What Do You Take Along?

[Kerry Beal]

I was reading the 'where to find it in Toronto' forum today and saw a post about taking a sharpening stone along when travelling and sharpening friends knives. That got me to thinking about all the things I find necessary to take with me when I travel.

For a few days in a hotel, I have a little travel bag with a tiny dollar store cutting board, a nice little utility knife, a serrated knife, a cork screw and a little mini magnum pepper grinder. I also carry a little stainless tea pot, my standard tea bags and a little travel water heater.

On other trips I have taken a whole lot more stuff especially if I am staying in a place with a kitchen (always my preference) or if I am visiting friends and know I'm going to spend my holiday cooking, baking or pursuing my latest culinary interest. I've carried chocolate molds, 5 kg blocks of chocolate, hard to find ingredients, sourdough starter - you name it - I've brought it.

A confectionary funnel makes for interesting x-ray images in security, especially when two people in a row have them in their carry on.

So how about it, what do you take along? What is the weirdest, biggest, most interesting item you have taken with you? Have you ever had to leave any behind at customs?

[IrishCream]

I wouldn't be caught dead without this......size of a credit card and about 1/4" thick...it has a functional wine opener, knife, etc. Coolest tool ever

I used to carry a Swiss Army knife to do the same things but after they confiscated the 2nd one, I switched to this in my wallet. It's also a great gift for any wine lover.

Edited April 2, 2006 by IrishCream (log)

[SuzySushi]

Great topic!

We haven't done any real traveling since security measures were upped... Our standard list (which is packed in its own travel bag) includes: travel water heater coil, various electric outlet converters (depending on destination), sharp knife (usually doing double-duty as my husband's pocket knife), travel-size corkscrew, travel-size can opener, plastic forks and spoons, bamboo chopsticks. We carry along or buy at our destination several mugs in which to heat water.

Other travel-withs include a few aseptic boxes of milk for my daughter, aseptic juice packs which double as ice packs, vacuum pouches of udon, a pouch of dried fruit, our favorite teabags, Equal tablets, and packets of Splenda.

A food market is always one of our first stops at our destination, where we stock up on breads, cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, chocolate, coffee, and local specialties.

I don't happen to think it's weird, but whenever we're traveling for more than a few days and know we'll have kitchen privileges, I bring along a couple of pounds of short-grain (sushi) rice along with some packets of soy sauce. That's our staff of life!

[petite tête de chou]

If my husband and I take a trip to the coast and stay in a cabin with a kitchen I usually bring my just-sharpened chefs knife, pepper/salt mill, a few sprigs of thyme from my garden, a head of garlic and extra-virgin olive oil. I actually like using the different utensils, cookware, plates, etc. that the cabin provides. It adds something quirky, charming and *different* to the experience. While he investigates the cabins goodies I usually trundle off to the local market, taking my sweet time picking up beverages, dairy, dried meats, fruit and flowers!

[racheld]

Tea bags, S&L, fruit, bag of cashews or almonds, chocolate anything, one of my little sharp Radas, sometimes one of the small cleavers, spices (depending on destination), Chris' little silver flask w/scotch or CR, Some kind of salty crackers, a big travel mug, his pillow, my journal, Cryptic Crosswords (Aeronaut ), a pen, our books and a lot of pretty cooking and decorating magazines for relaxing.

And when we go to his parents' house, I usually take a cake, pies, banana bread or muffins, everything needed for breakfast, and several Tupperwares of salads--chicken and tuna and pasta, along with several frozen casseroles and some loaves from DD's bakery. The crowd gathers, reaching eighteen or twenty for dinner for a couple of nights. We travel 700 miles with coolers of food, and only one SIL brings a contribution to dinner: a box of Kraft M&C, cause that's all her children will eat.

I can't complain---we lived there for several years, and I spoiled them. It's also much easier to cook everything here and have it all ready when the hordes get hungry.

I also take a percolator and several measured-out baggies of coffee, because they buy only instant. His Mom beams and smacks her lips over the good brewed coffee; one of my favorite memories of her is that every morning we wake her with a cup, sit on her bed in our jammies, and talk for a long time. His Dad comes in and serenades us with one of his dozens of harmonicas, the brothers begin to arrive, and we all go have muffins and sausages and laugh a lot.

ETA: the only thing we left behind at customs was one apple, confiscated when we returned from England. BIL had carried a five-pound bag over, distributed amongst his suitcase and his carryon, and no one said a word. He bought a couple at a street market in Bath, and they took away the lone survivor at Gatwick. He didn't care---he'd been sampling Scotches in the duty-free since five a.m.

