The Dish Washing Thread

[whitecon]

what are the cons of non stick? i'm thinking of switching from my SS gear.. tired of scrubbing.

One of the cons of non stick is that you have to be careful when you scrape the pan or you will scrape the coating off. It's advised not to scrape it with anything metal. In the past I used a Bamboo spatula or something of the like.
If you not backpacking, I would use cast-iron due to its durability and efficiency. A properly seasoned cast-iron skillet, pan, or pot will take on the properties of non-stick. Most chefs dont wash cast-iron. Depending on what has been cooked, they will just wipe it out (water savings).

 

[SunTzuNephew]

Folks, doing a good, thorough job of washing (getting all the food off) followed by a very hot water rinse (>160 degrees F) is highly recommended to prevent GI illnesses.

The military learned this a very long time ago: More soldiers have been taken out of battle by dirty messkits than bullets.

The military's solution now? No mess kits . Before that, it was a trash can filled with boiling water as a final rinse.

 

[Corey]

I saw this posted over on IH8MUD's camping section.
TriLite Wash Station

Since selling my tent trailer (which had a nice sink and catch container outside) I bought two wash pans for doing the dishes when camping, and used them this past week along with a small drying rack.

I do the dishes on the ground in the pan, and with me getting older my knees do not like to be in that position for very long.

That rack I posted above I saw on MUD seems pretty ergo.
I also switched from regular dish soap to the Campsuds.
I even shower with it and use it as shampoo when camping.

 

[off.track]

One of the cons of non stick is that you have to be careful when you scrape the pan or you will scrape the coating off. It's advised not to scrape it with anything metal. In the past I used a Bamboo spatula or something of the like.
If you not backpacking, I would use cast-iron due to its durability and efficiency. A properly seasoned cast-iron skillet, pan, or pot will take on the properties of non-stick. Most chefs dont wash cast-iron. Depending on what has been cooked, they will just wipe it out (water savings).

thanks. why would you have to scrape NON-STICK? hmm.. and yeah, i am thinking of switching out my backpacking pans and donating those to my truck gear.

i actually use CI a lot.. tend to drag at least one 3 leg oven, a skillet and lately even my griddle. . you add all the other things that go with a duch oven and it's a big load.


on scrubbing.. i use those plastic net bags that onions and other veggies come contained in. they are free, work great and after the trip you pitch it and replace with the next set of onions bags.

cups, i have never been able to go out, even backpacking, with just one cup.. i just can't handle floaties or oil slicks in my tea.. i'm sorry. so i always have two.. one plastic insulated mug for all purposes and then my plastic insulate tea cup. but then, i have also always hauled at least a bit of sugar up and down mountains.

thank goodness water is not in short supply around here either. :ylsmoke:

 

[SWbySWesty]

Here's your ARB sink...not really, but sorta:

http://www.rei.com/product/752731

 

[Joanne]

I often find myself cooking for larger groups of people. We have a setup that works well in that environment. On the left is the Coleman instant hot water machine. It speeds up the process significantly. The blue Lowe's water container is actually our hand washing station. It's full of hot water, has a soap dispenser sitting on the top and we replaced the cup holder with paper towels. On the right is the three station dish washing. Since the photo was taken, we've added another dish pan below the other three to hold the bleach water and cleaning rags. This setup has been inspected by the local health department at a couple of different events and they always complement us it. Being made of PVC, it's light, cheap, and we can knock it apart for easy transportation.

I realize that this is much more than most of you need, but it's ideal at a group base camp.

Joanne :chef:

 

[DontPanic42]

Joanne,
You have a very nice looking setup - clean and efficient. We use a similar setup for our chuck wagon but since we have to be period specific (late 1800's) we use metal wash tubs, wooden tables, and a wood fire to heat the water. A water barrel, enameled wash bowl, and lye soap for hand washing. We do keep plastic bottles of bleach and dish soap out of sight but within easy reach. Same principle but I'd rather pack up your setup than ours. Great design
Bruce

 

[Joanne]

Joanne,
You have a very nice looking setup - clean and efficient. We use a similar setup for our chuck wagon but since we have to be period specific (late 1800's) we use metal wash tubs, wooden tables, and a wood fire to heat the water. A water barrel, enameled wash bowl, and lye soap for hand washing. We do keep plastic bottles of bleach and dish soap out of sight but within easy reach. Same principle but I'd rather pack up your setup than ours. Great design
Bruce

Ours might be a bit easier to pack, but I'd sure love to cook on a wagon team. You just don't see 'em here in Vegas.

Joanne

P.S. - drop by camp-cook.com sometime! We'd love to have another DO cook to chat with.

 

[RMP&O]

I find 2 5gallon buckets work just fine. One with soap and or bleach and one with clean water to rinse. When you are not using the buckets you can fill them full of gear. I like the bucktes with the heavy duty screw on lids....you can even get them water tight. For items that don't fit ina bucket...well it is big enough then to just wash out of the bucket!

They have worked for me on river trips and car camping. On the river we just set the clean dishes in the boats to dry. Car camping I have found some netting works great to dry dishes. I use a military netting that is super cheap and very tough. You can hang it anywhere full of dishes.

I recently picked up this though to save some space....

http://www.hotcampshowers.com/inc/sdetail/739

Personally...I see no need to get complex or spend lots of money on a sink and or dish washing set up. Unless you have tons of room, weight is no concern and you have cash to burn.

 

[RMP&O]

Oh and backpacking or on the river and even car camping.....

I really like to use the MSR water bags. With the small nozzle you use very little water to wash hands or do dishes. You can even use them to shower! When not full of water they pack up small. MSR filters also screw right on the bags.....very nice invention! I have had one of my MSR water bags since about 1991....never had a leak in it!!

http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/water...ydration/hydromedary-hydration-system/product

 

[lqdchkn]

I think there are several steps for saving water during dishwashing. First, you need to wipe off food particle and roughly clean the dishes with tissues. Then you can grab a dish scrubber to wash dishes in the water that you have used for washing vegetable before. After that, wipe the dishes with a clean dishcloth and some clean water.