Found a good "PRIMITIVE SURVIVAL COOKING" link? Let Us Know!
PRIMITIVE SURVIVAL COOKING
Return to
Primitive
Wilderness Survival Guide
From - Mike Andeasen
Date - Fri Jan 17 23:54:41 1997
Subject: Re: Colorado Wild edible help (foil
dinners)
Our troop frequently does
"Hobo Dinners" or "Tin-Dins". You put
uncooked meat (chicken, hamburger, etc) in the center of about 1
ft. sq. of HEAVY aluminum foil (double if not heavy duty). Add
vegetables or other stuff (imagination is great - I’ve used
apples/oranges w/pre-cooked ham) cut up into 1" pieces,
season to taste, and seal. When sealing, fold two edges up and
together and fold at least twice. Then fold the other two edges
at least twice toward the center. This should result in a square
pouch that is completely sealed. Throw on coals, turn over after
about 15-20 min and cook another 5 or so. These can be prepared
ahead of time, frozen, and used in place of ice to keep a drink
cool. Pre-cook your meat for longer unthawed life. Your troop
could open up their pouch to add meat if earned. Our boys like
the fact of no clean up after the meal.
Mike Andreasen
From - Howard N.V. Barker
Date - Fri Jan 17 23:56:17 1997
Subject:
Pots - no pot cooking
There are several routes you can
take. One, wrap a small roast or two separately in 3 or 4 layers
of heavy duty tin foil. Wire them close to the exhaust manifolds
in you car. If going a ways to your camp-site these would cook
quite well. Two, you could find or bring some clay with you and
make a large pot and fire it at camp. Presto! A pot. Three, you
can get a brain-tanned hide and suspend it over your fire with
water and vittles. Four, set a brain-tanned hide with water and
vittles beside a fire. Heat non-river rocks in fire. Heat rocks,
rinse in water then put in hide till heat dissipates. Then
replace with new rocks till food is done.
In both 3 and 4, 4 sturdy posts
should be set up to create a pocket in the hide.
Hope this helps, let me know.
Personally I would try one or two of the methods in my back yard
first and get some knowledge about how to fire clay without a
kiln.
Howard N.V. Barker
From - Benjamin Pressley
Date - Sat Jan 18 00:01:15 1997
Subject:
Re: pots- No Pot Cooking 2
Howard, have you tried any of
these things that you have made note of? There is a lot more to
pottery firing than you mentioned. You might want to access the
pottery thread for some really great info that has been shared on
this subject.
A fresh rawhide will work this way
but I don’t recommend a brain-tanned hide. For one thing why
go through all the trouble of the entire tanning process if your
just going to cook in it. A fresh rawhide suspended and formed
with an opening made from a willow hoop can actually be suspended
over hot coals by a tripod and cooked in. It drips like crazy,
though.
If you hot rock cook in it, it
hardly drips at all though. It can also be just used to line a
hole in the ground if you are going to hot rock cook in it.
Benjamin Pressley
WILDERNESS COOKING METHODS
© Copyright Benjamin Pressley 1997
Cooking in the wilderness...what
visions of rapture it brings to mind. Some of my richest
experiences have been enjoying a meal cooked over an ‘open
fire’ stretched out by some mountain stream. Food just seems
to taste better cooked and eaten outdoors, doesn’t it?
There are some pretty decent
lightweight systems on the market for cooking on the trail, if
you have the money and you are willing to carry all that stuff.
My quest for many years now, though, has been to simplify;
Re-examine my philosophies and gear for lightweight travel and
efficiency. In this process I have discovered or re-discovered
some cooking methods that have been used by explorers and
prehistoric people of the past for thousands of years that work
just great and certainly lighten the load on my aching back!
These cooking methods are also a
valuable survival skill. Each year many unprepared, unsuspecting,
outdoor loving people are thrust into a survival situation with
no modern gear. The number one killer, statistically, of a person
thrown into this situation, is lack of knowledge. They get
paranoid. They think only of what they don’t have instead of
what they do have and make all the wrong choices. Every person
that enjoys the outdoors should take at least a basic survival
skills course and a first aid course.