They also sheep-dipped our shoes, because we had been to a farm in Scotland; the weird thing is that they didn't ask if they were the shoes we were actually WEARING at the time.

Edited April 2, 2006 by racheld (log)

[FabulousFoodBabe]

At the very least a paring knife, an 8-chef, and a little cutting board ... packed in the suitcases and checked (I learned the hard way). A wine key, of course. A pound or two of Peet's coffee, Major Dickason's blend, ground. If we're going somewhere, where the wine's simply not what we like (certain parts of the Caribbean), we pack a few bottles as well.

I don't like to cook on vacation so I don't, with few exceptions, but I can't stand bad coffee and cheapo wines, and it's nice to have both in our room.

[*Deborah*]

When my mother goes to Europe for a few weeks or longer, she will always bring a small jar of peanut butter so she can have a bit at breakfast now and then, since it's not something you usually see at the sort of hotel she likes to stay in.

My dad travels often for work, and always takes Zone bars (he has to eat regularly or he passes out, and when you're travelling or working at an emergency spill response, you can't count on regular meal times), sleepy-time or equivalent tea bags, high caffeine tea bags, green tea bags, and lots of those Airborne Vitamin C/etc. fizzy tablets.

I used to bring my little Krups espresso machine with me when I went for overnight or longer in the car; now that I have a Gaggia Classic (a little less portable!) and the wee Krups is kaput, I will often bring my small Bodum and coffee, as I find it hard to function without good strong coffee. I'll usually bring Peek Freans Digestive biscuits, too.

Corkscrew, wine, and whiskey are also in my bag if I'm staying at a place with a kitchen.

[ghostrider]

I always take a tea kit of some sort. Depending on where, how & how long I am traveling, it can range anywhere from a baggie full of quality teabags, to a box containing 2 teapots (one for steeping, one for pouring off into), 4-5 tea tins, strainers & measuring spoon.

I also carry water, some fruit & a couple of Clif bars just in case I get stuck somewhere with no food available.

[LB Howes]

Nothing too wierd these days since my children are older. Just some bottled water, an airtight container of freshly ground coffee with a cup sized gold filter and an assortment of teas. Sometimes snack-type things like bread, crackers, cheese, and fruits.

One time while waiting in line to re-enter the USA from a week long vacation in Canada we remembered there were apples in the cooler. We finished eating them just as we came up to the border.

[purplewiz]

If we're driving, the powered cooler. It plugs into the 12v jack in the back of the car, or has an adapter to plug into a standard outlet in a hotel room. While it doesn't get quite to refridgerator temperatures, it does stay darned cold, allowing us to pack a nice assortment of fresh veggies, yogurts, cheeses, etc. to snack on.

If we're flying, there's always a bag of nuts, a bag of jerky, protein bars, and sometimes a bag of cheese sticks or vegetables. Since there aren't meals on most flights we're likely to take, and the airline snacks are nasty, we pack our own.

I haven't done an international trip in quite some time, and I'm not sure what we're going to bring then.

Marcia.

[bavila]

You are all giving me great ideas for the next time we travel...

My sister and BIL neither drink coffee NOR own any device with which to brew it . So the Bodum goes to their house.

And next time I go to my parents' I will definitely bring my own knives. I developed tendonitis on the crappy ones they use!

We always have something to snack on while in transit -- cheese, nuts, apples, bottled water. And with the baby, these days there's jarred food, formula, and cheerios .

[andrewB]

while working for the ambassador, i would go back to the states every few months just to load up on goods. One time back i had a carry-on with my clothes in it, one suitcase filled with 50# of wet aged chicago strip steaks and the other had my knives in it and 5 waygu tenderloins in it. Luckily nobody ever stopped me at customs!!!

And as a sidenote: is it illegal to be transporting meats internationally?

[Kerry Beal]

while working for the ambassador, i would go back to the states every few months just to load up on goods. One time back i had a carry-on with my clothes in it, one suitcase filled with 50# of wet aged chicago strip steaks and the other had my knives in it and 5 waygu tenderloins in it. Luckily nobody ever stopped me at customs!!!

And as a sidenote: is it illegal to be transporting meats internationally?

←

I think in these days of mad cow it likely is illegal to transport meat even if they sheep-dip your shoes. But I can recall taking a carry on cooler full of beef, chicken etc to Barbados in order to have palatable meat for the holiday and never got stopped at customs. I'm sure the customs officers would have feasted well if they had taken the time to look.

