Food Staple Trail Cooking

I’m thinking about the days before dehydrators, freeze dried package meals, when campers packed food staples like corn meal, flour, dried meat, rice, fruit, beans, etc. Anyone do any of that beyond bannock making? I’m wondering if there’s a net savings in weight for a long term trip.

I last did the kind of outdoor cooking you are asking about with the scouts in the 1960’s. In the more recent past my brother and I would do hobo-type meals (cut up potatoes/onions/carrots with some browned stew meal) wrapped in aluminum foil and baked in the campfire coals. Now that I often go by myself I eat real simple - grocery store off the shelf heat and serve food. And sometimes I don’t bother to even heat it. Most of my sense of taste is gone due to a medical procedure. On group trips we usually use MH freeze dried along with the daily walleye take.

Other than dehydrating fruits and veggies that's all I eat. Oatmeal, bannock, quinoa, lentils, nuts, raisins, olive oil and peanut butter. They all cook quickly (or no need to cook at all) with virtually no prep or cleanup.

Lentils cook much faster than other beans. It takes me about 5 minutes to toss the veggies, quinoa, and lentils into a pot with water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling I wrap the pot in reflective foil cozies for 20 minutes while I setup camp. Once camp is setup it's ready to eat. Just add salt and olive oil. All other meals are quicker and easier.

Alan

Alan Gage said:

dehydrating fruits and veggies

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Possibly side point: where do you get decent-priced fruit? I'm trying to meat/beat pricing of off-the-shelf dried fruit from Wally-World.

sailsman63 said:

Possibly side point: where do you get decent-priced fruit? I'm trying to meat/beat pricing of off-the-shelf dried fruit from Wally-World.

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If you have any farm markets and orchards around you can often get grade "B" or #2 fruits and veggies that are not perfect in looks or size (so not saleable in corporate supermarkets) but taste no different. I picked up bushel of Honeycrisp #2 apples at an orchard last fall for $8.00 and supplied several friends with fresh apples, dried some, and ate the rest. They were slightly too small to be a #1 grade.

sailsman63 said:

Possibly side point: where do you get decent-priced fruit? I'm trying to meat/beat pricing of off-the-shelf dried fruit from Wally-World.

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I only dry bananas and apples and sometimes strawberries. Bananas seem to be dirt cheap. I suppose apples can get a bit spendy but in the grand scheme of things, when looking at the trip cost in whole, I never gave it a 2nd thought.

I'm not sure what Wal-Mart dried fruit tastes like but the few times I've tried commercially available dried bananas I thought they were no comparison to what I dry myself. I'd guess the apples would be similar.

Alan

... the few times I've tried commercially available dried bananas I thought they were no comparison to what I dry myself. I'd guess the apples would be similar

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Watch commercially dehydrated fruits. They often contain added sugars, artificial flavors, etc. (if any of that is a concern)

I've taken rice and lentils but typically stick to "add water" sides, whatever fish I can catch and, of course, bacon. I've tried blending in with our Northern brethren and making bannock on a fire but, so far, it's been an abysmal failure.

SouthernKevlar said:

If you have any farm markets and orchards around you can often get grade "B" or #2 fruits and veggies

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I might have a look, when they're back in operation.

I've found I have a liking for dried blueberries, which are not cheap around here.

I'm primarily targeting things that would work well in a granola.

Gamma1214 said:

Watch commercially dehydrated fruits. They often contain added sugars, artificial flavors, etc. (if any of that is a concern)

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I'll say! Some of the commercially available stuff is half or more added sugar by weight.

Calories seem to be most important item for me on a trip. Regular food seems to give me energy more so than pre-made offerings … So, regular food like those carried in the olden days for me include eggs … although in a plastic container to protect against breakage. Bannock true, but cooked in lard, often taken from a Butchered hog and rendered at home. I have used cold cured /cold smoked bacon like the old way people … but that is really expensive and to find anyone who does this anymore, so I do not use this now. Homemade pemmican ( results varied, usually not that pleasant ), and home made parched rice and corn . The parched food did keep pretty well and was tasty, salted and parched in olive oil. When eaten throughout the day, my energy levels seemed ok, but they are really all carbs, not a lot of protein.