There are many methods of cooking
in the wilderness, without aid of modern gear. Some require
production of a simple tool or container and some use no kind of
utensil at all, utilizing only the fire and the coals it
produces. Cooking in the wilderness, even in a survival
situation, without the aid of modern gear, can be accomplished
very effectively if one will only use their head, look around
them and use whatever materials they have on hand to produce
whatever cooking implements are needed for the given task. After
all, every pot, pan and spoon we are familiar with was
manufactured from some raw material at one time or another.
In almost all cases, whatever you
are cooking requires the coals of the fire and not the fire
itself, unless you are toasting, browning or reflecting the
fire’s heat. Many people make the mistake of trying to cook
over an open flame, which in most cases burns the outside of what
they are cooking, leaving the inside uncooked. The reason for
this is flames are hotter than coals and more inconsistent in
heat distribution. Open flames register temperatures that are
jumping anywhere in temperature from 200 degrees F to 1000+
degrees F constantly.
Furthermore, all woods do not burn
at the same rate. Hardwoods burn slower and hotter than soft
woods. There is also a difference in the way evergreen trees burn
and deciduous trees burn. Evergreen trees have a resin or
‘gum’ that causes ‘hot spots’ in the fire.
Does this mean you should only use one kind of wood to cook? No,
it just means that you need to be aware of the differences
between woods. The chart included in the sidebar entitled
Qualities of Various Woods will help you choose the right wood
for the task at hand.
Some of the methods described
below require that food have direct contact with the wood you are
cooking on. Especially in cases like these you want to avoid
evergreen coals because of the taste they will taint the food
with. Whatever you are cooking you need to have enough coals to
complete the cooking. For this reason it is a good idea to keep a
fire going producing coals while you use another area of your
fire ring or a separate fire ring or pit to cook in where you may
constantly transfer coals as needed, thereby, keeping an adequate
supply of hot coals on hand.
You may avoid ‘fishing’
out coals and scorching your skin in the process by carefully
‘flipping’ the fire. To accomplish this you will need a
large enough fire ring with fire built at one end. When there is
a sufficient supply of coals burned down then carefully move the
fire and any wood that is still burning to the other side of your
fire rings, thus leaving a bed of coals behind. Add additional
kindling or fuel if needed to stoke the fire up again. The fire
can be ‘flipped’ as many times as needed back and forth
within the fire ring. When done carefully with long sticks to aid
in ‘flipping’ the fire, this is often safer than trying
to ‘fish’ out coals from under a burning fire. A fire
will also serve you better, if you plan the type of fire
arrangement you will need in advance for the job you will need it
to do. Never build a fire larger than you need it to be.
It is a good idea to know how hot
the fire or coals are that you wish to cook on. Lynn Hopkins, an
expert Dutch oven cook, came up with this method for determining
the temperature of the fire or coals. Try holding your hand about
three inches above the spot you intend on cooking over. Count how
long it takes for you to move your hand because it is too hot, in
one second counts. Now, look at the table below to find the
approximate temperature of the fire or coals based on your count:
COUNTS HEAT TEMPERATURE
6 to 8 Slow 250-350 Degrees F
(120-175C)
4 to 5 Moderate 350-400 Degrees F (175-200C)
2 to 3 Hot 400-450 Degrees F (200-230C)
1 or Less Very Hot 450-500 Degrees F (230-260C)
When using any cooking method keep
normal cooking times in mind and the temperatures you are working
with based on the chart above. You should also check the item you
are cooking frequently and turn it regularly, except in the cases
mentioned below that require no checking.
Following the guidelines included
and trying these methods out and getting a ‘feel’ for
them is the best way to be successful at them. Let’s look at
a few cooking methods:
FLAT
STONE COOKING
A flat stone either pre-heated in
the fire or placed over two other stones and hot coals raked
beneath it will make a fine griddle for cooking cakes, eggs, meat
or just about any item you would normally cook on a griddle.
