Food: Basic Preparation

A section in Chapter 3 of the book:
Prep Lists for Camping, Hiking, and Backpacking

Consider these standards on any hiking trip to support or supplement your other meals and snacks.

Condiments

• Ketchup & mustard individual packets
• Hot sauce packets
• BBQ sauce packets
• Mayo & relish packets
• Salt & pepper packets
• Sugar & sweetener packets
• Creamer & dried milk packets/tubs
• Salad dressing packets (mix with foraged greens or use as a meat marinade)
• Oil or bacon grease for frying or flavor

Drinks

• Powdered drink mix for flavor, plus sugar as needed
• Lemon powder packets (for cooking or for drinking)

These are great to improve the taste of local water after purifying

Pills & Medications

• Vitamins, Fiber, Nutritional Supplements
• OTC/Non-Prescription Medications
• Prescription Medications

Safety

• For perishable meats (jerky, sausages, pepperoni), use 4-ounce packages or smaller to avoid spoiling and bear-attracting odors.
• For any wrapper or container that smells of food or grease, burn or wrap in an air-tight container until it can be burned to avoid attracting bear and small critters while you sleep.
• When backpacking, consider keeping all food in a rigid, air-tight container that keeps food from being squashed, keeps it dry, and reduces odors that might attract bear, bugs, or other wild animals. Ideas to consider for this include a waterproof dry box used for boating, or an ammo box used for firearms.
• At night, place ALL food, wrappers, and smelly trash into a plastic bear bag or cinch sack, and tie up in a tree to keep out of reach from wild animals. Even if you can’t get it up out of reach, keep it away from where you are sleeping.

Tips and Time Savers

• Measure and chop all meal ingredients ahead of time and pack in separate zip-tight plastic bags with labels.
• Use emptied zip-tight plastic bags for trash containers.
• Instead of packing and protecting eggs in the shell, crack them at home and keep in a zip-tight plastic bags or a water bottle.
• Prepare meals ahead of time and freeze in portion sizes that will defrost in time for your next meal time. (Several smaller portions thaw more quickly than one large portion.)
• Frozen meat and cans of frozen juice in a cooler keeps other items cold without extra ice.
• Apply inexpensive liquid soap to bottom of any cookware before placing on fire; this makes cleanup much easier.
• Pitas, English muffins, or bagels pack better than sliced bread
• Leather work gloves double as an oven mitt to handle hot items
• Consider a vacuum sealing system to keep foods fresher longer

} } }  This information is in the book “Prep Lists for Camping, Hiking, and Backpacking.” { { {