GRUB
[Sidenote: Variety]
IN no department of outdoor life does the mistaken notion of "roughing
it" work more harm. I have never been able to determine why a man should
be content with soggy, heavy, coarse and indigestible food when, with
the same amount of trouble, the same utensils, and the same materials he
can enjoy variety and palatability. To eat a well-cooked dinner it is
not necessary to carry an elaborate commissary. In a later chapter I
shall try to show you how to combine the simple and limited ingredients
at your command into the greatest number of dishes. At present we will
concern ourselves strictly with the kind and quantity of food you will
wish to carry with you.
Necessarily bulk and weight are such important considerations that they
will at once cut out much you would enjoy. Also condensed and
desiccated foods are, in a few cases, toothsome enough to earn
inclusion--and many are not. Perishability bars certain other sorts. But
when all is said and done there remains an adequate list from which to
choose.
[Sidenote: Luxuries]
However closely you confine yourself to the bare necessities, be sure to
include one luxury. This is not so much to eat as for the purpose of
moral support. I remember one trip in the Black Hills on which our
commissary consisted quite simply of oatmeal, tea, salt, and sugar, and
a single can of peaches. Of course there was game. Now if we had found
ourselves confined to meat, mush, oatmeal pones, and tea, we should,
after a little, have felt ourselves reduced to dull monotony, and after
a little more we should have begun to long mightily for the fleshpots of
Deadwood. But that can of peaches lurked in the back of our minds. By
its presence we were _not_ reduced to meat, mush, oatmeal pones, and
tea. Occasionally we would discuss gravely the advisability of opening
it, but I do not believe any one of us down deep in his heart meant it
in sober earnest. What was the mere tickling of the palate compared with
the destruction of a symbol.
[Sidenote: Take Your Pet Luxury]
Somewhat similarly I was once on a trip with an Englishman who, when we
outfitted, insisted on marmalade. In vain we pointed out the fact that
glass always broke. Finally we compromised on one jar, which we wrapped
in the dish towel and packed in the coffee pot. For five weeks that
unopened jar of marmalade traveled with us, and the Englishman was
content. Then it got broken--as they always do. From that time on our
friend uttered his daily growl or lament over the lack of marmalade.
And, mind you, he had already gone five weeks without tasting a
spoonful!
So include in the list your pet luxury. Tell yourself that you will eat
it just at the psychological moment. It is a great comfort. But to our
list:
_Bacon_ is the stand-by. Get the very best you can buy, and the leanest.
In a walking trip cut off the rind in order to reduce the weight.
_Ham_ is a pleasant variety if you have room for it.
[Sidenote: Cereals]
_Flour._--Personally I like the whole wheat best. It bakes easier than
the white, has more taste, and mixes with other things quite as well. It
comes in 10-pound sacks, which makes it handy to carry.
_Pancake Flour_, either buckwheat or not, makes flapjacks, of course,
but also bakes into excellent loaves, and is a fine base for camp cake.
_Boston Brown Bread Flour_ is self-rising, on the principle of the
flapjack flour. It makes genuine brown bread, toothsome quick biscuits
with shortening, and a glorious boiled or steamed pudding. If your
outfitter does not know of it, tell him it is made at San Jose,
California.
_Cornmeal._--Get the yellow. It makes good Johnny cake, puddings, fried
mush, and unleavened corn pone, all of which are palatable, nourishing,
and easy to make. If you have a dog with you, it is the easiest ration
for between-meat seasons. A quarter cup swells up into an abundant meal
for the average-sized canine.
_Hominy._--The coarse sort makes a good variety.
_Tapioca._--Utterly unsatisfactory over an open fire. Don't take it.
[Sidenote: Rice, the Ideal Stand-by]
_Rice._--I think rice is about the best stand-by of all. In the first
place, ten pounds of rice will go farther than ten pounds of any other
food; a half cup, which weighs small for its bulk, boils up into a half
kettleful, a quantity ample for four people. In the second place, it
contains a great percentage of nutriment, and is good stuff to travel
on. In the third place, it is of that sort of palatability of which one
does not tire. In the fourth place it can be served in a variety of
ways: boiled plain; boiled with raisins; boiled with rolled oats;
boiled, then fried; made into baked puddings; baked in gems or loaves;
mixed with flapjacks. Never omit it from your list.