Soapstone is a particularly good choice for it retains heat for a
long period of time and heats evenly throughout. However, I have
cooked on a ‘griddle’ made of granite many times. I
actually was challenged on this once and accepted the invitation
to a contest between my rock and the challenger’s frying
pan. We were given the same amount of coals from the same fire.
We each cooked pancakes from the same batter. l was still cooking
pancakes long after the challenger’s frying pan and coals
were cool!
ASH COOKING
This is kind of a misnomer, for to
cook using this method you place items to be cooked right on the
bed of coals, not a layer of ash. Many foods may be cooked by
placing them right on top of the hot coals themselves. If you use
hardwood coals you will have very little to no ash to stick to
your food. A little ash will not hurt you anyway.
A dough prepared and flattened
into cakes or rolled into balls and placed directly on the coals
will cook just fine. When the outside is thoroughly browned just
remove from the coals and break open and eat the bread from
inside or rake off the ashes and eat whole. The outside is
usually too burned to eat by the time the inside is done, but the
inside is very tasty.
Steaks may be laid directly on the
coals and turned frequently. Laying meat directly on the coals
really sears and seals the meat’s natural juices in and
makes the juiciest steak you ever ate!
Tubers, such as potatoes can be
cooked this way. You should bury them in the coals. You can poke
at them to see if they are tender. Don’t let the hard feel
of the outer layer deceive you, though. The longer they stay in
the coals the thicker this outer layer will get, as it burns.
Corn on the cob, open husked, soaked and placed back in the husk
and laid on the coals steams corn very well. Turn frequently.
SPIT
COOKING
A spit is a green stick used to
skewer the items you wish cooked and then either held over the
coals or supported by two forked sticks or allowed to dangle over
the coals by jamming the other end under a stone or stuck into
the ground. This method can be used like a shish kabob for chunks
of meat and vegetables. Dough may be formed into a snake and
spiraled around a stick and baked over the heat of the coals or
near an open flame. Be sure to turn frequently, you only want it
to brown.
Eggs may be cooked by making a
miniature arrangement of two forked sticks, carefully pecking a
tiny hole in each end of the egg and skewering the egg and
placing it across the two forked sticks near the fire. The holes
give you a means of skewering the egg and also allow steam to
escape to keep the egg from exploding.
When cooking a small animal like a
duck, squirrel or rabbit the problem is often encountered of the
meat not turning with the stick, as you turn it. This problem can
be solved by drilling two holes in the middle of the stick you
are using to skewer with. Whittle two smaller sticks that will
fit through the diameter of the holes you just drilled snugly,
pointing them on one end. Now, skewer the beast as before and
pierce the body through with the two smaller sticks, through the
drilled holes and through the other side of the meat you are
cooking. Now, it will turn when you turn the skewer, rather like
a rotisserie. You may also wish to bind up the meat with some
sort of string to keep legs and such from dangling and falling
into the fire as they cook.
DANGLING
A small animal such as described
above may also be cooked by wrapping the body with string,
securing all dangling parts and then allowing enough length to
dangle it near the fire with a tripod or ‘dingle’
stick. This allows the meat to turn and cook evenly by giving it
an occasional whirl. Just don’t dangle close enough to the
fire for it to scorch the meat and/or burn the string in two. It
is a good idea to use a reflector in conjunction with dangling.
You may also wish to catch the drippings in a container, if you
have one, for cooking and flavoring other foods, such as gravy.
REFLECTOR
COOKING
A reflector may be as simple as
several short logs stacked on one another to the height of two to
three feet and staked on each side to keep from tumbling down or
it could be constructed to have three sides thus utilizing more
heat. Slanting your reflector so it is farther out at the top
than the bottom is also more efficient than a wall perpendicular
to the ground. The reflector should be placed behind the item
being cooked so the item being cooked is between the reflector
and the fire, reflecting the heat of the fire and cooking the
meat thoroughly. The reflector can be used in combination with
many of the cooking methods described here, not to mention the
warmth it can provide you by situating your shelter so you are
between the shelter and the fire with the reflector to the other
side of the fire reflecting the heat back to you.
