FoodNet

Camp cookery (Kephart)

1910

Page 4

Presented as published in 1910. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Rice. — Deserves a higher place as an all-round food than our people generally give it. Beats all other cereals in sustaining power plus digestibility. Can be cooked in many ways, and all of them are easy. Combines well with almost anything else, and so lends variety. Packs well and keeps well. Macaroni. — Nutritious, but bulky. Good in soups and stews. Break it into inch pieces and pack so that insects cannot get at it. Baking Powder. — Get the best, made with pure cream of tartar. It costs more than the alum pow- ders, and does not go so far, bulk for bulk; but it is much kinder to the stomach. Baking soda will probably not be wanted, as it requires butter- milk in baking, except for sour-dough. Occa- sionally needed for other purposes. Salt Pork {alias middlings, sides, bellies. Old Ned, et al.). — Commendable or accursed, according to how it is used. Takes the place of lard and butter on very light marching trips. Nothing quite equals it in baking beans. Savory in some boiled dishes. When fried, as a piece de resistance, it successfully resists most people's gastric juices. 6 CAMP COOKERY. and is iiatiseous to many. Purchasable at most frontier camps. Breakfast Bacon. — Better for most jjurposes than salt pork. Seldom obtainable outside of towns. Get the boneless, in 5 to 8 lb. flitches. That which is sliced and canned is a poor substi- tute either in flavor or wholesomeness. Smoked Ham.-^SmaW ones generally are tough and too salty. Hard to keep in warm or damp weather; moulds easily, and is attractive to blow- flies. It is best to get both bacon and ham un- wrapped, and sew them up in cheesecloth yourself ; theii you are sure they were not mouldy to start with. Dried Beef. — Cuts from large hams are best. Of limited use in pick-up meals. A notori- ous thirst-breeder. Not comparable to "jerked" beef, which, unfortunately, is not in the market.* Canned Meats and Poultry of all descriptions are quite unfit for steady diet. Devilled or potted ham, chicken, tongue, sausage, and the like, are endurable at picnics, and valuable in emergencies, as when a hard storm makes outdoor cooking im- possible. Canned corned beef makes a passable hash. Extract of Beef. — Liebig's is useful in adding flavor to gravy or soup, and may be needed in case of illness. Canned Fish. — -Not so objectionable as canned tneat, because preserved in oil. Salmon, sardines, mackerel, can be worked into palatable dishes for hasty meals now and then. Go light. *For the process of jerking venison or beef, see my Camping and Woodcraft, p. 222. I have found that it succeeds even in the wet climate of the Southern Ap- palachians. (See also page 45.) PROVISIONS. 7 Smoked Fish. — Shredded codfish, for fish-balls, and smoked halibut, sprats, boneless herring, are portable and keep well. Enough for one or two meals of each may be relished. Prepared Soups,- — If liquid soups can be carried at all, take none but the very best brands that you can purchase. Concentrated (dry) soups, when of good quality, are a great help in time of trouble. Choose by trying samples before you leave home. They are kept by some camp outfitters, and by se- lect groceries in the large cities. Erbswurst (a sort of pea-meal sausage used in the German army) is a pretty good emergency ration to carry when you hunt alone. Any good camp outfitter has it in stock or will order it for you.