Camp cookery (Kephart)

Polenta 119 Macaroni, with cheese. B 118 Macaroni, baked. B, M 118 Vegetables. Beans, boiled 125 Beans, baked 126 Onions, boiled. B* M* 136 Green corn, baked 127 Greens, boiled (some kinds). B* 127 Soups from raw materials. B* 130 Desserts. Dried fruit, stewed 135 Jelly from dried fruit 137 Rice pudding. E* M 141 Batter pudding. B, E, M 142 Plum duff 142 Snow pudding 141 Camp Cookery CHAPTER I. PROVISIONS. THE knack of camp outfitting consists in getting the best kit in the least weight and bulk. Wise campers prefer to go light, doing without most of the appliances of do- mestic life. It follows that camp cookery is an art distinct from the cuisine of kitchens. A com- mon cook-book is of no use in the woods; for it is always calling for things we have not, and does not tell what to do with the things we have. For example, I am to make a side trip of sev- eral days from the main camp. Going alone, and without pack horse or canoe, I must cut down my equipment to the last practicable ounce. There will be neither time nor utensils for baking on the way. So I must have bread for the journey, and it must be wholesome bread, extra nourishing for its bulk, palatable, fit to eat cold, and of a kind that will not dry out nor mould. I have no ma- terials but flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, and water. Where shall I find the recipe? Not in a 2 CAMP COOKERY. domestic cook-book. Yet the trick is easy, when one knows how. Light outfitting, as regards food, is mainly a question of how much water we are willing to carry in our rations. For instance, canned peaches are 88 per cent, water. Can one afford to carry so much water from home when there is better water at camp ? What, then, is best to substitute for the peaches? Let us see. — An average can of peaches weighs 2^ lbs. Evaporated apples are only 26 per cent, water, and sugar has none at all. A pound of the ap- ples and a pound of sugar cost three-fourths as much as the peaches, weigh a fifth less, are a little bulkier, but pack better on the trail. In camp, let the apples be stewed soft in plenty of water, and used as sauce. There is left a quart of hot juice. Into it put the pound of sugar. Boil, without stir- ring or skimming, until the juice gets syrupy, and pour into a vessel to cool. Result: somewhat more than a pint of as good jelly as can be made from fresh apples themselves. The sauce and the jelly will go much farther than a can of peaches, and there is more variety. The following table is suggestive: More than % Water. Fresh milk, fruit, vegetables (except potatoes). Canned soups, tomatoes, peaches, pears, etc. More than y^ Water. Fresh beef, veal, mutton, poultry, eggs, potatoes. Canned corn, baked beans, pineapple. Evaporated milk (unsweetened). More than % Water, Fresh bread, rolls, pork chops. Potted chicken, etc. Cheese. Canned blackberries. PROVISIONS. $ Less than y^ Water. Dried apples, apricots, peaches, primes. Fruit jelly. Less than % Water. Salt pork (fat). Dried fish. Butter. Desiccated eggs. Concentrated soups. Powdered milk. Wheat flour, corn meal, etc. Macaroni. Rice, oatmeal, hominy, etc. Dried beans, split peas. Dehydrated vegetables. Dried dates, figs, raisins. Orange marmalade. Sugar. Chocolate. Nuts. Nut butter.