CLAY
COOKING
Cooking meat by covering it with
clay and baking it in the coals has the effect of a clay oven and
steams the meat until tender and juicy in its own juices. To use
this method acquire some good sticky clay or mud, and smear it
over the entire item you are cooking. Punch a hole with a small
stick through the clay to the meat to allow a place for steam to
escape. Place it near the fire to allow the clay to harden, then
checking to make sure your steam hole is still clear, place it in
the hot coals and cover it with more coals, being careful not to
cover the steam hole, otherwise it can explode, then, cook until
done. Fresh fish or fowl, cooks up particularly well using this
method and you need not remove feathers or scales as these will
pull off as you remove the clay. The entrails cook into a small
ball in the body cavity that is easily raked out after cooking
and does not taint the flavor of the meat. In the case of any
other animal, it should eviscerated and skinned and covered with
yucca or grape leaves, even brown paper, to prevent any grit from
staying with the meat. You may also wish to place herbs and
spices in the body cavity before covering it with leaves and
clay.
STEAM PIT
The steam pit is a pit dug large
enough to hold the items being cooked. It is then lined with
stones and a fire is built in the pit heating the rocks around
it. The fire and coals are then removed or some coals may remain
provided they are covered with a layer of ash and wet grasses.
Pile these wet grasses and perhaps some wild onions on the bottom
of the pit and then place the meat and tubers or whatever you are
cooking on the top of the grass and then pile more grasses over
this.
Grasses are not poisonous. The
only caution here is in the case of grass seed. Grass seed is
edible but only if they are not covered with a dark colored
fungus known as ergot. Ergot is a toxic fungus. You may add some
water, but, not enough to cool the rocks down, just enough to
cause steam. Then, seal the opening of the pit with a flat rock
and seal this over with dirt. This type of cooking is very good
because it need not be constantly attended, in fact, the pit
should not be opened until the food is done. You need not worry
about food over cooking in the steam pit for it is cooling down
as it is cooking. You can place items in it to cook and come back
6-8 hours later and have a hot meal waiting for you and since it
is buried you need not worry about animals eating it before you.
It is also very nutritious, for it steams in the flavor and
vitamins.
HOT
ROCK COOKING
For hot rock cooking you will need
a container of some sort. A bowl may be produced by burn and
scrape methods (See sidebar: Burn and Scrape Bowls) or a tightly
woven basket that will hold water or a fresh rawhide staked to
the sides of a pit or suspended by a tripod (rawhide may be
suspended over a fire by a tripod for boiling but it does draw up
and leak terribly, using the hot rock method, it does not hardly
leak at all.) Liquid is then placed in the container for stew or
for purifying and rocks are heated in the fire, several, about
large egg size or a little larger. Be careful heating rocks. All
rocks may explode when heated. Those found in the water should be
particularly avoided as these may hold water within them
exploding when heated. There are many simple methods of producing
thongs. The one I like best was shown to me by Jeff Gottlieb. You
simply bind a green limb of suitable length at one end. You then
split the limb from the other end up to your binding. A small
stick may then be placed to wedge the thongs open and provide a
fulcrum for the thongs to bend against like a spring when being
used. When the rocks are hot place them one at a time in the
water, with the thongs, you may wish to brush them off a little,
to keep ashes from getting in the stew. The heat in the rock will
be imparted to the water, gradually causing it to boil. You then
remove the rocks from the liquid and place them back in another
part of the fire, so you don’t get them mixed up, to heat
again. You continue doing this for the length and temperature of
the liquid you desire. You may wish to manufacture a simple
basket with a handle to place the hot rocks in to lower them into
the liquid with, thus making them easier to remove. In
prehistoric times soapstone was shaped and a hole drilled in each
rock to make them easy to ‘hook’ with a stick for
moving. If you have soapstone, it is still the best choice and is
less likely to explode. If purifying water, boil for at least
five minutes. Making a stew is one of the best ways to get the
maximum nutrition from several small items, if you drink the
broth, after eating all the vegetables and meats. Many find
insects more palatable to eat this way, in a survival situation.
