Food in the suitcase?

Holidays come and with them alone, with friends ... Sometimes we simply travel a few kilometers to go to the coast, to the mountains, to visit a city or to see family. But in other cases, we embark on longer journeys and for this we move by train, ship, plane ... And how does all this relate to food? Well, what can we take? food in the suitcase and, if it is the case, we must take into account some considerations about its transport.

What food in the suitcase we take for the trip

• The food we choose should be easy to transport, not too bulky or too heavy.
• We must "pack" it well, wrapping it in paper, cloth or specific covering so that it does not release juice or oil. Another option is to put the food in a container that closes well and does not break or weigh excessively. If possible, we will choose a container that will be useful for the rest of the trip, otherwise, we better choose something small or something that we can get rid of.
• It is preferable to choose foods that we can keep at room temperature to avoid complications. If we carry food that has to be kept cold, we will need a special bag, and even ice. If otherwise we choose food that should be kept warm, we will require a thermos, which is also an option if we use it later.
• In addition, if we choose products that we can consume at room temperature, we save ourselves another problem, since we can open and consume, without having to keep it in a thermos or ask for it to be heated, etc.

Some examples that meet these conditions are:

• Non-oily sandwiches (we discard, tuna in oil, tortillas), such as ham, cheese, vegetable with peppers, arugula, slices of tomato and chicken ...
• Vegetable juices or creams that we can keep for a few hours at room temperature, such as tomato juice or carrot cream ...
• Fresh fruit
• Bread sticks
• Yogurts if they are not going to be out of the fridge for a long time, or dairy desserts that do not need cold, etc.

On the other hand, we must bear in mind that, if we make the journey with certain people and cross a border, we may have to deliver them before we can eat them. This would be the case of fresh fruit, sausages made from pork and in general with fresh products.

What food in the suitcase we bring for the stay

When we travel it is advisable that, in addition to visiting interesting places and monuments, we meet new people and their way of life, which also includes their gastronomy. That means consuming local products and forgetting about transporting food. Another thing is that, for practical and / or economic reasons, or for some specific health reason that requires it, such as an allergy, we decide to bring some food in the suitcase for our stay at the vacation spot. So, we must take into account:

• Bring little perishable food, otherwise it may not withstand the trip well and will not keep well for many days.
• Transport well packaged products, which are kept at room temperature so that we can enjoy them at our destination without the risk of suffering from a food poisoning due to having poorly preserved them.
• It is preferable to choose products that are vacuum packed, or that keep well in simple containers.
• Better if they are really useful and practical food, that will get us out of a hurry or solve a need during the trip.

Some examples can be:

• Oil (properly packaged in large and suitable container or single-dose)
• Nuts
• Dried or dehydrated fruit (which is different from candied or sweetened)
• Tostaditas
• Cereal bars
• Milk powder
• Flaked cereals
• Sausage or cured ham vacuum packed
• Lyophilized products
• Prepared for soup ...

When it comes to crossing borders, we must bear in mind that there are specific regulations that regulate the introduction of food products in different countries. It is convenient to review them if we want to take food in the suitcase so that we do not have to leave it on the way. And is that each country, or community area, has its own regulations, which can also be modified by the appearance of specific outbreaks of certain health problems linked to a certain food or ingredient. Therefore, if we want to transport food, it is worth finding out about it, to be able to know what we can carry and what not and under what conditions.