[Illustration: When you quit the trail for a day's rest]
[Sidenote: Buy Only the Best Brands]
_Baking Powder._--Do not buy an unknown brand at a country store; you
will find it bad for your insides after a very short use. Royal and
Price's are both good.
_Tea and Coffee._--Even confirmed coffee drinkers drop away from their
allegiance after being out a short time. Tea seems to wear better in the
woods. Personally, I never take coffee at all, unless for the benefit of
some other member of the party.
_Potatoes_ are generally out of the question, although you can often
stick a small sack in your kyacks. They are very grateful when you can
carry them. A desiccated article is on the market. Soaked up it takes on
somewhat the consistency of rather watery mashed potatoes. It is not
bad.
_Onions_ are a luxury; but, like the potatoes, can sometimes be taken,
and add largely to flavor.
[Sidenote: Saccharine Tablets]
_Sugar._--My experience is, that one eats a great deal more sweets out
of doors than at home. I suppose one uses up more fuel. In any case I
have many a time run out of sugar, and only rarely brought any home
Saxin, crystallose and saccharine are all excellent to relieve the
weight in this respect. They come as tablets, each a little larger than
the head of a pin. A tablet represents the sweetening power of a lump of
sugar. Dropped in the tea, two of them will sweeten quite as well as two
heaping spoonfuls and you could never tell the difference. A man could
carry in his waistcoat pocket vials containing the equivalent of
twenty-five pounds of sugar. Their advantage in lightening a back load
is obvious.
_Fats._--Lard is the poorest and least wholesome. Cottolene is better.
Olive oil is best. The latter can be carried in a screw-top tin. Less of
it need be used than of the others. It gives a delicious flavor to
anything fried in it.
_Mush._--Rolled oats are good, but do not agree with some people. Cream
of Wheat and Germea are more digestible. Personally I prefer to take my
cereal in the form of biscuits. It "sticks to the ribs" better.
Three-quarters of a cup of cereal will make a full supply of mush for
three people, leaving room for mighty little else. On the other hand, a
full cup of the same cereal will make six biscuits--two apiece for our
three people. In other words, the biscuits allow one to eat a third more
cereal in half the bulk.
[Sidenote: Fruits]
_Dried Fruit._--This is another class of food almost to be classed as
condensed. It is easily carried, is light, and when cooked swells
considerably. Raisins lead the list, as they cook in well with any of
the flour stuffs and rice, and are excellent to eat raw as a lunch.
Dried figs come next. I do not mean the layer figs, but those dried
round like prunes. They can be stewed, eaten raw, or cooked in puddings.
Dried apples are good stewed, or soaked and fried in a little sugar.
Prunes are available, raw or cooked. Peaches and apricots I do not care
for, but they complete the list.
[Sidenote: A Good Remedy for a Chill]
_Salt and Pepper._--A little cayenne in hot water is better than whiskey
for a chill.
_Cinnamon._--Excellent to sprinkle on apples, rice, and puddings. A
flavoring to camp cake. One small box will last a season.
_Milk._--Some people like the sticky sweetened Borden milk. I think it
very sickish and should much prefer to go without. The different brands
of evaporated creams are palatable, but too bulky and heavy for ordinary
methods of transportation. A can or so may sometimes be included,
however. Abercrombie & Fitch offer a milk powder. They claim that a
spoonful in water "produces a sweet wholesome milk." It may be
wholesome; it certainly is sweet--but as for being milk! I should like
to see the cow that would acknowledge it.
_Syrup._--Mighty good on flapjacks and bread, and sometimes to be
carried when animals are many. The easiest to get that tastes like
anything is the "Log Cabin" maple syrup. It comes in a can of a handy
shape.
