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Hiking food.

1961MJS

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,363
Location
Norman Oklahoma
The ultimate hiking food!

"Kendal Mint Cake is popular among climbers and mountaineers, especially those from the United Kingdom, as a source of energy....Romneys are famous for their Kendal Mintcake which was carried to the top of Mount Everest in May 1953, on the first successful expedition to the summit." ...

Hi

How close to York Peppermint Patties are these? To be considered hiking food, they wouldn't melt.

Thanks
 

Philip Adams

One of the Regulars
Messages
205
Location
London, England
Extracted from "The Big Two-Hearted River" by Ernest Hemingway:

For dinner:

“Nick was hungry. He did not believe he had ever been hungrier. He opened and emptied a can at pork and beans and a can of spaghetti into the frying pan."

"Nick got out a bottle of tomato ketchup and cut four slices of bread"

"He ate the whole plateful before he remembered the bread. Nick finished the second plateful with the bread, mopping the plate shiny"

"He emptied the can of apricots out into a tin cup"

"Nick drank the coffee"

For Breakfast:

"Rapidly he mixed some buckwheat flour with water and stirred it smooth, one cup of flour, one cup of water."

"Nick ate a big flapjack and a smaller one, covered with apple butter"

For lunch:

"Then he cut one half into slices and made onion sandwiches”

bon appetit . . . . .

I don't believe that quote was from Hemingway....alcohol wasn't mentioned once! :D
 

Philip Adams

One of the Regulars
Messages
205
Location
London, England
The ultimate hiking food!

"Kendal Mint Cake is popular among climbers and mountaineers, especially those from the United Kingdom, as a source of energy....Romneys are famous for their Kendal Mintcake which was carried to the top of Mount Everest in May 1953, on the first successful expedition to the summit."


I was in Kendal walking on the weekend and steered well away from the mint cake.

I usually make do with bread, cheese and some fruit.
 

Methuselah

One of the Regulars
Messages
281
Location
Manchester, England
Dried fruit
Nuts
Chocolate
Hard cheese
Salami
Hard Boiled Eggs
Flapjack
Flatbread - can't get squashed in your pack if it's already flat - that's using your loaf :D
Porridge oats

Day hikes:
Scotch eggs
Pork pies

- also, it's an integral part of traditional English backpacking to have your tea in a pub. I like the pubs that also sell flapjack and don't mind you hanging your socks in front of the fire.
 
Last edited:

Magister

Familiar Face
Messages
60
Location
CT
Look for the book Woodcraft and Camping By George Washington Sears, aka "Nessmuk." He was a popular outdoorsman and writer in the late 19th century, and his book contains a wealth of period campcraft information including recipes and food suggestions. It is witty and eloquent writing too.

If you look around, free pdf versions can be found on the internet.
 

Bob_Fixico

New in Town
Messages
31
Location
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
I vote for the hard tack or a pack of saltine crackers in your pack. I do not know how long you plan on being out there. But the crackers or wafers are good for settling the stomach or fighting off quick stepp. Just in case you drink some bad water. Now if that does happened get to a doctor as soon as possible.
 

The Reno Kid

A-List Customer
Messages
362
Location
Over there...
I probably should just start a new thread, but this fits here, so I'm resurrecting this one...

In several old hiking/expedition/outfitting publications dating from the 1880s thru the 1920s I've seen references to something called "Erbswurst," an item highly recommended for provisioning (literal translation: "pea sausage"). I didn't have a clue what it was and so I just assumed it was another of those things lost to the mists of time. Well, Mrs. Reno Kid and I re-located to Germany a few months ago. We were in a local store last weekend and I spotted a sausage shaped package in the Knorr soup aisle labeled "Erbswurst." It was only about €1.25 (about $1.66), so I bought one.

Intrigued, I started doing a bit of research. It is indeed the same stuff that I had read about in the old books. Knorr has been making it since 1889, when they bought the production rights from the original manufacturer. It was originally invented(?) in the 1860s as a field ration for German soldiers. A lot of troops lived on not much more than Erbswurst and brown bread for the a lot of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. In fact, it was a standard field ration until the 1950s or 60s. It appears that the packaging hasn't even changed much in the last hundred years. It comes in two varieties--green and yellow. I've read that the only difference is the color of the peas used.

Erbswurst-1.jpg

So what is it? Basically, it's pea soup with tiny bits of de-fatted bacon and spices for flavor. When you open the package, it contains six tablets of compressed, dry pea soup. You crush a tablet in a suitable cooking cup or pot and add 1/4 liter (a little more than one cup, U.S.) cold water, and heat to boiling. In about three minutes, you have a thick and surprisingly filling pea soup. I finally got around to trying it today for lunch and it's actually pretty good. It's not the best pea soup I've ever had but it's not the worst, either. I tried the green variety. After a long walk on a crisp day on the trail, this would be pretty good eating. Of course, it has an expiration date like everything else, but at least one of the old books said it lasts virtually forever. To paraphrase the author, "...after three years, it will taste no worse that it does today--it won't taste any better but it won't taste worse." Anyway, I will be adding it to my trail rations. I don't know how easy it is to get outside Germany, but it would be worth looking for.
 

1961MJS

My Mail is Forwarded Here
Messages
3,363
Location
Norman Oklahoma
Hi

I tried Hudson's Bay Bread when the older boys went to Boundary Waters a few years back. I didn't go. If you eat this stuff you'll be well fed, VERY well fed.

