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This conversation brings to mind a concern I have. I love the tuna or salmon packets. But after a day or two, even sealed in a plastic baggie, the fishy odor from the foil packet is sometimes noticeable. Here bear bear…. How does one control the smell? I keep in it's own baggie, then in a freezer-bag garbage bag, then in OP sack. But who knows if a bear can smell through all that plastic?
"Instant potatoes. I have moved away from this one because I've had trouble settling on a protein and a flavoring that goes well with potatoes."
Have you tried grated parmesan/romano cheese and dried chives? I'm not a big potato fan in non-trail life, but with copious amounts of parmesan/romano and some dried chives, they're goooood. :) (For omnivores, a little bit of jerky mixed in is nice, too. Some vegetarians may go for soy-based artificial bacon bits, but I'm not fond enough of them to add them to the mix.)
Best,
Bill S.
PS on another sub-topic: How do people carry olive oil and butter? I tried a few ways of carrying olive oil, but packets leaked and a well-sealed bottle had a hard time handling pressure differentials associated with 4000 ft altitude changes and 80 degree temp changes. Is butter really possible with high daytime temps, or more of a shoulder season/winter food? After some not-so-good experiences, I've been sticking mostly with nuts, Nido, parmesan/romano, and coconut milk as main fat sources. Would be happy to get hints for containing olive oil and/or butter well. Usually in grizzly country, so like to keep everything as clean as I can. Thanks!
"How do people carry olive oil and butter?"
Subway sandwich restaurants – they have olive oil packets. I've tried to buy them alone but usually they tell me I have to make a purchase. Or, minimum.biz sells them.
http://www.minimus.biz/Marconi-Organic-Extra-Virgin-Olive-Oil-packet-F01-0851202-1100.aspx
1/2 ounce packets of extra virgin olive oil $.36
I bring one for every dinner, easy way to add calories.
These guys also carry mini sized packets of other food items such as lemon juice, spicy salsa, soy, mayo, marmalade, and lots more.
What's wrong with filling a 1/2/4 oz plastic bottle with olive oil, to match how much you expect to need? It's like a fuel bottle for your body! You'll live without measuring out each serving precisely, and it's less trash and cost compared to 1/2 oz packets.
I think the statement was "a well-sealed bottle had a hard time handling pressure differentials associated with 4000 ft altitude changes and 80 degree temp changes."
I have yet to find a bottle that didn't leak at some point, meaning you have to double bag it to keep the oil from wrecking gear. Hoenstly, the packets work well.
Butter? Make or buy ghee from butter. It is shelf stable and is super easy to make.
I'm with Sarah on this one. Even the best of bottles seem to seep at some time, and it doesn't take much to make a mess of your kit. I've got some nice little "leak proof" bottles that I often use for olive oil, but I always bag them, just in case.
I have found that a real good bottle (4oz nalgene I think,) works well. It doesn't leak. But, as Duane says, a bag of spices, olive Oil and/or parified butter does tend to minimize any mess if they do leak. Take an empty bottle and tighten the cap on it. Then squeeze it real hard for a few seconds. If it stands up to this kind of pressure without leaking air, you should be good with the oil. I bought two packets of little bottles (10 per pack?) and only three were acceptable. So, 15% success isn't real good.
Parafied butter or ghee is just pan fried butter till it stops bubbling. This drives the excess water out leaving (mostly) the fats and oils. It is a bit salty, but that's OK. I usually look for a bit of salt when I cook, especially hiking. When cold, it is nearly solid.
On Ghee – you can use unsalted butter. Use organic for best taste as well. Then it isn't all salty.
Sarah, Yeah, tried that. But, the cost of "organic" foods was about three times that for processed food.
For the parified butter, mostly, the salt will not collect in the oils. Some will of course. But it usually just drops out into the brown stuff in the bottom of the fry pan (along with any water soluable stuff.) Generally, salt does not disolve all that much into oils/fats. Just be a bit carefull about pouring it off to avoid getting it into the bottles. My daughter says to just put a pound in a small pan and warm it till it melts…then pour off the oil. I prefer to cook it down to sterilize it before packaging…probably not necessary, but…
"How do people carry olive oil and butter?"
Because olive oil leaking is a true mess, and uncleanable on the trail, if the oil is inside my pack, I put it in a plastic bag, the bottle in a bag, that is. But I stopped carrying it inside my pack.