[BonVivant]

i travel to eat and drink [never cook while abroad], all i need is a simple but nifty swiss army knife. the 2 things i use the most are cork screw, and knife [for fruits/vegs].

[gini]

I wouldn't be caught dead without this......size of a credit card and about 1/4" thick...it has a functional wine opener, knife, etc.  Coolest tool ever

I used to carry a Swiss Army knife to do the same things but after they confiscated the 2nd one, I switched to this in my wallet. It's also a great gift for any wine lover.

←

Wow, really neat gadget - I've always taken a cork screw and a knife sperately, but this gives me ideas!

Any of the tea drinkers out there have a link for an excellent water heater/teapot for travel?

[scubadoo97]

When we travel by car and are staying in a condo with full kitchen I always take a cutting board, chef's knife and a cast iron skillet, the "basics". When flying and staying in a hotel I now travel with a small blade coffee grinder, fresh home roasted coffee beans and paper filters to make moring coffee in the in room drips machine. A cork screw is always in my travel bags

[Kouign Aman]

I travel to eat, rather than cook, so the load is light.

We take a small knife for slicing cheeses, sausage, fruit etc at lunch, a corkpuller, coffee & filters for the hotel room, and a small candle. Snacks vary with destination, duration of flight, etc.

And we never leave the house without The Almighty Cheerio Cup

<editted to add:...>

My Aunt brought 2 lbs of fondant-type icing with her from Australia, as she was planning an entry in the cake decorating division at the county fair.

White, malleable solid....... it took her a while to pursuade the customs official to taste it and not call the dogs... they thought it was plastic explosives.

Edited April 3, 2006 by Kouign Aman (log)

[memesuze]

Any of the tea drinkers out there have a link for an excellent water heater/teapot for travel?

for tea, I take an immersion coil heater from my local hardware store, an insulated mug ['cause it's unbreakable], and an infuser basket for loose tea if I don't have some high-quality teabags. This way I have a mug to drink from, without taking up space with a water heater appliance and teapot - as Alton says, multi-task

[markabauman]

Instead of a cutting board, I usually take one of those flexible plastic "cutting boards"- lightweight and can roll up. Also a champagne/sparkling wine capper.

[misstenacity]

- Uncoated protein bars (so as to not be melty in times of warm car...); favorites are South Beach cereal bars, Balance Bar (chocolate almond only), Larabar.

- Cooler with yogurt, pre-made salads (either by me or Trader Joe's), homemade muffins, mini tubs of half & half for dismal gas station coffee creamer situations.

- A tin of my own personal CRACK.

- Insulated coffee mug.

...that's about it. I do like to eat out a lot when traveling, after researching local restaurants for ages via eGullet and Chowhound.

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[Kerry Beal]

I'm finding it interesting that whatever else we take, priority seems to go to beverages. I can feel at home anywhere I am if I can find a way to brew myself a cuppa. As long as it's my own familiar tea. Nothing worse than the pot of lukewarm water with a sad little tea bag sitting beside it wet from the water that has slopped out of the pot.

[phaelon56]

A one-cupper mellita cone with some filters, a zip-loc of fresh roasted and freshly ground coffee, a mug and a "stinger" (aka immersion heater to heast one cup of water).

I'm due to get a small hand cranked Zassenhaus grinder but there are supply problems with that item at present. Pre-round coffee is okay for a few days if it was really fresh and I ground it myself but when I travel for a week or longer it just doesn't cut it.

[bandregg]

If I'm driving I take everything from my kitchen that I'll need to cook most of our meal with even if we're staying with friends or family.

If I'm flying I take a jar of homemade peanut butter and a bottle of hot sauce.

[Chris Amirault]

I don't bring anything on planes, but if we're driving down to Provincetown for a weekend at a house we sometimes rent, we'll bring two or three knives, a skillet, a pot, olive oil, S&P, butter, good vinegar, coffee beans, and -- always! -- our Racilio Silvia espresso maker.

[jo-mel]

I had a portable coffee set-up, but it was too bothersome, so now I use a coil, and bring coffee, cocoa, and cup-a-soup packets. Also, South Beach bars, oranges, and nuts. Also Laughing Cow Cheese, as it isn't often refrigerated in stores so I figure a few days at room temp is OK. If the room is warm, I put it on a window sill in the winter.

Long before 9/11, I was flying to Denver with a Chinese cleaver. At check-in, I told them that I had it in my suitcase. They didn't know what to do or how to label the suitcase, so they called superiors, and finally stuck a picture of a gun on the suitcase to show there was something dangerous inside!!!! LOL!