Need BPL’s help with fondue

I guess you know that the Jetboil Sol Ti is not a general purpose stove. It is a water boiler only.

–B.G.–

I do, Bob. Thought listing what I'm working with might be helpful for jerry-rigging something, perhaps involving the pot support, or if there are other suggestions a la the Micron for other devices that'll work off a canister.

I would consider a double boiler approach with the jetboil. If you have another light pot that can fit inside ( perhaps a ti or aluminium cup) to hold the chocolate.

Ahah! Now we're talking. I do have a ti 450 mug. Elaborate, Richard-esque testing of this method ahead.

Please don't let *this* be the thing that finally converts me to a cat-can stove.

I wonder if you could rig a double boiler of sorts. Get an aluminum cup that's smaller in diameter than the Sol Ti cup, but deep. Drill a hole through the top of the cup so you can put a ti tent stake through it completely, so that you can lower the cup into the Sol Ti cup and keep it from falling in via the stake (if that makes sense to you). Water in the Sol Ti, chocolate in the aluminum cup. You'd only need to keep a sharp eye on the water in the Sol Ti so that it never runs out.

Seems like that might work for minimal weight gain. I have no idea if it would, I've never tried it, but it seems like it would.

Edit: M G beat me to it. Must be a good idea if two of us had it at the same time!

To follow up on Doug's suggestion, a coke can with the top cut off would probably be the cheapest and could be used as suggested with a stake poked through holes near the top to hold it in the boiling water.

Doug, MG, I am in both of your debt. The execution needs more refinement — perhaps a coconut water or similarly tall can to allow for cutting errors — but the concept is sound. Time for me to get a ti stake. Thanks!

For the best heat transfer, keep the inner can elevated above the water level. That way, you will steam the fondue. If the inner can touchs the water, you will slow down the heat transfer rate. BEst regards Jon

You're all right – a double-boiler or steam bath is the way to do this. I met my wife on a gourmet backpacking trip. She brought a chocolate fondue (I brought ice cream sundaes cooled with dry ice).

Later, in the third-generation backpacking hot tub (the one that put out so much heat that it could be while snow camping), we simply floated the chocolate fondue bowl IN the hot tub with us (a lot of chocolate melts at 90-92F versus hot tub temps of 102-104F).

Marshmallows, sure, but good pound cake, biscotti, dried apricots, strawberries (classic but not UL), mandarin orange wedges, bananas, etc. Pretzels for a less sweet option.

Will, you need to invest in a safety-style can opener like the Good Cooks version. That will allow you to cleanly remove can tops for your cooking projects.

A simple plier style paper punch will make holes in a soda can.

What is a bunting?

Double boiler with a Jetboil seems extreme. All you would really need is a tea light candle and a stand for the pot. Something like the following.

You might consider using a boiler bag inside the pot used to do the melting – might make cleanup much easier. As others have implied, if you are melting something that will be very viscous you definitely should buffer the heat by using a double-boiler setup as you could easily burn stuff otherwise.

Thanks, all. Man, I picked the right subject to stop lurking since 2007 on. :)

@Jon – Noted, elevate can.

@David – "Backpacking hot tub?"

@Dale – Thanks for the recommendations, and will get a proper can opener for around the house, but this is going to have to be done in the field, using a knife, on a recently emptied can, so practice, practice

@Marc – That pot looks suspiciously heavy. ;)

@Marko – Boiler bag! Which might cut down on the can-cutting and hilarious medical emergencies that would result, given my luck.

Bunting, for everyone's edification, are those little paper flags on a string.
Because, obviously:

>"@David – "Backpacking hot tub?""

The UC Berkeley annual "Gourmet Trip" has some rules – bring a gourmet dish, formal- or semi-formal dress for dinner and a "toy" – something really stupid you'd never normally bring backpacking. Downhills skis to ski the sand dunes, a basketball and a backboard(!) for a half-court game, etc. Other's helped me carry 10-mil plastic sheeting to line a hole dug in a sand dune, 100 feet of garden hose to tap a stream and flow it into the hot tub through an automotive radiator with 6 MSR white-gas stoves under it. IT took about 4 hours to come to temperature, but got to 104F.