But now that I made a myog pack with nice big side pockets, I keep the olive oil in a regular 18 oz or so water bottle (like calistoga or trader joes bubbly water), you can get a rubber o-ring at the hardware store to make the seal at the cap even better if you are so inclined, o-ring goes around the bottle's top screw part, to make a rubber seal. Maybe not always best method, have to test it to make sure on your bottle.
I used to use nalgene 8oz bottles, maybe also 16oz, those have excellent closures, much better than regular water bottles, because they have an inside and outside lip/edge on the cap.
Or did, I don't know, but I always put the bottle in a plastic bag when packing it inside pack with food bag to be on the safe side, no issues.
Having the bottle outside I like better though, that way it's always pointed up, and you can easily see if it's dripped or leaking.
Butter, no thanks, olive oil is denser, and easier to pack, but if you must, then ghee type clarified butter is the way to go.
I doubt you can get any decent olive oil in a plastic mini pouch, that sounds not very appetizing, plus the taste of that plastic it's been stored in since packaging, no thanks.
So outside pack side pockets have water bottles, two, and one alcohol bottle and one olive oil bottle, that works well.
Lawson also sells some 8oz bottles, but those weigh about the same or more as the regular water bottle from the store, which is 18oz, ie, more than 2x bigger.
If reusing a water bottle, like calistoga, just make sure it's made out of thick / dense plastic, some are very thin, and will crease and crack over not too much time in a pack.
By the way, at trader joe's or whole foods you can buy 33 oz water bottles, called 'electrolyte enhanced water' that make great quart water bottles, they use thick plastic, and have round bottoms, and cost 99 cents each.
James, you just need to learn to shop better ;-) You don't have to pay a ton more. I don't. There is a huge taste difference in butter brands and when making ghee it becomes very noticeable when using cheap butter.
"James, you just need to learn to shop better ;-)"
Sarah, I hear that! The main problem is that I live in a smaller town. Well, they like to think Ithaca is a city, but the permanent population is only about 15,000. Cornell U, Ithaca college, the music school and some others swell the population, soo packaged foods are big, not so much food items.
Anyway, I don't mind the slightly salty tast. Hiking means work, work means sweating. Soo, I am always looking for salt, it seems. After a couple days on the trail, food is just fuel…
True on that……
Pakit Gourmet sells small foil pouches of decent quality olive oil. A little pricey, but convenient.
thanks… great find.
minimus.biz is your friend. Olive oil and all kinds of other condiments in tiny packages.
Has anyone thought of coconut oil? Just as healthy as olive oil, almost as many calories (245/oz), and solid below 25C or 76F, which makes carrying a lot safer most of the time.
Is easy to eat 1 oz with a bowl of porridge say. How easy is it to eat 1 oz of olive oil?
"Has anyone thought of coconut oil?"
Comes in 1 oz foil packets from Artisana. Good stuff.
A second breakfast?? What is yer friend, a Hobbit? ;o)
I always have second breakfast on trips Eric.
On another note I was on a slack pack trip this weekend with my wife, my
buddy and his wife and we brought pulled pork, bread rolls and corn
on the cob(pre cooked, wrapped in foil and placed at the edge of a fire), and lots of beer and wine.
Happy days.
On my JMT trip, I brought olive oil with me and took "shots" of it with my meals to add calories.
Yeah, does not taste great, but worked for me.
However, I found that using these disposable foil pouches worked great for my 15 day trip. No leaks.
This is just one example, these are fairly common now in the stores.
They are seam welded and I could fill one up with olive oil and close the top and squeeze as hard as I could and could not get it to leak.
Granted, I had to carry a bear can, so I was not squishing the pouch all of the time, but I was impressed that I could not "pop" one by squeezing it in my hand.
Light and cheap too….form of recycling.
Tony
That sounds like a great idea to carry oil in, Tony – I've always used a 100ml nalgene container from my old lab job, but that too big for most trips. Thanks!
The best bottle I've found for carrying Olive Oil is reusing a bottled water bottle, especially the little 8 ounce ones.
I'll use a bottle like this, they are leakproof and free, and you can throw them out when they get gross.
What tastes REALLY good is the night before you leave for a trip is to chop up a bunch garlic, basil, and other classic spices and add that to your bottle of oil.
You can pour that stuff on anything. Rice, bean, couscous, tortilla wraps, bread, tuna, you name it.
It is delicious and calorie dense.
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