Re[6]: [at-l] Freeze Dried food questions.

[papa_bear_nyc@yahoo.com (Papa Bear)]

I think I can wind down my posts for this thread.

The low end estimate from Weary sounds doable if you work at it although I
still consider it a bit "Spartan", but to each his own.

There are however several tradeoffs to be aware of.  Some may be due to
going "cheap" and some may be just Weary's preferences.  I not quite sure,
but to spell them out::

Greater weight and bulk: looks like most cheap raw food (rice, pasta,
cheese) comes in around 100 cal/oz.  Good freeze dried food should be up
over 150 cal/oz. (I look carefully at that measure).  This could translate
into 1/2 lb or more per day.  For a 5 day pack of food it gets to be
noticeable.  My own experience with pasta vs. freeze dried equivalent is
it's up to twice as bulky.  Just comparing my 12 oz. box of Ronzoni twists
with my 5.5 oz. package of Chicken with. noodles give me that estimate (not
really much chicken in there you know).

Greater cooking time:  This might be more a function of Weary's experience
and tradition of camp cooking (which I admire) but it looks like the less
processed food (especially rice and pasta) used - which is very cheap -
takes 3 to 4 times the stove time as my freeze dried stuff.  This is from
his numbers.  This can translate into the time it takes to make supper or
breakfast, but more importantly how long your fuel will last.  I use
Iso-butane and a canister should last 150 minutes.  That should do me for 50
days at one use per day, or 25 for two uses.  With Weary's methodology that
would be more like 12/6 days.  A big issue for resupplying.  Cost is not too
big an issue (my fuel canister is around $4.50 - 10 to 20 cents a day).
However I think esbit and alcohol users would have a hard time with 15
minute cooking times for a meal.

But of course Weary uses a wood burning stove which uses a fuel which is
both free and of unlimited availability ...

You know whenever I hear those words "free and of unlimited availability" I
get suspicious.

I'm breaking this off and will start a new thread "Wood stoves: a threat to
the trail?"

See you on the next thread.
Pb


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob C." <ellen@clinic.net>
To: "Papa Bear" <papa_bear_nyc@yahoo.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2002 11:26 PM
Subject: Re[6]: [at-l] Freeze Dried food questions.


> The cheese estimate was based on a pound of mozzarella I happen to have in
the
> refrigerator that cost $2.69 and the package says contains 1,280 calories.
I
> didn't do the math, but guessed that probably figures out to about $2 per
> thousand calories.
>
> I mostly buy store brand pasta for around 35 cents a pound. So I guess my
30
> cents for 1,000 calories was a bit high. How about 35 cents for 800
calories?
> I've never shopped at the Sam's Clubs and similar places, but people tell
me
> they are cheaper than supermarkets. May be 30 cents would be accurate in
those
> places.
>
>  Yes. I use regular pasta. I use a wood-burning zip stove so I don't worry
about
>  cooking times. I usually buy regular long grain rice in 20 pound bags. I
cook
>  it for 20 minutes. Brown rice takes 40 minutes or so. Sometimes I use
that.
>  More often I buy "instant" brown which takes only 10 minutes. Often I mix
>  instant brown with regular elbow macaroni and add a couple of bouillon
cubes,
>  some grocery store dried onion flakes, and a dash of basil from my garden
that
>  I had dried.
>
>  That was my standard meal on the trail. A cup and a half of mixture to
three
>  cups of water, with a healthy slug of margarine or vegetable oil. From
time to
>  time I varied the flavor by adding some powdered milk, cheese, chipped
beef or
>  summer sausage.
>
>  Store brand oatmeal sells for around a dollar a pound. The package claims
it
>  cooks in one minute. I usually just put a cupful in two cups of cold
water and
>  bring the mixture to a boil and then let it set off the flames for a
minute or
>  two. If as sometimes happens I find Quaker Oatmeal on sale for the same
price
>  as the generic I stock up. I like Quaker better. I rarely use instant,
because
>  I find it sickly sweet with the consistency of salve.
>
>  I like a lot of liquid in the morning -- usually a couple of cups of
coffee, so
>  I have to light up the stove anyway. It takes me 30 to 40 minutes to get
on the
>  trail in the morning. I tend to be the first one up in the shelters and
leave
>  by 7:30 or so.
>
>   Bob
>
>


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