Whether it’s keeping fish chilled or your drinks icy cold, follow these tips and keep your cool.
1) No peeking!
Opening and closing your ice box too often is a sure fire way of melting what’s inside. Keep it closed and keep your ice.
2) Pre-chill the ice box
Starting with a cold ice box makes all the difference. The night before packing your ice box, pre pack it with ice or freezer blocks. When it comes time to pack your drinks and food, discard those original freezer blocks or ice and add fresh ones to the already chilled ice box.
3) Pre-chill or freeze food
Just like point 2, if you’re adding room temperature drinks and food you’ll soon melt your ice. Chill it all beforehand in the fridge and freeze food whenever possible.
4) Drain water
If using loose ice, drain the melted water for longer ice retention. Some ice boxes have drainage plugs to make it easier.
5) Make a slurry
If you’re keeping fish in your ice box, add sea water to your loose ice and make a “slurry”, a type of slushy for holding fresh fish. The salt in the sea water lowers the temperature and keeps it cool for longer.