For they may be roasted and ground to a powder and then added to
the stew to thicken it.
PARCHING
Nuts, berries, seeds, tubers and
such may be parched in a basket or bowl by shaking them around in
a container with some hot coals until done. They may then be
eaten or ground up and added to stews. In a survival situation,
insects may also be cooked in this manner. When eating any
insects, legs, wings and heads should be removed, as these may
get caught in your throat.
PLANK
COOKING
Fish and small animals or slabs of
meat may be cooked on a board or plank by securing the meat to
the board by tying it or pegging it in some manner. The board
with meat secured to it is then placed near the fire, with the
meat exposed to the heat until done. Do not use a treated board
or sappy pine. The treated board can impart toxic elements to the
meat and the pine can give the meat a funny taste. You may also
wish to use a reflector in conjunction with this method of
cooking.
THE
BAMBOO STEAMER
My friend, ‘Mountain’
Mel Deweese from Grand Junction, Colorado taught me this one. He
learned it from the Negritos in the Philippine Islands. He tells
me that several of these cylinders were made up and filled with
rice and carried on the trail and not broken open until they were
hungry enough to eat. You will probably need to refer to the
drawing for constructing this item. A joint of bamboo is cut
leaving the ends closed on each end by cutting on the other side
of the two joints that will form the ends. A ‘door’ is
then cut at acute angles and carefully removed for it will need
to be placed back in place. The tube is then half filled with
rice and half filled with water. You may also add herbs or bits
of meat. The door is then placed back in place. You then sit the
bamboo cooker on top of a bed of hot coals with the door facing
up and just let it cook. The bamboo will scorch on the outside
some but does not burn through due to the fact that the water
inside is absorbing the heat faster. It’s kind of like that
old Boy Scout trick, boiling water in a paper cup. Occasionally
check to see if the rice is cooked by shaking the tube enough to
be able to tell if there is any more water inside. When there is
not enough water to slosh around inside then the cooker should be
removed and allowed to cool enough to touch before opening. When
ready to eat, just split the entire length of the tube for two
delicious, steamed trays of rice! This also works well with
dehydrated foods.
SMOKING
RACK
Tony Breda, a Wapanoag from
Towson, Maryland showed me this method of cooking that l have
used numerous times and with many kinds of meat since. Again,
referring to the illustration when constructing this rack will
help you. Lash together two tripods that will stand
independently. Now lash as many horizontal poles across the front
and back as you will need to cook on. There is no need to make
this rack any larger or taller than you will need for the amount
of meat you have to cook. Now lay strips of meat you wish to cook
along the length of the poles draping down over either side of
the pole. Fish cook really well on this rack too. Just cut fresh
fish open, eviscerate, spread open and break the backbone in
several places. Do not skin them for the skin will help to hold
the meat together as it cooks. Lay the open fish over the rack
with meat side out and skin side down. The rack should be placed
near your fire where the meat will catch the smoke coming off of
the fire. As your fire burns down coals, place a layer of coals
beneath the rack, also. This is a slow cooking process that
smokes the meat and flavors it to perfection and the smoke keeps
away insects while it is cooking. You may also cook the meat to
the point that it dries into jerky, if you wish, so it is also a
good way to preserve meat for later. Dried fish is not that
tasty, however, but dried fish may be ground, bones and all, into
a powder that can be added to stews later for the nourishment.
