Research_Food&Photography

The initial research of campfire food

OUGD505 ‘What is good?’

CAUTION & RESPECT

WOOD

No matter how spectacular the scenery, meals around the campfire are often the highlight of the camper’s day. Modern camp stoves and specialized cookware make the cook’s job easier, but nothing beats the taste and appeal of a meal cooked over the campfire. In days gone by, cooking over an open fire could be taken for granted.

Today, with concerns about air quality, restricted areas for camping and dwindling firewood stocks in many campgrounds, the freedom to cook over an open fire is a privilege which requires the utmost in caution and respect. Here are a few important considerations

Campfire cooking requires a clean-burning, hot fire. This is only achieved with dry, seasoned wood.

Stripping trees of green wood is fruitless - your fire will be smoky, and will create unnecessary pollution. If dry wood is not available, it will need to be packed in. Many public campgrounds supply firewood - call ahead to see what’s available.

FIRE LOCATION Pay close attention to the ground before preparing any fire. In circumstances where building your fire on a rock is not possible, one should ensure that the

base of the fire is on bare mineral soil. A fire that is burning all evening has lots of time to burn through the organic layer of the soil and will not be put out with a simple bucket of water. Use previously established fire pits if available, to avoid scarring the area with more fire pits.

WIND Any medium to strong wind is hazardous. The danger of sparks getting away can ignite a forest fire.

Also, the coals will reduce more quickly and provide much less cooking time. If substantial wind shelter is unavailable, any outdoor fire is out o f the question.

‘Meals around the campfire are the highlight of the camper’s day.’

HOW TO BUILD A CAMPFIRE The object is to have all the wood turn into coals at the same time. This gives an even fire with no flames reaching up to burn your food or blacken your cookware. It also yields the longest cooking time from the coals.

PREPARE SITE 1. Select a fire site at least 8’ from bushes or any combustibles. Be sure no tree branches overhang the site.

2. Make a U-shaped perimeter using large rocks or green logs. If using logs, they’ll need to be wet down from time to time. If breezy, have back of firepit face the wind.

3. Put a large flat rock at the rear of the firepit

to act as a chimney. The “chimney rock” will help direct the smoke up and away.

3. Set a bucket of water near the fire area. Light the paper to start your fire.

KINDLING

BUILD FIRE

1. Fill the fire area with crumpled paper or tinder.

1. When kindling is ablaze, add firewood.

The wood should be all the same size, as much as possible. Use hardwood or hardwood branches if available.

Distribute wood evenly over fire bed.

2. Lay kindling over paper in layers, alternating direction with each layer. Use thin splits of wood or small dead branches.

Do not put kindling down “teepee style”.

2. As soon as the last flames die down leaving

mostly white coals, use a stick to push the coals into a higher level at the back end and lower level at the front.

This will give you the equivalent of ‘Hi’, ‘Med’ and ‘Lo’ cook settings.

Or, level the coals to your preference.

3. To cook, set grill on rocks or wetted green logs. Put food directly on grill and prepare your meal. If cooking directly on the grill, a small spray bottle or

squirt gun is handy for shooting down any rogue flames, usually caused by food drippings.As the fire diminishes, bank the coals to get the most heat from them.

4. After cooking, add wood for your evening campfire.

Before retiring, extinguish thoroughly and soak with water.

Turn rocks in on fire bed. It will be easy to reassemble next day.

Campfire Food : Meals When camping, the rule of thumb for great recipes is to maximize taste and nutrition while minimizing preparation time and cleanup. The best camp cooking recipes allow you to do this with the limited resources available in the outdoors. These five campfire cooked classics cover all the staples you need in a delicious, filling way. Here are a few ideas:

‘Suppers packed with flavour’ Bannock

Beer batter fish

Heavenly Fish

Chili con carne

Campfire Patatoes

A small, flat loaf of sourbread topped with honey.

Freshly caught fish battered with real draft beer for a hearty pub-style taste.

Fish cooked in foil stewed with lemon, cherry tomatoes and garlic.

Slow cooked mince meat and whole green hot chiles, kidney beans and tomatoes.

Garlic, herbs & potatoes enclosed in foil packets & grilled.

Corn Fritters

Camper Stew

Omelette

Soft but crunchy corn cakes are good with bacon for a light

Slow cooked juicey beef chunks cooked in gravy stewed with root vegitables.

Fresh eggs fried & folded filled with cheese, veg & meat.

