Work travel on Pesach; packing thermos

JoyInTheMorning

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 4:29 am

I need to travel for work on Chol Hamoed Pesach. It's just a one-day trip: I'll be away from home for around 18-20 hours. I need to pack all my food, since all I can buy outside on Pesach are water bottles and bananas.

I can't bring things like cottage cheese or canned tuna in my carry on, since they are considered liquids. So I figured I would check a small piece of luggage like a backpack with my food. I will have an insulated lunch bag with containers with cottage cheese plus blueberries and tuna with vegetables, and I'll be fine.

My question is about a thermos, since I have to have lots of tea to get through my day. Normally, I just drink plain tea in a paper cup anywhere, but obviously not on Pesach, so I need to bring a thermos. Will a thermos survive in a backpack that is in checked baggage? How can I make sure it doesn't shatter or leak?

Thanks for any suggestions.

JoyInTheMorning

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 8:27 am

teachkids wrote:

What's your set up where you're going? Could you bring an electric kettle and heat water there?

Thanks! I was thinking about that. But:

1. I'd have to bring water too because I won't use water out of a faucet that hasn't been cleaned. And my backpack will look ridiculously bulky with a kettle and bottles of water. I would buy the water in the airport that I land in, but I'd be bringing the bulky backpack into the office that I'm visiting and it would just look weird.

2. I'm not sure there will be a set up where I can just escape from a meeting and set up my electric kettle.

Last edited by JoyInTheMorning on Thu, Apr 18 2019, 8:29 am; edited 1 time in total

PinkFridge

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 8:49 am

I've never tried this but supposedly if something is fully frozen you can bring it on the plane. (Now if that's not dangerous...Lamb to the Slaughter...)
May your traveling go safely and successfully.

amother

Seafoam

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 8:56 am

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

Get an immersion heater (it takes up no space) and bring a mug. And buy water wherever you are. Lots of people these days only use bottled water.

imasinger

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 9:23 am

amother [ Seafoam ] wrote:

Get an immersion heater (it takes up no space) and bring a mug. And buy water wherever you are. Lots of people these days only use bottled water.

Brilliant!

Safe travels.

amother

Seafoam

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 10:09 am

Just be sure to bring a mug too. An immersion heater is not safe in a paper or Styrofoam cup! Be safe! Anothe thing --I find that my coworkers are always excited about traditional holiday foods. If you have room in your backpack for a can of coconut macaroons to offer around, they would probably be thrilled.

JoyInTheMorning

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 10:11 am

PinkFridge wrote:

When I travel (which is often!), I usually take along a small lunch-box sized cooler with some food and a frozen ice pack. They almost always let the ice go through. Then on the way back, I toss the ice pack.

But this makes me wonder if I could freeze the cottage cheese, or if I could pack it in several containers that are each less than 3.3 ounces. That would mean I don't have to check luggage, which would save me a lot of time.

Thanks for the idea!

JoyInTheMorning

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 10:14 am

amother [ Seafoam ] wrote:

Oh, I didn't know that about immersion heaters and mugs! Thank you for letting me know!

I don't know that I want to be labeled as a macaroon type of Jew; politics can be a bit awkward. I might have a long time ahead living down jokes about pastrami and lox. But if I have time to bake my super delicious non-gebrokt chocolate cake, that would be a winner.

nchr

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 10:37 am

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

But this makes me wonder if I could freeze the cottage cheese, or if I could pack it in several containers that are each less than 3.3 ounces. That would mean I don't have to check luggage, which would save me a lot of time.

It depends on what the consistency is when you freeze it. If it is ice solid, it is fine. AFAIK cheese doesn't freeze that way - but you could try it. Soup does, and tomato soups are great cold. Also, you cannot pack several containers smaller than 3.3 ounces, they will take them away if excessive.

teachkids

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 10:38 am

Maybe do more hard cheeses instead of cottage cheese. Tuna cans may be small enough? Or see if you can get those pouches without liquid pesachdik.

JoyInTheMorning

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 10:41 am

teachkids wrote:

Maybe do more hard cheeses instead of cottage cheese. Tuna cans may be small enough? Or see if you can get those pouches without liquid pesachdik.

Yes, it makes sense to swap hard cheese for the cottage cheese. I was only able to find 5 ounce cans of tuna this year and no pouches (in my local Kosher store). I have had those cans confiscated from me before.

amother

Seafoam

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 11:13 am

JoyInTheMorning wrote:

I hear that. It depends on the crowd.

SixOfWands

Thu, Apr 18 2019, 11:53 am

Zojirushi really does keep beverages hot. I use their carafe on Pesach, but they have a regular thermos -- pricey, but worth it.

https://www.target.com/p/zojir.....aw.ds

Unfortunately, while its leak resistant, its not leakproof.