Lastly, honey is pretty natural, does not spoil, travels well and I really enjoy it. I love it on corn bread or bannock, pancakes, etc., but sometimes when I am feeling depleated I like to take a good glug and am good to go for a bit longer. A great trail break is coffee, peanut butter with honey and or instead of GORP, walnuts or almonds with raisins make good trail food and have been a staple for centuries.

As others have indicated, rice meals cook fast, clean easy and when mixed with other foods is pretty hardy. That said, I do take a lot of dehydrated venison with me on my trips.

Bob.

I like to bring something fresh for my first night on a trip. I will grill hamburgers. Bread won't make it long, so needs to be eaten first. After that, a rice mix like jambalaya is good. I'll take oatmeal. I will also take oranges. They keep well. Tuna is good, but I like to add mayo, relish, and egg and all that needs to stay cold.

Carbohydrates and protein have ~1700 kcal/lb, fats ~4000. So there shouldn't really be a difference in weight between space-age dehydrated meals vs. flour/pasta/dry beans, as long as they're providing similar nutritional content. The way to add/subtract weight is water (0 kcal/lb), such as canned goods or fresh foods. Once you get rid of all the water, there's not really a magic trick to getting rid of weight.

I have been wondering, does anyone make buckwheat pancakes or use this flour for a heartier Bannock in the back country? As a young boy, I used to love using this flour to make very hearty pancakes. It has been a very long time since I experimented with making them in the bush, or making a cake like meal out of it. I may have to give it a go and see how I like it. Has anyone ever done this before. I think the buckwheat would stay with you longer, a desirable trait traveling in the back country.

Thinking about a good cup of coffee, warm buckwheat with butter and honey ... oh man, I gotta stop posting this stuff in the morning!

Bob.

Bob B. said:

I have been wondering, does anyone make buckwheat pancakes or use this flour for a heartier Bannock in the back country? As a young boy, I used to love using this flour to make very hearty pancakes. It has been a very long time since I experimented with making them in the bush, or making a cake like meal out of it. I may have to give it a go and see how I like it. Has anyone ever done this before. I think the buckwheat would stay with you longer, a desirable trait traveling in the back country.

Thinking about a good cup of coffee, warm buckwheat with butter and honey ... oh man, I gotta stop posting this stuff in the morning!

Bob.

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Man, that sounds good. I don't think I've ever eaten buckwheat pancakes. Must not be a southern thing. If I make pancakes on the river, I typically use the Whataburger pancake mix. Though, once I mixed up my own pancake mix in a ziplock bag. I just had to add the milk, oil, and eggs. then I cut a little hole in the corner of the bag to squirt it out in the frying pan.

Buckwheat pancakes are my favorite.

TXRiverRunner said:

I don't think I've ever eaten buckwheat pancakes. Must not be a southern thing.

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TXRiverRunner said:

Whataburger

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Now that's a southern and southwestern thang.

Glenn MacGrady said:

Now that's a southern and southwestern thang.

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Yes sir. Texas thing, even.

I grew up on buckwheat pancakes. Alwys my favorite, but not as common to find the flour now. When I was a kid, the regional local agway (farming hardware equipment and feed store) would offer an annual free pancake breakfast with real local maple syrup for anyone who could come. School wold be practically empty on that weekday morning. Buckwheaat was the main pancake ordered.

Around here you have to look pretty hard at the grocery store to find buckwheat flour but most of the feed mills in the area still sell it.

It's been a few years since I've had buckwheat pancakes. Probably only a few days 'til I have them again... thanks for reminding me!

TXRiverRunner said:

Man, that sounds good. I don't think I've ever eaten buckwheat pancakes. Must not be a southern thing. If I make pancakes on the river, I typically use the Whataburger pancake mix. Though, once I mixed up my own pancake mix in a ziplock bag. I just had to add the milk, oil, and eggs. then I cut a little hole in the corner of the bag to squirt it out in the frying pan.

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I just got back from grocery shopping and noticed that Ingles (I'm not sure if Ingles is in your area) carries the Bob's RED MILL Buckwheat Flour on the baking and flour isle.
Here in South Carolina we do not have Whataburger Pancake Mix here either. Must be a Texas thing.
Just thought i would throw that out.