave or stove. With a little bit of preplanning and using some of these simple heat insulation methods, you will be able to pack wisely and enjoy warm food anytime.
Start With The Best Container To Keep Food Warm
Food in plastic or metal containers will lose heat faster than if it is packed in ceramic, glass, or Styrofoam dishes. When planning how to keep your food warm for longer, start with the basics.
Give your food the best chance of locking in heat by placing it in a container that will insulate the meal. If you are transferring your food into a glass or ceramic dish, first heat it using hot water. That way, your hot food won’t instantly cool down when placed in the new container.
Use Aluminum Foil And Towels To Keep Your Food Warm
At some point or another, most of us have used aluminum foil to cover food. This handy household wrap not only keeps food hygienically covered but can also keep food warm for around 30 minutes.
One of the benefits of aluminum foil is that it is pliable, so it can be molded to fit tightly against the food surface to keep it insulated. Use the thickest aluminum foil you have, and cover any gaps so no outside air can reach the food.
There has been plenty of debate about if it makes any difference which side of the foil faces in. While some commentators indicate that it makes no difference, most sources agree that the shiny side should face out to reflect heat. When insulating to keep heat in, the shiny side must be inside.
Wrapping the aluminum foil-covered dishes snuggly in a few towels will add extra insulation. Heat and steam will be trapped against the food, and the outside of the metallic covering will stay warmer. If you need to transport your food, place the entire wrapped package into a warmed cooler which will provide an extra layer.
Insulate Your Food Using An Emergency Blanket
Emergency blankets, also called space blankets, are lightweight, thin mylar sheets commonly included in camping gear. The reflective mylar sheet is an excellent insulator, so while it won’t generate heat to cook your food, it can help to keep heat from escaping.
Always be sure to put the shiny side of the blanket inside so it reflects heat back to the food. This NASA-developed material was developed specifically to reduce heat loss, so it can work well to keep your food warm if it is wrapped around tightly with the shiny side in.
Emergency blankets work best if they are teamed up with a cooler. Line the inside of a cooler with a space blanket (shiny side reflecting in) to provide even more insulation.
Keep Food Warm In A Cooler
Putting hot food into a cooler to keep it warm may seem like an oxymoron, but it works really well. The insulated box that is usually used to lock in the cold can also trap heat.
The challenge when using a cooler to keep your food warm is that there is usually a lot of extra air inside the chamber. That can make your food cool off faster than you hope. A practical way to get around this is to wrap your food in aluminum foil, then fill the empty spaces with towels.
As mentioned, you can also line the cooler with a reflective space blanket to help keep heat inside. If you need your food to stay warm for long periods, it helps to add a heated brick or hot water bottle to keep the inside of your cooler warm.
A good tip is to heat the cooler’s interior before using it to keep your hot food warm. Fill your cooler with hot water and let it stand so the sides warm up. Then empty the cooler, dry thoroughly, and quickly pack the hot food.
Try Heated Bricks To Keep Food Warm
If you are going on a picnic or outing where you may only eat in a few hours, a simple hack to keep your food warm is to create an oven environment inside your cooler. Instead of only depending on the food’s heat, adding a few heated bricks can be a game changer.
For this to work, take care to insulate the cooler so that the bricks don’t make contact with the sides. Line the inside of the cooler with aluminum foil and thick layers of towels.
Wrap a few bricks in aluminum foil and put them in the oven for twenty minutes at 300F. Then use a glove to carefully remove them and place them on the padded base of the cooler. Next, cover them with another towel and pack your warm food on top.
Avoid opening the cooler unnecessarily until you are ready to eat. That will prevent heat from escaping and keep the food warmer.
Use A Thermal Bag To Keep Food Warm For Short Periods
Thermal bags come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There are tiny, insulated zip-lock lunch bag versions and slightly larger types that can hold more food.
These bags fold flat and are reusable, so they are worth it if you frequently need to pack small quantities of hot or cold food. However, they won’t be able to keep food warm for extended periods and are usually limited in size.
