Trail cuisine

[Deerplay]

Think I might have mentioned this before but couldn't find where. I have done what you propose on LDP's. No stove, eat hot food where you can if you cant you just have to take things like bread and tins of sardines or biscuits or some such. I survived like this on the Pennine Way. One day I only had Bourbon biscuits and water which wasn't great. On another occasion someone in a caravan on a campsite took pity on me and made me a few brews and gave me some cooked food.

[summerfield]

dehydrated food hummmmmmmmm OK to have in the bottom of your sack for real emergencies not recommended especially if you are sharing a tent. as an alternative to these i prefer packets of pasta wit cheese or ham source which can be added to if you happen to come across a local shop or indeed salami . alternatively our local Aldi do potato type dishes in pouches which are heavier than the pasta but lighter and packaging can be taken away with you than tins and also tastes better i think you can also get these from other supermarkets as well , they also do omelet variations.
another idea is to get a pack of plan pasta and a pouch of bolonase souce which again could be added to with extra meat.

Ive not tried this one but whilst a home th other day looking at the TV  sad i know but they were advertising a food sealer which removed air from the bag and sealed it which would prolong the life of your food , do away with any tins and take up less room any thoughts on this one. ( not much good in hot weather) might be good for things like tuna baked beans and the such like.

[solo backpacker]

www.lookwhatwefound.co.uk

billed as gourmet food for busy people, essentially posh boil in the bag!

as recommended several times in trial

[Dazza]

That actually looks quite good!

Ponders whether to buy a stove etc....

[Snowman]

If I can find some I'll give it a try.    The trouble with internet ordering is that you apparently have to order a minimum of 8 items.

S.

[Feriol]

Personally i love my food, and i don't like to 'make do' when i'm out in the hills. I Usually carry some tins for breakfast (Sausage and beans etc) i know the weight puts many off but, i like to enjoy my walking holidays.

I eat a lot of mixed fruit and nuts while i'm walking (My local Tesco's do a 1kg bag which i usually split to something like 250g a day)

Lunch i usually have a boil in the bag meal (these are getting rare in supermarkets), and use the water for a brew.

Dinner i like to cook. i have a small plastic container (I think from a take away) with a variety of things. tomato puree, herbs, gravy, cooking oil, custard, etc, it varies, but you get the idea. I Always have a pudding. Dutch fruit loaf with custard is highly reccomended.

I Understand that people are concerned with weight, but i like to enjoy my time walking, and i think its worth it. Chicken cooked on an open fire, with mixed veg (boiled. use the water to make a packet vegitable soup, or your gravy) is so much more fun in the midle of nowhere.

Bare in mind that the containers for certain foods need to be quite rigid, to avoid a mess in your bag.

P.S. if i'm boiling veg in water sourced in the hills, i think its best to let it boil to sterilise it before adding the veg to cook. not sure if it matters, but i'v alaways done that.

[Snowman]

I would be more inclined to do something similar if I knew that fresh supplies would be available.

The reason I started this thread was that I'm thinking primarily about LDPs, where taking say a week's worth of fresh/tinned food would mean quite a bit of addiitonal weight, not to mention the obvious problems associated with keeping fresh food fresh.    The obvious answer is to re-provision en route, however my experience is that firstly not all villages I go through have a shop at all, and where they do, the shop may not be open at the time I'm passing through.

I too like my food, so my general preference is to stay at a Youth Hostel, B&B or Inn, but this isn't always possible.    Where I have to stay out at night, I'll try to find a pub the following lunchtime to 'refuel'.    But again, this isn't always possible, so this is the reason for my search for a viable lightweight alternative that I can keep for the duration of the trek.

Anyway thanks for the ideas - they're all welcome, and my thought would be that yes, you should be boiling your water to sterilise it before cooking your veg.   After all, the advice when travelling abroad has generally been to avoid salads as they may have been washed in untreated water.    For cooking, maybe it's not necessary if you're boiling for over 10 minutes, but I think I'd do the same as you to be on the safe side.

S.

[Feriol]

Sorry if i missed the point of the thread.

I'm intending to do my first LDP (Hadrians Wall) in may, and i realise i'm going to have to alter my methods and diet somewhat. I am fortunate to have a brother in the army, who has many times in the past supplied me with army ration packs, which is probably the way i will go. (some Army surplus stores sell them) its also possible to get american army packs through the internet, which i tried once, Very nice indeed.

[Snowman]

I don't think you missed the point of the thread at all.   I assume you're referring to something like a weekend walk with a night or two out, which is perfectly valid for this thread, and I think most people who have been following it are interested in any thoughts people might have.

It's just that (as  you've probably guessed) my preference is for a comfortable night in a bed, with a nice hot meal and preferably a couple of pints.    But, from experience this isn't always possible.   For example (especially) the central part of the Cambrian Way is now somewhat devoid of places to stay.    Apart from the fact that there wasn't much anyway, the foot and mouth outbreak a few years ago led to the closure of some Youth Hostels, while the YHA itself has now conspired to decimate the hostels network still further.   The result is that self sufficiency is now almost a prerequisite of doing the walk.

S.

[darksky]

  hi SNOWMAN.., im off for a full week of wild camping and fell walking at end of september can you suggest what type of foods i should take/NO TINS,  rather than the usual £4 a go 'just add water' i was thinking about the ARMY ration packs, what do you rekon?