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The Campers Spicerack

S

Silphion

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This is just a little idea ive been mulling over, mostly a list of potent items with relitivly high shelf life that would add deversity for folks like me who enjoy the challenge of camp cooking. I welcome any thoughts or additions...also any good sources to buy some of these ingrediants as some are a bit obscure.

Salt is the most obvious, perhaps a solid block (maybe an ounce or more) I dont know my salts so cant say which kind would have the most concintrated flavor.

Fat is usually a problem for campers in that most of the best ones are a messy pain in the butt, vegitible shorting is temping but I've been thinking that Pure Cacao butter is more versitile and nourishing though obviously its relitivly tastless compaired to butter or Olive Oil. Still...Cacao butter lasts a long time before going rancid and also has the benifit of a high (98-100 deg) melting point and high burn temperature which might come in handy cooking with a campfire.

Fennel polin... A little goes a long way, retains its potency quite well and covers the basil\anise flavor spectrum nicely

Asafoetida resin... same as above...covers the garlic\onion spectrum

Saffron...ditto. I suppose one could say theres a Cumin\Paprika spectrum that Saffron could fit in to but lets face it...saffron tastes like saffron

Im open to suggestions on filling out this little, pack-and-forget spicerack, theme here. Whole black peppercorns, seem a shoe in. If i knew chili peppers better i'de want somthing relitivly small, dried with more flavor than heat

Cheers
 
Alot of spices do not keep for long if they are stored in a proper fashion, so you may want to keep the Spice Rack for your camping needs in the house until needed and then grab them and go when a trip pops up. I would even use them and replace them as needed from the pantry so they do not go stale.

My first instinct is to keep it simple. This is a camping trip and as such you should remember to try and travel light.

I would buy disposable salt & pepper shakers, and then several Spice Blends. And keep it at that. For me personally I'd buy Cavenders Greek Seasoning and Adobo Seasoned Salt w/ saffron. That would be all I'd need for a lovely weekend of outdoor cooking and camping!


By the way welcome to SpicePlace Forum Silphion~:)~
 
TY for the welcome Cathy.

I agree with you, in fact, for shorter trips one can pretty much take small amounts of whatever they might want to cook with over the weekend. The idea was to have a small package for extended adventures which could be left as a flavor base for a year or two and changed out when nessicary...Ideally stuff that packs a punch (so it can be used sparingly) and keeps its potency for a long time.

:)
 
I love the outdoors and have spent way to much time in the woods growing up. As a Scout Master for over 10 years we took every chance possible to go camping. Teaching the scouts outdoor cooking was very enjoyable. We accepted any challenge from the scouts regarding cooking outdoors anything that was requested just to prove it could be done without the modern conveniences.
Camping staples in my book always requires freshness. How long of a camping trip do you plan on taking that you need items to last a long time?

As far as spices go, the last thing a person wants to do is go hiking down a trail loaded with a spice rack on their back, lol. I usually take the essentials for roughing it. Salt, pepper, sugar, a good quality chili powder, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and oregano. At times I may use some dried onion flakes or powder too.
Planning in advance for what you have in mind for preparing while on your excursion helps too. What your taste are and such. It doesn't take much time or effort to throw some minced garlic or other fresh herbs into individual Zipper bags to use for the week. I'm sure that if meat is on the menu or dairy products are on the trip, an ice chest will be on hand. Keeping the herbs and such fresh longer can go into the chest too. As long as they don't freeze.
Adding or building flavors in the outdoors can be very interesting by using root vegetables that have a long keeping time. Onions, Carrots, potatoes and one of my favorites horseradish. I'm also a big fan of dill and green onions. With items like these you are starting to build a load to carry though. There are a few dehydrated soup mixes and the like that have these ingredients and with some basic skills, they can be utilized very effectively. Depending on your camping location and knowledge of local vegetation and mushrooms the sky is the limit. Mushrooms are dangerous so the use of them takes extreme knowledge.
Just remember, On a rainy day camping, with the chill going through your bones, a hot meal, a simple meal that doesn't have to be extreme will be remembered for a life time. I was not one to like C Rations in the service but do remember times where I appreciated just getting something to eat. Even if it did take some creativity to heat them up.
 
Well...I suppose its not the duration of the trips...some can be over two weeks, but mostly It's my Lazyness in between trips. It would be nice to have somthing I can pack and forget, in addition to a cooking camper's best friend: any little foil sealed dehidrated base, Boullion, ect

The trouble with those are really that in order to make gamey (gamie?) meat more palatable your almost forced to oversalt the hell out of it. Then theres stuff I like, such as trout, where I really dont want to use a whole packet, bullion cube ect. I guess it might seem pickey but I enjoy cooking well...plus my mother was a genius at camp cooking so I know what's possible.
 
As far as Bullions go, I like to use MBT chicken and beef broth packettes. They also have vegetable too. I like using the packettes for everything from seasonings, Rice-A Roni type dishes, stuffings, soups and they are really good for gravies. They have low sodium so you can control the salt content. Way better than bullion cubes and not as bulky.
Most spices and sesasonings come with a date best used by on the containers. After a trip just make sure to store them in a cool, dark and dry place until your next trip. Leaving them packed up in a camper where it can get really hot durring the summer will ruin them quick. Depending on the containers cool and warm changes will also create condensation in the containers. Throwing grains of rice into containers will combat condensation and clumping. I even throw a few grains of rice into home salt shakers. I hate salt all clumped together and it will not come out of the shaker, lol.
With our scout trailer, each group of boys has a 36" wall cabinet that is mounted on folding legs. When unfolded at a campsite on the front base of the cabinet is a plywood work surface that folds down. In these cabinets there is room for all their spices, eating ware and simple pots and pans and 1 gas burner that gets hooked to a propane tank.
This system works very well for a cooking station. We hang a large tarp over our cooking area and set up about six different cooking stations and use the fire ring for our dutch oven and spit cooking.
 
A good trick to get rid of a gamie taste to meat, soak it in butter milk for a few hours. You can get dehydrated buttermilk in just about any grocerey store in the baking aisle. Buttermilk is an essential for me to have on hand. Pancakes, bisciuts, brine for fried chicken, the uses are endless. Add a tsp of lemon juice or vinager to a cup of milk and stir it well, also makes a quick buttermilk.
 
Now thats what I'm talking about...I use buttermilk at home for just that reason...have even used the vinager trick to make my own in a pinch. I use powdered milk for my own little breakfast shake concoction on camping trips and it never occured to me to look for powdered buttermilk. TY TY

You brought up somthing thats been missing from my little list of long shelf life powerful basics...Acid

Vinagers and Citrus juices are fine at home but, as with fats, they are messy after 2-3 weeks on the trail (one of my goals is to have less items that need a double bagging of ziplocks). I imagine there are pure powdered forms of Citrus, I wonder what other rehydratable acid's there are out there...time to hit google ;)
 
Ha, here is a good one for you. I learned in the Army that there is enough citric acid in Kool Aid to remove the tarnish build up from brass, lol. There is a very reliable source of an acid for you.
I always have Kool Aid packettes on hand. It's a good mixer for a Margarita too in a pinch. I prefer the lemon and lime flavors, lol.
 
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Hello Silphion, another way to get rid of a gamie taste soak with fresh lemon juice, and if the meat is a bit slimy pour a little flour and wash it off takes away the slime immediately!
 
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