An Insulated Food Thermos Keeps Food Warm For Longer
Investing in an insulated food jar is one of the neatest and most effective ways to keep food warm for up to twelve hours. While these nifty thermoses do have size limitations, they are unbeatable when it comes to hassle-free methods of keeping food warm without electricity.
There are many brands of food thermoses available, each with its own special features. You can even use your regular hot drinks thermos for foods that contain liquid, like soups or stews.
Before adding hot food to a thermos, rinse it with boiling water to warm the inside. That will give your hot food a head start and keep it warmer for longer.
Chafing Dishes Keep Food Warm For Long Periods
Chafing dishes are commonly used to keep food warm at large events and outdoor gatherings. These elegant serving dishes are designed to keep food warm for long periods without cooking it any further.
The system consists of large shallow stainless-steel pans that contain the food. The food pans rest in slightly larger pans containing a shallow water bath. Below the double steel pans are chafing fuel gel cans that keep the water in the lower pan hot.
Chafing dishes are an effective method to keep food warm for extended periods, especially when catering to a lot of guests. They are ideal for large formal or informal gatherings.
A Bain-marie Is An Effective Way To Keep Food Warm
A bain-marie is also known as a double boiler or hot water bath. It can be purchased as a set, but it is also easy to create a DIY bain-marie by placing two regular cooking pots, one inside the other.
The food in the top pot should rest in the bottom pot, which contains hot water. The pot containing the food is therefore resting in a bath of hot water, which keeps the contents warm.
Using the bain-marie technique is an excellent, gentle way to keep food warm without overcooking or burning it. The heat from the hot water in the bottom pot is slowly transferred to the inside pot, which keeps the contents warm.
Build a Hay Box Cooker To Insulate Food And Keep It Warm
For anyone who is homesteading and has bales of hay available, an effective and economical method to keep food warm is to construct a hay box. In fact, a hay box cooker won’t only keep your food warm; it can even slow cook your food using no electricity at all.
All you need to build a hay box is a large box, plenty of hay, and a thick cushion. Once the food is hot inside a pot, place it on a bed of hay in the center of the box. Then surround the pot with hay to insulate it, put the cushion on top of the pot, and close the box.
Food should be placed in the hay box when it is boiling. Although the cooking time will take about three times longer, it works perfectly as a slow cooker and can save a lot of electricity.
A Wonderbag Makes Warm Food Portable
A hay box works well to keep food warm, but it isn’t always practical and can get messy. A modern version of the hay box cooker is a giant padded bag called a wonderbag.
The wonderbag was invented as a solution to cope with frequent power outages in Africa. The concept took off as it saves electricity and money. The wonderbag is entirely portable and can be reused for years.
To keep food warm, bring your pot to a boil, and insert it into the wonderbag. The insulated, heat-retaining bag will keep food perfectly warm for hours. It can even continue the cooking process while you are on the go.
The wonderbag is perfect for large amounts of food on long trips, picnics, or to save on your electricity bill at home. Wonderbags are available worldwide and are becoming a popular, eco-friendly choice to keep food warm.
A Thermal Cooker Will Keep Food Warm On The Go
A thermal cooker is basically a cordless slow cooker. It is compact and neat and works by trapping heat and steam inside the pot to keep it hot.
A thermal cooker won’t only keep your food warm, but it can also cook food. It is similar in design to a thermos but with a different shape. Its roomy design makes it suitable for larger amounts than your regular thermos.
Keep Your Food Warm Inside The BBQ Grill
If you are entertaining outside and need to keep cooked food warm, a gas or charcoal grill on low heat is a good, electricity-free option. If you have an outside grill, it is an excellent option to keep your food warm if you don’t have electricity.
To use your BBQ grill as a food-warming oven, be sure only to use it on low heat so you don’t cook your food further or dry it out. Always cover the food you need to warm in aluminum foil to prevent your meal from drying out. Another reason is that it doesn’t absorb the distinctive BBQ aroma from the grill.
Use A Solar Oven On Sunny Days To Keep Food Warm
Solar cookers may sound high-tech, but a basic DIY solar oven can be constructed using only a pizza box, newspapers for insulation, plastic wrap, and tape. There are also a variety of inexpensive portable options available that add convenience to keeping food warm on sunny days.