BEANHOLE
COOKING
This is a little more modern a
method of cooking, in that it requires you use a metal pot. It is
similar to the steam pit though, in that a pit must be dug a
little larger than the size of the pot. You may line the pit with
rocks, if you wish. It is not necessary, but it is more
efficient. A fire is built in the pit burning down to coals and
drying out and imparting heat to the dirt around it. A bed of
coals is left in the pit. You may even wish to throw some rocks
in with the coals to absorb heat. The pot containing stew or
whatever you are cooking is then placed in the pit and coals are
built up around the covered pot and on the lid of it. The pit is
then covered with dirt and allowed to cook until done. This
method acts rather like a crock pot, so you may wish to
familiarize yourself with some crock pot recipes for trying out
this cooking method. Like the steam pit, once you get the pot
buried, you can come back six to eight hours later to a hot meal
you didn’t have to attend. You may wish to leave the pit
uncovered and place several pieces of kindling around the pot,
one end down in the coals, the other sticking out. These will
burn down gradually on their own and will keep you from having to
attend the fire all the while, however you cannot just leave it
totally unattended, as you did in burying it. When using this
method it is also a good idea to rotate the pot frequently one
quarter of a turn clockwise and the lid one quarter of a turn
counter clockwise to assure even heat distribution, especially in
the case of hot spots in evergreen coals.
CHIPPEWA
KITCHEN
A very convenient item to build
for a long term camp is the Chippewa kitchen. It is a large
quadripod, as tall as you with a shelf extended to one side. This
shelf is then covered with mud and allowed to dry after forming
two small, bowl shaped depressions in the clay. These depressions
are used to place hot coals in and allow you the ease of standing
as you cook on them, much like the burners on your stove at home.
You may then place your pots right on the ‘burners’ as
you cook.
You can also place the entire
assembly near your cook fire, thus allowing a string to dangle
from the center for suspending cooking meat or a pot hook.
These are but some of many methods
of outdoor cooking that are available to the innovative woodsman.
I am sure as you practice these you will devise many others and
improve upon these. They may also greatly lighten your pack load
by keeping you from carrying so many pots and pans because you
won’t need as many. So, enjoy the wilderness!
CREDITS:
1. Instruction from Steven
‘Snow Bear’ Taylor, ‘Mountain’ Mel Deweese
and Tony Breda.
2. Wilderness Cooking Methods by John McPherson
3. Dutch Oven Secrets by Lynn Hopkins
4. Qualities of Various Woods chart, Source unknown
From - Sat Jan 18 06:48:28 1997
From: Dr AF Bourbeau
Subject: Automatic chop sticks!
Tom Elpel’s mention of
chopsticks in the Nothing thread reminded me of an invention of
mine which is so simple it always gets a laugh out of my
students. But it works! Seems to me it’s a good example of
what Tom was talking about. Here it is folks, a world premiere:
AUTOMATIC CHOPSTICKS!!
Take a ¼ inch green branch, as
straight as possible and about a foot and a half long. Bend it in
half, it will break but will stay attached. Cut the ends so they
are even. There you have it. The chopsticks will close when you
squeeze them, and will open automatically when the pressure is
released because of the spring in the bend.
These are easier to use than real
chopsticks! Don’t forget the magic phrase when you use them:
"fooin me tummi wiwood shoo tast goodi".
Have fun with your hinese flied
lice!
Andre
Professor of Outdoor Pursuits, University of Quebec
555 University Blvd, Chicoutimi, (Quebec), Canada G7H2B1
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 07:29:13
–0700
From: James E. Burdine
Subject Re: Clean water/solar cookers
Perhaps slightly off the
list subject, but one of the things being promoted in many of the
third world countries is solar cookers. They are easy to cobble
up out of available materials (saw an example of one made from
straw) the only technical materials being glass plate, a dark
metal pot, and aluminum foil. Highly polished metal plate could
take the place of the aluminum foil. One of the things they will
do is pasteurize water. The box type is bulky to carry, but the
panel type would be good for travel, but you would have to add a
oven type plastic bag(subtracting the glass) Temperatures up to
300 degrees, and they are good for baking bread, cooking meals,
etc. as well. Mainly they are being promoted to prevent
deforestation.
Jim Burdine
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 08:54:25
–0700
From: Chris Smith
Subject: Re: Clean water/solar cookers
I’m all for that and
I’ll take a dozen. Have you seen the large collection of
construction plans for these devices at the website for The Solar
Cooking Archives? Serious project material for box, panel and
parabolic cookers and pasteurizers.
http://www.accessone.com/~sbcn/index.htm
Chris
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 11:06:36
-0700
From: James E. Burdine
Subject: solar cookers
Do you know where I can find out
about solar cookers, and whether they are practical, say, outside
Nevada? :) Somehow I doubt they will work in Buffalo...
