Thermos meal ideas: Matt Preston reveals favourite recipes

Whether for your picnic hamper, your kids’ lunch box or your office desk, Matt Preston offers up some cool (and hot) ideas for packing a Thermos.

Matt Preston reveals the history of the Thermos.

Gather round, children, and let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there were dark days when the office kitchen had neither a microwave nor a sandwich press.

In fact, there was – and I know you will find this hard to believe – no way of heating your lunch.

This barbarism extended even further to when you went on a picnic or off to a remote fishing spot (especially during a fire ban). And, at the footy, if you wanted a warm drink or some soup to help you deal with the rain and the cold winter air, you had to take a Thermos.

In 1892, Scottish scientist Sir James Dewar invented the vacuum flask for storing chemicals at stable temperatures.

It wasn’t until the beginning of the next century that Reinhold Burger (Dewar’s glass blower) and his business partner Albert Aschenbrenner turned it into a domestic product they patented and called the Thermos.

You can put more than just soup in a Thermos. Picture: iStock

For more food, travel and lifestyle news, go to delicious.com.au

Subsequently licensed to US businessman William B Walker, this portable bottle would be known the world over by the 1950s.

If you wrestle past the old jam jars at the back of your nan’s kitchen cupboard, you may still find one, possibly in dinted red enamel or printed with a jaunty tartan to match your picnic rug.

Dig it out, wash it up and use it to send hot food (that doesn’t need reheating) to school with your kids, or take it to the office and id the queue for the shared microwave.

To get the best out of your Thermos, simply warm it before filling and sealing it tightly – and pick the best stuff to fill it with.

Beyond soups and stews, try the following for a hearty lunch …

MEATBALLS AND BEANS

A one-pot meal all on their own, this is a step up from the “franks and beans” of 1970s’ American sitcoms – especially if you lighten the texture of your mixture by stirring in some stale bread that’s been soaked in some milk and then squeezed out, before you roll your meatballs and pan-fry them.

I like this served with buttered white bread on the side, perfect for mopping up the sauce and capturing errant meatballs.

These roasted fennel and pine nut polpette are great for your Thermos.

Vegetarians can try Jamie Oliver’s roasted fennel and pine nut polpette, or Yotam Ottolenghi’s aubergine (eggplant) dumplings made with ricotta, parmesan and fresh sourdough breadcrumbs.

PULLED PORK

Packed hot into a good Thermos, your pulled pork will hold for a while so you can build tacos and wraps on the run.

These are a little fiddly to assemble, so choose carefully the occasion and location to enjoy this meal.

Toss your pulled pork in some of the hot cooking juices while the meat is also still hot to keep it succulent.

BUTTERED CORN ON THE COB

Corn on the cob holds really well Thermos. Just make sure to also pack a small tub of finely grated cheese – mixed with garlic powder and a little chopped parsley – to sprinkle on when your corn cob comes hot out of the Thermos.

Now you are looking fancy! (Obviously, a wide-mouthed Thermos is best to use here.)

Grilled corn on the cob.

RISOTTO AND MAC ‘N’ CHEESE

The rice will go a little gluggy, but that doesn’t seem to bother most rampantly hungry teenagers.

Again, with both risotto and mac ’n’ cheese, a wide-mouth Thermos is the go (as much for when it comes to cleaning it out at the end of the day than anything else). And remember, anywhere risotto can travel so, too, can mac ’n’ cheese.

But I suggest making your mixture saucier that usual and loading the top with pan-toasted corn kernels and pieces of crispy bacon before sealing the Thermos.

Always undercook the pasta so it doesn’t become a totally sludgy mess – and don’t forget to pack a spoon.

Chicken soup with herb dumplings.

DUMPLINGS

A large, insulated Chinese dumpling warmer is best if you have steamed loads of dumplings for, say, all the players at a junior cricket club game during the innings break.

But if you don’t need quite that many, toss the dumplings in sesame oil to stop them sticking and slip them into your wide-mouthed Thermos with a little soy sauce.

Keep the Thermos upright and the dumplings will largely remain unaffected – until you turn over the Thermos a couple of times to dress them with the soy. Eat immediately.

ICE

It is an embarrassing admission that the most use my Thermos gets is keeping the ice frozen for drinks when we are out and about.

There are few things nicer out of a Thermos than the clink of cubes in a gin and tonic on the beach in the autumn sun, or the way ice glistens in a dram of scotch by a fire pit … well, other than some rich hot chocolate – especially if it’s spiked with a little Fireball Whisky.

Another fine use for the Thermos.

For more food, travel and lifestyle news, go to delicious.com.au

Originally published as Thermos meal ideas: Matt Preston reveals favourite recipes