All solar ovens work by harnessing the energy of direct sunlight to cook or keep food warm. The only limitation is that they only work while the sun is shining, but it is an effective option if you need to keep food warm without using electricity.
A Portable Backpacking Stove Is A Versatile Food Warmer
Compact, portable stoves are one of the easiest methods to keep food warm. These handy items provide the convenience of a tiny, lightweight cooker without requiring any electricity.
Backpack stoves are available in three types:
- Canister stoves – these require pre-pressurized gas fuel canisters.
- Liquid dual stoves – Versatile stoves that connect to refillable fuel bottles.
- Alternative-fuel stoves – Compact stoves that run on fuel pellets or wood.
Having a small camping stove available is an excellent, no-fuss way to reheat food. It does not require a lot of setups, and heat settings can be adjusted to keep food warm or to reheat.
A Hot Water Bottle Will Keep Food Warmer For Longer
Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest. If you only need to keep a small amount of food warm for a few hours, adding an inexpensive rubber hot water bottle into the insulated package or cooler with your food will keep it warm for longer.
Hot water bottles are designed to release heat slowly, so they are perfect for keeping packed food warm and tasty. If your food is covered in a layer of aluminum foil, put it directly on the hot water bottle and wrap it in a thick towel to keep the heat inside.
Use A Portable Food Warmer That Plugs Into The Car
Portable food warmers, also sometimes called electric lunch boxes, are a great way to keep food warm without electricity when traveling. The insulated bag plugs into the lighter port inside the car and can keep your food perfectly warm for hours.
A portable food warmer is an excellent option for anyone who spends lots of time in their car. Car-friendly portable food warmers are convenient, are fast heating, and are easy to clean.
Trapping Steam Slow Down The Speed Food Cools
Steam is hot water vapor being released and becoming airborne. When food steams, it means it is hot, but it will quickly cool down to room temperature if left to stand out.
The steam coming off hot food is hot and cools in the air. To keep food warmer for longer, it is a good idea to trap the hot steam. That way, heat is not lost as quickly, and the heat will stay close to your food.
Aluminum foil works well, but other methods, like putting on a tight-fitting lid or covering food with an inverted plate, will keep hot steam trapped. Trapping heat also keeps moisture in, so your food is less likely to dry out if you use this method.
Pack Food When It Is Piping Hot
The hotter the food is when you pack it, the longer it will take to cool down. A simple way to keep food hot for longer without electricity is simply to ensure that it is extra hot when you remove it from the heat.
Pack Food Tightly So Slow The Cooling Process
Large quantities of food tend to stay warm for longer than smaller meals. If you know you will need to keep food warm for an extended period after it is cooked, opt for dense meals like stews that can be kept in large quantities in the same pot.
Regardless of the container you use, always try to fill every space around food. Start by filling the food container to the top, then ensure the storage container is well insulated. Whether you are using a box, cooler or thermal bag, pad up all available space around your container with towels to prevent air from cooling your food.
How Long Is It Safe To Keep Food Warm?
According to the USDA, warm food must stay at temperatures above 140F to stay out of the danger zone. The optimal temperature range for bacteria to develop is between 40F and 140F, so warm food must remain warmer than 140F to stay safe.
There is not the length of time that determines food safety after it is cooked, but rather the temperature at which it is stored. Every effort should be made to keep cooked food warm if it is not going to be consumed immediately.
When the temperature of food falls to 90F, it is only considered safe for one hour. If it is not possible to keep your meal at a safe temperature, a better option is to cool it and reheat it later. Packed food can be put on ice or in the refrigerator and warmed up just before it is consumed.
Conclusion
There are lots of ways to keep food warm without electricity, from simple approaches like covering food with a dinner plate to chafing dishes. The method you choose should take into account the type and amount of food, how long it needs to stay warm before it is consumed, and where the food will be enjoyed. To save money, the best option is to use things you already have or construct an eco-friendly food heating system like a solar oven or hay box.