Phil
To quote from "Solar cooking for Free" by Christopher
Nyerges in the June/July 1994 issue of MOTHER EARTH NEWS:
" In fact, solar cookers are
practical in every state of the Union (except Alaska) for at
least six to eight months every year. Even with snow on the
ground, you’ll be able to cook if the day is sunny."
This article also has plans for a
solar cooker made from cardboard. Solar cooker plans are also
available on the net for a variety of types, box, parabolic, and
panel. Try the following url
http://www.accessone.com/~sbcn/ for more plans on the web.
Jim Burdine
Date: Sun, 26 Jan 1997 23:57:41
+0000
From: Dr AF Bourbeau
Subject: 25 food staples for walkabouts
Hi everyone,
Sorry for the delay in posting this information on 25 basic food
staples for walkabouts which I had promised several days ago. I
forgot that I had to translate it first, and also that I had to
reformat the Exel file for this media. Anyhow, here it is,
finally.
I will be pleased to answer any
questions related to this. The data herein presented is based on
research conducted over a period of 12 years where I was
responsible for planning thousands of expeditions from 10 to 54
days in duration for summer camps in northern Ontario and
QuÈbec.
A chef can prepare just about any
modern recipe using the 25 ingredients listed below. Hope this
makes your less than primitive walkabouts more enjoyable!
Cheers,
Andre
Food
staples for walkabouts (after first few days of fresh food) ©
1996 Dr A. F. Bourbeau
| Starches: | Weight% | Gram/men/day | G/women/day | G/ado/day |
| Flour | 20 | 180 | 140 | 200 |
| Noodles | 9 | 81 | 63 | 90 |
| Rice | 6 | 54 | 42 | 60 |
| Oatmeal/other grains | 6 | 54 | 42 | 60 |
| Potato flakes | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Beans | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Total starches | 45 | 405 | 315 | 450 |
Long and wide egg noodles will do for noodle dishes and will double for spaghetti or lasagna, and when broken into small pieces, for macaroni or soup noodles.
| Veggies: | Weight% | Gram/men/day | G/women/day | G/ado/day |
| Dried vegetables | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Fresh onion | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Tomato paste/powder | 1 | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| Total veggies | 5 | 45 | 35 | 50 |
Fresh onions will last for months if left unwrapped in a mesh bag. Chefs will tell you that browned onion is the most important basic flavor in cooking, and dried onion just doesn’t work to give that homemade taste.
| Dairy prod | Weight% | Gram/men/day | G/women/day | G/ado/day |
| Dried/fresh/frz eggs | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Milk powder | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Fresh cheese | 6 | 54 | 42 | 60 |
| Cheese powder | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Total dairy products | 12 | 108 | 84 | 120 |
Fresh eggs will keep for months if
left in the shell, even in summer.
Milk powder is very important for
nutrition. You don’t have to drink it. Add it to breads,
bannock, cheese dishes, cakes etc.
Fresh cheese will keep for a long
time if wrapped in cloth saturated with baking soda. Waxed cheese
and old cheese also last a long time. Moldy cheese is still good
if you cut off the mold.
| Meats | Weight% | Gram/men/day | G/women/day | G/ado/day |
| Dried/smoked meats | 5 | 45 | 35 | 50 |
| Salted meats | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Canned/frozen meats | 5 | 45 | 35 | 50 |
| Total meats | 12 | 108 | 84 | 120 |
Dried salami and pepperoni last a
long time, as do some old fashioned cured hams and bacon. They
will last even longer if wrapped in cloth saturated with vinegar.
Pemmican and beef jerky are great.
Salted meat is either salt pork
which makes great dishes when cut into small pieces and fried
with onions as the start to various meals, or salted fish, which
are added to rice or noodles.
