Few activities let you connect with nature and with your loved ones like a picnic does. When you’re looking to get outside and spend some time with your best friends or your family members, going out for a nice picnic is an absolutely great way to do it. It’s cheap (sometimes even free if you’ve already got the food at home), it’s nature-oriented, and it’s a great way to enjoy connecting with our environment. Of course, when it comes down to it, any good picnic is going to require its fair share of planning and preparation. If you want to really picnic right, you’re going to need to do more than just fix up the standard-issue sandwiches, cheese, and crackers. No, the best picnics are done to the utmost degree, and involve some seriously good eats that you might have prepared as early as the evening before. When you’re going to have a seriously gourmet picnic, you really want to make sure that everything gets executed properly. This includes making sure that all your food stays nice and fresh so that you can enjoy everything as though you had just made it when the time comes to actually chow down. We’ll talk about a few ways that you can make sure that your picnic food tastes the best.

For one thing, it’s important that you keep everything nice and clean. This is not only a more sanitary way to handle, store, and transport your food, but it’ll also help to make sure your things stay fresh and taste better when you’re ready to actually eat. Make sure all your containers are completely clean and wash them the night before if they need some attention.

When you’re on your way to the picnic, the transportation process can be an important one. Make sure you keep raw food and cooked food completely separated. This way, you don’t risk anything in the way of cross-contamination, and can make sure you’re not posing any risks to picnic guests that might have allergies or special diet requirements. Keep everything separated this way to make sure your food items are as clean as possible. When you’re preparing everything, make sure you use a food thermometer to verify that all your items (especially your meats) are cooked thoroughly and have been brought to the proper internal temperature.

For chilled foods, it’s going to be the smartest to leave them in the fridge overnight, and then use a good, sturdy cooler when it comes time to transport your food to the picnic itself. Make sure your picnic coolers are very well-insulated and are loaded up with ice so that you can be sure your foods will stay nice and cool while you transport them. Beyond this, all you really need to do is make sure that your foods are all sealed in airtight containers. Use that cling wrap and make sure those plastic containers are nicely sealed. Making sure you’ve got fresh, delicious foods for your next picnic is easy when you keep these simple strategies in mind.