Shishkebab A selection of seasoned meats and vegetables roasted on skewers.

supper.

Quesadillas A toasted tortilla with melted cheese, peppers , mushrooms & kidney beans inside.

Campfire Food : Desserts Orange Brownies

Marshamallow Pie

Orange falvoured brownies encased with in a carved out orange.

Sweet crust pastry encased with rich chocolate moose topped with melted marshmallows.

Smores Sweetly roasted marshmallows encased within two chocolated digestive biscuits.

Banana Boats Roasted bananas stuffed with chocolate & marshmallows.

‘Satisfying your sweet tooth’ Upside Down Pineapple Cake

Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls

Sweet sponge topped with caramelised pineapple chunks.

Gooey dough swirls enriched with cinnamon and blueberry jam.

Campfire Cones Sugar cones stuffed with peanut butter, marshamallows, bananas and chocolate.

When most think of camp cooking, desserts are either an afterthought or totally forgotten. After all, it’s difficult and time-consuming enough just preparing main dishes for your camping party. You’ve got limited resources to work with and techniques to use, and getting everyone fed naturally takes precedence over satisfying their sweet tooth. Here’s some great ideas to try out:

The initial research of food photography

OUGD505 ‘What is good?’

‘It takes a village to raise a child, and a team to make a great food photo. The photographer, chef, food editor and page designers put their heads together to create the idea. But it is the photographer’s job to breathe life into the photo with light, a few props for texture and a good knowledge of the camera.’ Kirk McKoy, L.A.Times

1. Get the right kit It’s a myth that you need a super-wow camera to take nice food photographs. Entry-level DSLRs are quite reasonably priced these days and if you’re shooting for a blog, the picture quality will be more than adequate. It’s worth investing in a nice lens if you’re feeling flush, but I honestly think it’s how you apply the technology you have that really matters.

2. Try not to use a flash Camera-mounted flashes are pretty much off-limits for food photographers; pouring in light front-on will flatten your dish and dispel any delicate natural shadows that were present beforehand. Unless you have access to specialist studio lighting equipment, your best bet is to…

3. Always carry a tripod

5. Find the best angle

Poor light is just one of those things. Having said

Certain recipes have a strong graphic identity

that, there’s nothing worse than getting the composition spot on, only to discover when you get home that camera shake has rendered your shot a grim, blurry affair. If you’re using a DSLR, any exposure longer than a 1/60 of a second could really

and will look striking when photographed from directly above, while other subjects (tiered cakes being a good example) often need to be shot from a lower angle. Try to get your composition in place in advance so that you can concentrate on the food

do with the aid of a tripod.

when it’s ready to photograph; you don’t really

4. Choose props carefully

napkin placement when the dish is ready. Trust

While your viewer may only acknowledge them on a subconscious level, the choice of tablecloth/ surface, plate and cutlery all subtly contribute to the mood and success of your shot.

want to be worrying about glassware, cutlery and your instincts when a composition isn’t working.

If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Break the set down and start again; you’ll probably bring in a few elements from your previous composition, but often it’s good to re-approach an idea from a different angle.

‘Trust your instincts when a composition isn’t working.

Re-approach an idea from a different angle.’

6. Don’t let the food sit around for too long Many herbs and salad leaves (coriander being a

8. Give it a spritz

perennial offender) whither at the mere sight of

When taking still-life pictures of fruit & veg a few

a camera; the longer your dish hangs around, the

misty bursts of water with an atomizer (Muji have a

more it starts to look tired and un-appetizing. Food

good selection) can transform a shot. Subjects that

like meat begins to dry out quickly on set and will

looked a bit lifeless will appear as if they’ve been

benefit from a light brush of oil, but be careful not

plucked from a crisp, dewy garden.

to overdo it otherwise it’ll start to look greasy.

7. Honour the accident

9. Be prepared As odd as it may sound, I always have a few props

If you’re taking a slice from a cake and a few

rattling around in my bag wherever I go. From a

crumbs fall onto the tabletop, have a quick look

distance it may sound like there’s a one man

through the lens - it might be worth leaving them

band approaching, but there’s always the chance

there. A bit of mess adds charm and can make a

you’re going to stumble across the juiciest wild

recipe more approachable to the viewer; sometimes

strawberries you’ve ever seen down a quiet lane and

rigid perfection makes the prospect of re-creating a

need something at hand to photograph them in.

dish oneself feel like a daunting one.