Later versions used a propane burner like what you'd use at a chilli cook off under a 30-gallon pot. That came to temperature in 40 minutes (250,000 BTU/hour versus 6 x 10,000 BTU/hour for the MSRs).

It's pretty easy to pick out the Chemical Engineers on a BPing trip.

Festooned Crater Lake – LOL!

Ahhh, bunting as we know it. Tibetan prayer flags would be Everest-like.

The best fondue pots are double boilers. I really like the bag idea. That would be a perfect way to do Alfredo sauce and the like.

Chocolate fondue, eh? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Where — exactly — will you be camping, and
When — exactly — will you be there?

I'm rummaging around for my titanium fork, even as we speak! ;^)

And yes, definitely use a double boiler method (keep the water boiling as gently as you can) and NEVER let the bottom of the chocolate vessel touch the boiling water.

Other lightweight suggestions for dipping: angel food cake squares (pre-cut at home and airtight bag), possibly freeze-dried fruit (such as strawberries or peaches — I've never tried it, but how bad can it be?).

Bon appetit!

Couldn't you Pre-mix all the chocolate ingredients at home and seal them in a vacuum bag, then just toss the bag into boiling water for a while?

>>Please don't let *this* be the thing that finally converts me to a cat-can stove.

You have a cute girlfriend from "across the pond" who wants to go backpacking? If this is what converts you, it is a net gain. :)

Being serious, I used to do Full Moon fondue group hikes. We'd do a double boiler system. Works very well.

Have fun!

ps. Foreign accents are not quite as sexy when they ask you to pick up something at Costco or take out the recycling. ;)

Slightly off topic.

" freeze-dried fruit (such as strawberries or peaches — I've never tried it, but how bad can it be?) "

ohhhh…. Costco sells freeze-dried, dark chocolate-covered strawberries. yummmm…..
Kelly

I just wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread.

The English Rose and I got out for her first overnight, to Sinkyone Wilderness, in early June. Proper trip report forthcoming, but she absolutely loved it, wants to go do more 'venturesome things' ASAP. Spectacular weather and friendly elk didn't hurt, but the fondue was what put it over the top.

I used Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips for the fondue, and Trader Joe's freeze-dried strawberries & mangoes as well as marshmallows for the dipping. The key is to offset the ti stake in the double-boiler so a marshmallow will fit. Well worth the weight of the soda can, and highly recommended. Much obliged for all of the help!

I make fondue at home sometimes for the Lass and i. Lost the felt part that the alcohol goes in, and in any case, always experienced burning with it anyways. Not fun scrubbing that out…

So i took a piece of heavy duty aluminium foil, shaped it into a concave dish, put a few (3) small beeswax candles on same, and voila, a nice, steady, just about right heat source. Sometimes to be on the safe side and speed up cleaning (burning can still happen some with the candle/reflector method), i cut a circular piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the fondue pot.

Sure the above be adapted to (back) country cooking somehow. Why do they call it "back country" btw? Are you supposed to, or not supposed to turn your backside to the country, is there some kind of backside danger i should know about? Daling.. ding ding ding ding ding ding ding..?

Sorry I missed your post and couldn't offer advice before you went but it sounds like it worked out wonderfully.

I grind the chocolate to make melting faster even if I am using chocolate chips. The key, for anyone else who might try to do this, is to make sure you don't get water into the chocolate or it will bind. Always use a double boiler method because otherwise the chocolate will scorch way too easily. Sometimes we take a few slices of pound cake to dip. Not exactly UL but super delicious.

A little story. In 1991, I went camping at Pog Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park here in Canada. It was the second camping trip with Bryan and because it was a campground, I made chocolate fondue. Six months later he asked me to marry him and always joked that I found my way into his heart by serving fondue on a camping trip. In a few weeks we celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary.

Yes, we are totally corny like that.