[Sidenote: Altitude's Influence on Cooking]
_Beans._--Another rich stand-by; rich in sustenance, light in weight,
and compressed in bulk. Useless to carry in the mountains, where, as a
friend expressed it, "all does not boil that bubbles." Unless you have
all day and unlimited firewood they will not cook in a high altitude.
Lima beans are easier cooked. A few chilis are nice to add to the pot by
way of variety.
_Pilot Bread or Hardtack._--If you use it at all--which of course must
be in small quantities for emergencies--be sure to get the coarsest. It
comes in several grades, and the finer crumble. The coarse, however,
breaks no finer than the size of a dollar, and so is edible no matter
how badly smashed. With raisins it makes a good lunch.
_Butter_, like milk, is a luxury I do without on a long trip. The lack
is never felt after a day or two. I believe you can get it in air-tight
cans.
_Macaroni_ is bulky, but a single package goes a long way, and is both
palatable and nutritious. Break it into pieces an inch or so long and
stow it in a grub bag.
[Sidenote: Canned Goods]
That finishes the list of the bulk groceries. Canned goods, in general,
are better left at home. You are carrying the weight not only of the
vegetable, but also of the juice and the tin. One can of tomatoes merely
helps out on one meal, and occupies enough space to accommodate eight
meals of rice; or enough weight to balance two dozen meals of the same
vegetable. Both the space of the kyacks and the carrying power of your
horse are better utilized in other directions. I assume you never will
be fool enough to weight your own back with such things.
So much for common sense and theory. As a matter of practice, and if you
have enough animals to avoid overloading, you will generally tuck in a
can here and there. These are to be used only on great occasions, but
grace mightily holidays and very tired times.
Now some canned goods make you feel you are really getting something
worth while; and others do not.
_Corn_ is probably the most satisfactory of all. It is good warmed up,
made into fritters, baked into a pudding, or mixed with lima beans as
succotash.
[Sidenote: Good and Bad Canned Goods]
_Peas_ on the other hand are no good. Too much water, and too little pea
is the main trouble, which combines discouragingly with the fact that a
mouthful of peas is not nearly as hearty or satisfying as a mouthful of
corn.
_Tomatoes_ are carried extensively, but are very bulky and heavy for
what you get out of them.
_Canned Fruit_ is sheer mad luxury. A handful of the dried article would
equal a half dozen cans.
_Salmon._--A pleasant and compact variation on ordinary fare. It can be
eaten cold, as it comes from the can; or can be fried or baked.
_Picnic Stuff_, such as potted chicken, devilled ham and the rest of it
are abominations.
_Corned Beef_ is fair.
To sum up, I think that if I were to go in for canned goods, I should
concentrate on corn and salmon, with one or two corned beef on the side.
[Sidenote: Desiccated Foods]
As I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter modern desiccation of
foods has helped the wilderness traveler to some extent. I think I have
tried about everything in this line. In the following list I shall
mention those I think good, and also those particularly bad. Any not
mentioned it may be implied that I do not care for myself, but am
willing to admit that you may.
_Canned Eggs._--The very best thing of this kind is made by the National
Bakers' Egg Co., of Sioux City. It is a coarse yellow granulation and
comes in one-pound screw-top tin cans. Each can contains the equivalent
of five dozen eggs, and costs, I think, only $1.25. A tablespoon of the
powder and two of water equals an egg. With that egg you can make
omelets and scrambled eggs, which you could not possibly tell from the
new-laid. Two cans, weighing two pounds, will last you all summer; and
think of the delight of an occasional egg for breakfast! The German
canned eggs--Hoffmeir's is sold in this country--are rather evil
tasting, do not beat up light, and generally decline sullenly to cook.
[Sidenote: Erbswurst]
_Soups._--Some of the compressed soups are excellent. The main
difficulty is that they are put up in flimsy paper packages, difficult
to carry without breaking. Also I have found that when you take but two
kettles, you are generally hungry enough to begrudge one of them to
anything as thin as even the best soup. However, occasionally a hot
cupful is a good thing; and I should always include a few packages. The
most filling and nourishing is the German army ration called
_Erbswurst_. It comes in a sausage-shaped package, which is an exception
to the rule in that it is strongly constructed. You cut off an inch and
boil it. The taste is like that of a thick bean soup. It is said to
contain all the elements of nutrition.
