Cooking in a cali

[Speleo62]

Hi
This may seem a strange question but we have noticed a lot of comments about cooking outside, is it not a done thing to cook inside a Cali. Obviously cooking a full English will leave an aroma but what do you all do. I know some have remoskas ( expensive). Will we be spoilling our ( yet to be bought but on the look out for the ' right' one) Cali if we do.
Thanks

 

[Gavinskii]

Having an SE with a kitchen, rather than a Beach without, I always cook inside (unless it's cadac time - bbq or stir fry stuff which is best prepared in the open air during the warmer months with a few glasses of something )
I also have the seat covers which not only protect the seat coverings from splashes and spills, but from any aromas too.

 

[GrannyJen]

If I know that I am going to be on hook up then I carry my quest mini oven with me, failing that I have a 12v slow cooker to supplement the burners when no hook-up available. In desperation pot noodles, or, in moments of decadence a nice britstop at a decent pub.

 

[Hotel California]

We do cook in our SE but if the weather is nice we try to use a small outside cooker resulting in less smell inside and less cleaning of the inside cooker ....
but most of all ... enjoying the outdoors!
Thats what it's all about.

 

[Meoncoast]

If we were not going to cook inside the Cali when the weather is not good enough to cook and sit outside we would have bought the beach model Cali. Cooking inside makes works for us (just a bit careful on what we cook)

 

[Linda]

We cook in the van all the time. ( not much call for bbq with veggie food!) We tend to fry stuff in a large deep pan to contain spitting oil. Because the doors and windows are open a lot, smells don't seem to linger. Enjoy

 

[LindaF]

We cook inside the van unless it's bbq time then we use a cadac outside. No problems cooking inside - we love pasta/rice dishes which are easy enough to do inside anyway. We also have the seat covers so don't worry too much about spillages/splashes. Enjoy cooking in your van - that's what it was intended for

 

[Neilgbj]

We tend to be pretty pragmatic....what's the point in a van with a cooker if you aren't going to use it! We don't fry that much but if we do (and it's not blowing a hooly .....) will just tend to use a small portable stove outside but keeping things simple works for us......

 

[Californiaman]

We cook all the time and as above don't find any smells linger. Likewise when we can we'll cook outside on a Cobb.

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[sbmcd]

In decent weather we do our stir frying outside.

In the van, we found stir frying anything with onions the worst for making lingering smells, now we have a frying pan with a big lid, keeping that on most of the time minimises smells during cooking. We also pre cook meals at home so all we need to do in the van is stick them in a pot to heat (we do love our curries). Microwave rice cooked in a pot with a small amount of water or quick cook pasta cut down on time and gas usage.

 

[Bellesca]

Our main trips are to France, where we tend to cook outside and enjoy the outdoor life.....better weather, fresh ingredients and wine. Inside cooker used mostly for boiling stuff (eggs, pasta, potatoes)
We always have pasta and a jar of sauce on hand for emergency indoor meal in case of a downpour
In the UK we tend to take meals that we've pre-cooked at home

 

[Paulro]

We cook regularly and continue to enjoy some historic meals without lingering smells.
It's a great part of the attraction, finding some lovely ingredients in a French or Spanish market, selecting some lovely wine and it's all part of an idyllic lifestyle.
Lovely.

 

[Speleo62]

Thank you for all your comments, we are hiring before we buy in Nov and was worried we would be doing it wrong. Feel much happier I so be ruining the hire van. Getting quite excited , on the look out for a 180 manual se with some extras in the south of England if any one knows of one for sale.

 

[ejmoore]

We always cook in the van. It's fine - you've just got to be organised. Smells aren't a problem if you open the windows. It's useful to develop a range of one-pot recipes - we use a deep sauté/frying pan with a lid for most things - just put the longest-cooking things in first.

 

[Jools]

It depends what you cook. Onion cooking banned in our Cali since my son bought it back from a week in Wales with very lingering stink ... But I may just be over sensitive in the olfactory area.

 

[Alan]

No problem to cook in the van for me
My last trip I fried mackerel (1hr after being caught)
Same again with trout on another occasion
I always have the roof up (as advised in the manual) and Windows open a little
Also I use the oil as sparing as possible to avoid splashing
No lingering smells and all part of the fun

Alan

 

[IanE]

We've had our Cali from new and it's now 5 years old. We have cooked anything we fancied indoors with gay abandon. Obviously ventilating and cleaning as appropriate. We have no smells

 

[SimplyDubs]

Same here... cooking a favourite... campervan curry or stir-fry whenever possible.

Outside cooking when weather permits, but that's to be outside... nothing to do with smells.

My last trip I fried mackerel (1hr after being caught)

Once saw a young lady clean a mackerel in a Cali and rinse the bits down the sink!!!! Now that I wouldn't recommend!!! Please tell me it wasn't you guys

Rgds
Mark

 

[Alan]

Same here... cooking a favourite... campervan curry or stir-fry whenever possible.

Outside cooking when weather permits, but that's to be outside... nothing to do with smells.



Once saw a young lady clean a mackerel in a Cali and rinse the bits down the sink!!!! Now that I wouldn't recommend!!! Please tell me it wasn't you guys

Rgds
Mark

wasnt me guv.......honest

 

[WelshGas]

Personally I cannot see the point in purchasing a SE with all the facilities if you do not intend using them when the occasion requires it. Obviously in the Summer or good weather BBQs are frequently used but wild and windy or winter then they may not be the best choice. Any smells are easily got rid of with good ventilation and even, dare I mention, use of the various commercially available products. Ultimately a good quality interior valet can return that " New Car " smell if required.
Why should it be any different to cooking at home?

 

[marshian70]

Agree with the above. The whole point of a campervan is to have the the ability to cook etc. inside in the dry and warm, or just make a cup of tea on a day out. We BBQ etc. whenever possible but sadly the british weather does not always allow it!

 

[GrannyJen]

Why should it be any different to cooking at home?

Because I haven't got the butler with me .....

 

[dfps]

We tend to pre cook meals that we particularly like - Curries, chilli, spag bol, casseroles etc. We then freeze them at home in suitable sized portions and select what we need for a trip and put them in the bottom of the Cali fridge set on a low temp.They stay usable for several days even in hotter climes. All that's needed then is to boil some pasta,rice or veg inside the van or chop a bit of salad.
Don't want to spend time cooking too much......do enough of that at home.

 

[Hotel California]

We tend to pre cook meals that we particularly like - Curries, chilli, spag bol, casseroles etc. We then freeze them at home in suitable sized portions and select what we need for a trip and put them in the bottom of the Cali fridge set on a low temp.They stay usable for several days even in hotter climes. All that's needed then is to boil some pasta,rice or veg inside the van or chop a bit of salad.
Don't want to spend time cooking too much......do enough of that at home.

Same thing we do ,
Easy and jummy.....!

 

[Yorkshire lass]

We cook in the van all the time. ( not much call for bbq with veggie food!) We tend to fry stuff in a large deep pan to contain spitting oil. Because the doors and windows are open a lot, smells don't seem to linger. Enjoy

I’m with you Linda. My van life includes cooking indoors, i have even been know to cook salmon indoors if I ever sell my van I’ll be sure to tell any potential buyers