Mallet

thanks for all the great ideas! I would never have thought to check out an asian grocery store for camping food, but it seems so obvious in retrospect. Fresh veggies are definitely good for shorter trips, but for anything longer than a few days I usually end up dehydrating them (just slice thinly, spread out onto a pan in an oven set to its lowest temperature, leave the door slightly ajar and dry overnight). They rehydrate beautifully in soups/stews etc... You can also dry tomato sauce this way, just make sure you spread it out on a plastic wrapped baking sheet. After the process is done, you can roll up the sauce like a fruit-leather and pack it in a ziplock bag. I need to experiment more with dehydration, because I think there is some real potential there for weight savings without too much of a nutritional penalty.

I do mostly backpacking (4-5 day hikes), usually in areas where open fires are not permitted. I'm getting tired of eating chili... any ideas on good one-pot meals?

Fascinating thread! I know it's a bit late, but I thought I would might contribute something about gelling agents, specifically agar. In molecular biology research labs (I'm a student), we use agarose, which is basically the ultra pure/refined gelling component of agar. It forms a very tight matrix (we use it to separate molecules of DNA), and is very clear, almost transparent. I don't know if this product is currently used in the food industry, but I think it is a ingredient which may be of interest...

Chicken livers and hearts are great, but what about gizzards? My grandmother used to make them... *runs to the phone to get the recipe*

I've tried corning my own beef brisket for the the boiled beef with dumplings recipe. Although the flavour was excellent, the texture of the beef was a bit off (somewhat stringy/dry). Any one know why that might be? My best guess is either I didn't cook it long enough or the brisket was too lean. GordonD, I pity the people you stay with! I've had a fair bit of luck coaxing my family into trying some new stuff, it just takes a lot of persistence

Given the SAME amount of boiling water and steam, you will be burned more my the steam (as mentionned before, steam gives off some heat to change state into water, and then some more because it's now really hot water). However, dunking your hand in a giant pot of boiling water exposes you to a LOT more H20 than steam coming off the top, which is why in regular kitchen situations steam doesn't burn as much.

My favourite cognac right now is Otard 55. It's really hard to find in Canada (I had to get my bottle from a friend who was visiting France), but well worth the search!