Knorr's packages make good soup when you get hold of the right sort. We
have tried them all, and have decided that they can be divided into two
classes--those that taste like soup, and the dishwater brand. The former
comprise pea, bean, lentil, rice, and onion; the latter, all others.
[Sidenote: Soup Tablets]
Maggi's tablets are smaller than Knorr's and rather better packed. The
green pea and lentil make really delicious soup.
Bouillon capsules of all sorts I have no use for. They serve to flavor
hot water, and that is about all.
_Desiccated Vegetables_ come in tablets about four inches square and a
quarter of an inch thick. A quarter of one of these tablets makes a dish
for two people. You soak it several hours, then boil it. In general the
results are all alike, and equally tasteless and loathsome. The most
notable exception is the string beans. They come out quite like the
original vegetable, both in appearance and taste. I always take some
along. Enough for twenty meals could be carried in the inside pocket of
your waistcoat.
_Julienne_, made by Prevet. A French mixture of carrots and other
vegetables cut into strips and dried. When soaked and boiled it swells
to its original size. A half cupful makes a meal for two. It ranks with
the string beans in being thoroughly palatable. These two preparations
are better than canned goods, and are much more easily carried.
_Potatoes, saxin, saccharine, and crystallose_ I have already mentioned.
[Sidenote: Quantity]
That completes the most elaborate grub list I should care to recommend.
As to a quantitative list, that is a matter of considerably more
elasticity. I have kept track of the exact quantity of food consumed on
a great many trips, and have come to the conclusion that anything but
the most tentative statements must spring from lack of experience. A
man paddling a canoe, or carrying a pack all day, will eat a great deal
more than would the same man sitting a horse. A trip in the clear,
bracing air of the mountains arouses keener appetites than a desert
journey near the borders of Mexico, and a list of supplies ample for the
one would be woefully insufficient for the other. The variation is
really astonishing.
Therefore the following figures must be experimented with rather
cautiously. They represent an average of many of my own trips.
[Sidenote: Grub List]
ONE MONTH'S SUPPLIES FOR ONE MAN ON A FOREST TRIP
15 lbs. flour (includes flour, pancake flour, cornmeal
in proportion to suit)
15 lbs. meat (bacon or boned ham)
8 lbs. rice
1/2 lb. baking powder
1 lb. tea
2 lbs. sugar
150 saccharine tablets
8 lbs. cereal
1 lb. raisins
Salt and pepper
5 lbs. beans
3 lbs. or 1/2 doz. Erbswurst
2 lbs. or 1/2 doz. dried vegetables
2 lbs. dried potatoes
1 can Bakers' eggs.
ONE MONTH'S SUPPLIES FOR ONE MAN ON PACK HORSE TRIP
15 lbs. flour supplies (flour, flapjack flour, cornmeal)
15 lbs. ham and bacon
2 lbs. hominy
4 lbs. rice
1/2 lb. baking powder
1 lb. coffee
1/2 lb. tea
20 lbs. potatoes
A few onions
2 lbs. sugar
150 saccharine tablets
3 lb. pail cottolene, or can olive oil
3 lbs. cream of wheat
5 lbs. mixed dried fruit
Salt, pepper, cinnamon
3 cans evaporated cream
1/2 gal. syrup or honey
5 lbs. beans
Chilis
Pilot bread (in flour sack)
6 cans corn
6 cans salmon
2 cans corned beef
1 can Bakers' eggs
1/2 doz. Maggi's soups
1/2 doz. dried vegetables--beans and Julienne.
[Sidenote: Don't Figure Grub List too Closely]
These lists are not supposed to be "eaten down to the bone." A man
cannot figure that closely. If you buy just what is included in them you
will be well fed, but will probably have a little left at the end of the
month. If you did not, you would probably begin to worry about the
twenty-fifth day. And this does not pay. Of course if you get game and
fish, you can stay out over the month.