Copied from here: http://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/hudson_bay_bread-1380.asp

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. softened butter
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup light Karo syrup
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp maple flavoring
3/4 cup ground nuts (walnuts)
9 cups Quaker 1-minute oats

Notes:
This is the recipe from Northern Tier but you can modify the ingredients to include raisins, brown sugar, molasses, vanilla, or what sounds good.
Instructions:
You may want to grind up the oats in a blender or food processor.

Cream together all the ingredients except the nuts and oats, in a large mixing bowl.
Once it is all blended, stir in the oats and nuts. Make sure it is well mixed.

Spread the mixture onto a cookie sheet with at least a 1/2 inch high lip. Press the mixture down and pack it in until it fills the pan and is a smidge less than 1/2 inch thick. You'll probably need a second sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove and press down with a spatula to prevent crumbling when it cools. (If you bake it too long, it gets hard and crunchy like a granola bar.)
While it is still warm, cut into 3 inch squares.

This is often eaten for lunch while canoeing. Globs of peanut butter and/or jelly are loaded on top and then eaten. It is a high-energy food that is great when you are burning lots of calories outside.

Later Y'all
 

Smithy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,139
Location
Norway
I've done quite a bit of tramping/hiking in NZ and Norway and the best stuff I've found to carry is a big bag of scroggin and also one of biltong.

Works for me.
 

winterland1

Practically Family
Messages
535
Location
minneapolis
I see hard tack mentioned a lot. I grew up eating it as my Finnish Grandparents and mother had always had it around. I will be bringing some on my journeys from now on. A healthy carb. It is available here in Minnesota grocery stores. This is the kind we always had.
http://www.worldmarket.com/product/leksands-original-round-crispbread.do?camp=CSE%3APricegrabber%3A463808&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=Pricegrabber&utm_campaign=463808&zmap=463808&zmac=10&zmas=1&zmam=47142862
I usually take a few of these, beef jerkey, nuts or trailmix, healthy protien bars, oatmeal cookies, water.
Here is a recipe for healthy oatmeal cookies. No sugar and tastes great.
http://www.wholegraingourmet.com/recipes/43-cookies/58-healthy-oatmeal-cookies.html
 

Smithy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,139
Location
Norway
I will be looking up what these are. Scroggin and biltong?

Sorry scroggin is New Zealand slang for "trail mix" so nuts, dried fruit and chocolate.

Biltong is South African style dried meat but not to be confused with beef jerky - it's a million times better. Back in my home (NZ) we have a lot of South African immigrants and so biltong is widely available. It is unbelievably delicious and obviously a good source of protein. It is (IMHO) southern Africa's greatest gift to the world. One of the most moreish things on the planet.
 

Mojave Jack

One Too Many
Messages
1,785
Location
Yucca Valley, California
Sorry scroggin is New Zealand slang for "trail mix" so nuts, dried fruit and chocolate.

Biltong is South African style dried meat but not to be confused with beef jerky - it's a million times better. Back in my home (NZ) we have a lot of South African immigrants and so biltong is widely available. It is unbelievably delicious and obviously a good source of protein. It is (IMHO) southern Africa's greatest gift to the world. One of the most moreish things on the planet.

Hmm. I'm intrigued. Anyone have any experience with the biltong from The African Hut in Laguna Beach? Smithy, there are several terms on that page that may require you to interpret, like "peri-peri," and "Boerewors."
 

Smithy

I'll Lock Up
Messages
5,139
Location
Norway
Hmm. I'm intrigued. Anyone have any experience with the biltong from The African Hut in Laguna Beach? Smithy, there are several terms on that page that may require you to interpret, like "peri-peri," and "Boerewors."

Peri peri is chilli so good and hot. Boerewors is a South African spiced sausage which comes in a big spiral. It is excellent cooked on the barbie, seriously tasty. And if you're getting some biltong pick up a boerewors as well. Boerewors is also great eaten simply in rolls with chutney or bbq sauce when watching the rugby ;)

If you like jerky, you are in for a real treat with biltong.
 

MikeKardec

One Too Many
Messages
1,157
Location
Los Angeles
If someone mentioned it already, forgive me, but there is an outfit called Reporations that sells military rations to military reenactors. Some might find that useful. I've actually used them for photo shoots and reference.
 

tonypaj

Practically Family
Messages
659
Location
Divonne les Bains, France
I see hard tack mentioned a lot. I grew up eating it as my Finnish Grandparents and mother had always had it around. I will be bringing some on my journeys from now on. A healthy carb. It is available here in Minnesota grocery stores. This is the kind we always had.
http://www.worldmarket.com/product/leksands-original-round-crispbread.do?camp=CSE%3APricegrabber%3A463808&utm_medium=CSE&utm_source=Pricegrabber&utm_campaign=463808&zmap=463808&zmac=10&zmas=1&zmam=47142862
I usually take a few of these, beef jerkey, nuts or trailmix, healthy protien bars, oatmeal cookies, water.
Here is a recipe for healthy oatmeal cookies. No sugar and tastes great.
http://www.wholegraingourmet.com/recipes/43-cookies/58-healthy-oatmeal-cookies.html

Nakkileipaa... My grandparents were Finnish. As were my parents. Well, I am. My kids are half so. I had my fair share of this stuff hiking in the Finnish army :) Now I hike to Georges Blanc.
 

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