Canned meat should be in oil, such
as tuna fish, for maximum calories per weight.
| Nuts | Weight% | Gram/men/day | G/women/day | G/ado/day |
| Mixed nuts | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Peanut butter | 2 | 18 | 14 | 20 |
| Total nuts | 4 | 36 | 28 | 40 |
| Fats | Weight% | Gram/men/day | G/women/day | G/ado/day |
| Butter/margarine | 3 | 27 | 21 | 30 |
| Lard or shortening | 3 | 27 | 21 | 30 |
| Total fats | 6 | 54 | 42 | 60 |
Fat can be used for deep frying while there is a lot, for making donuts, fish batter, fruit fritters etc., as long as it is strained after each use. When there isn’t enough left for deep frying, use for frying or add to cakes, breads, bannocks, oatmeal etc.
| Sweets | Weight% | Gram/men/day | G/women/day | G/ado/day |
| Brown/white sugar | 3 | 27 | 21 | 30 |
| Jam/marmalade | 1 | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| Semi-sweet chocolate | 4 | 36 | 28 | 40 |
| Asstd juice powders | 1 | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| Total sweets | 9 | 81 | 63 | 90 |
| Fruits | Weight% | Gram/men/day | G/women/day | G/ado/day |
| Mixed dried fruits | 7 | 63 | 49 | 70 |
| Total fruits | 7 | 63 | 49 | 70 |
| GRAND TOTAL | 100% | 900 | 700 | 1000 |
| Kilocalories | 3600 | 2800 | 4000 |
Do not mix fruits
together before packaging. Instead, place in tall narrow bags in
layers for variety as the trip progresses, starting with smaller
items on bottom. Example, layer raisins, dates, apricots, pears,
apples. That way you start the trip eating apples, then apples
& pears, then pears, then pears & apricots, then
apricots, then apricots & dates, then dates, then dates &
raisins, to finish the trip eating raisins only. The same formula
applies to juice powders, whole-wheat/white flour, nuts, herbs,
and oatmeal/other grains.
Condiments:
| Coffee | Tea | Spices | Salt |
| Pepper | Cinnamon | Baking powder | Curry |
| Lemon juice | Chili | Cornstarch | Dried mustard |
| Dried yeast | Soya sauce | Tabasco Sauce | Assorted herbs |
| Chicken base | Beef base | Garlic Powder | Onion Powder |
Example of how to use this table:
10 day trip with two men, one woman. To calculate flour needs,
add (180*2) + (140*1)= 500 mult X 10 days= 5000 grams or 5kg (or
5*2.2=11.1 lbs) of flour
Notes: The quantities suggested
are sufficient for trips where no other food is available. The
quantities can be reduced by the amount to be gathered in the
wilds. However, the amount of food which it is possible to gather
in the wilds is always overestimated. This can cut a trip short,
so do not guess at your realistic food gathering capacity.
The proportions of the different
items are the suggestions of the author and will work out if a
typical outdoor menu is followed. Midway through the trip and
again near the end, an evaluation of proportions consumed vs.
proportions at-the-start will permit the cook to modify his menu
accordingly. To a certain extent, the user may wish to modify
item proportions within one category or even within multiple
categories by adding and subtracting identical amounts.
The advantages of this system as
opposed to pre-packaging meal by meal are twofold:
1.You can pack food for the entire trip in a couple of hours and
leave.
2.You have complete cooking liberty: "What do you feel like
having tonight?"
Of course, you have to know
how to cook when you use this system. But when you do, it feels
so much more like living out there rather than bringing city food
with you.
Happy wandering!
--The above material is
copyrighted. You can use it freely for your personal use. The
reference source must be included when the text is cited or used
for other purposes.
Thank you.
Dr AndrÈ-FranÁois Bourbeau
Professor of outdoor pursuits, University of QuÈbec
Chicoutimi, (QC) G7H 2B1
Return to
Primitive
Wilderness Survival Guide
Please Read The Website Disclaimer!
Copyright 2006, The Survival & Self-Reliance Studies Institute (SSRsi), All
Rights Reserved
Site conceptualized, designed, created & maintained by MEG Raven
Snail Mail: SSRsi, PO Box 2572 Dillon, CO. 80435-2572