Issue with Zebra Billy burning food

[Zammo]

Last year I christened by Zebra Billy and decided to use it to cook a meal (I think it was something involving rice) using a Coleman Butane Gas Micro Stove, unfortunately the rice ended up burning on the bottom of the pan and the food near the top of the pan wasn't cooked also to make matters worse it tasted like butane gas.

I'm planning on going on another camping trip for a few days in August and in order to avoid this happening again has anyone got any tips?

I'm thinking I possibly had the heat to high on my stove and also my stove was such a focused flame it couldn't heat the pan effectively. This time I'm going to use a larger stove or perhaps an open fire. Lastly should I treat the Zebra Billy an in any way? I've heard of people burning salt in a pan to do this.

 

[falcon]

I think you're right with your comments about intense heat and temperature control and this can be a particular problem with gas unless you can regulate it down. With an open fire you have the opportunity to use different parts of the fire where heat will vary , and also maybe different fire crane constructions to regulate the heat. I'm sure trial and error will be enjoyable and productive...

 

[bilmo-p5]

Start on high heat, then moderate heat as soon as it starts to bubble, ensure good wind protection and use the lid, stir regularly (a trangia-style potlifter is handy when using a Zebra on a stove), some form of heat diffuser and/or stove with a larger burner (not necessarily a larger stove).

 

[Zammo]

Thanks for the tips. Do you think its necessary to treat the Zebra Billy?

 

[bilmo-p5]

No, but make sure the inside is completely clean. Some of the black burnt stuff can be difficult to get off, but that's where food will stick again if it's going to.

 

[falcon]

Think in terms of your household kitchen ware....we have both teflon coated and stainless items. The only times we have problems with burning during normal domestic cooking is probably when items like milk or pasta (or anything else really) is cooked too hot either too quickly or too long. The principle is probably to cook and heat more gradually or slowly and this applies indoors or outdoors. I've heard of treating and curing cast iron cookware but not stainless...

 

[forrestdweller]

No, but make sure the inside is completely clean. Some of the black burnt stuff can be difficult to get off, but that's where food will stick again if it's going to.

i once managed to burn some rice in my billy, too -- boiling saltwater for maybe 5- 10min made cleaning much easier....

 

[bilmo-p5]

Yes, boiling bicarbonate of soda helps too.

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[Fraxinus]

Vim.
Makes the most stubborn of things removable from stainless kit, inexpensive too.
As said above too much heat is the cause usually. It takes a few attempts sometimes to get it right, you can use three tent pegs to hold the pot higher up off the flame if the stove you are using lacks controllability like a meths stove (burnt several portions of baked beans before figuring that one out )
Rob.

 

[Tonyuk]

Too much heat focused on the bottom and not spreading out. One of the issues with stainless cookware is that it doesn't spread the heat evenly, like decent quality aluminium, should be solved with a bigger stove and stirring frequently.

Tonyuk

 

[Gaudette]

Toddy gave me a tip several years ago. Buy a silicone cooking sheet from the £1 shop cut out a circle to fit your billy can drop it inside job done. You can use it more than once.


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[Quixoticgeek]

My honest response would be, give your zebra a damn good clean, then stick it on the classified section and buy a Tatonka billy instead. They are wider, so you have less of an issue with the top not getting warm enough. They are Also lighter, the lid can be used as a pan or plate, and they also nest without modification. I know uncle ray uses a zebra, and thus everyone thinks they are the best, but do consider the Tatonka. You can even bake bread[/thread] in one[1].

Regardless of which pot you get, you're likely to burn things if you don't stir them, esp on a gas cooker with a narrow flame.

J

[1] Yes I know you can do that in a zebra, I am saying you can also do it in a Tatonka pans.

 

[Leshy]

+1 for the tatonka...

 

[Fraxinus]

Zebra's are more versatile though and less expensive.
You get a pan that doubles as a plate/bowl, the lid fits nicely so you can use it as a saucepan and the main pot is multifunctional if you take a bit of time to learn the kit.
I have a Swedish army stainless cook system, people love them or hate them, but after a few trials I think I have it sorted. One needs to learn about the kit you take with you to make it work to suit.

Rob.

 

[woof]

Zebra for me, i have the tatonka, but just don't like it, before the zebra i used a tea caddy billy, the style just seems to suit me.

Rob

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Zebra's are more versatile though and less expensive.
You get a pan that doubles as a plate/bowl, the lid fits nicely so you can use it as a saucepan and the main pot is multifunctional if you take a bit of time to learn the kit.

I'm not so sure one is any more versatile than the other. With the tatonka you have a lid that can double as a plate/bowl/frying pan, just as you can with the insert of the zebra. With the zebra you get the lid, but it only functions as a lid, it doesn't have any secondary purpose. Then you have to remember to remove the plastic bits before putting it over the fire... and you have to modify the handles if you want to nest one inside the other... and they are tall which means you can burn the stuff at the bottom, while not heating the stuff at the top... and so on and so forth...

I have a Swedish army stainless cook system, people love them or hate them, but after a few trials I think I have it sorted. One needs to learn about the kit you take with you to make it work to suit.

Agreed on learning the kit you take.

Zebra for me, i have the tatonka, but just don't like it, before the zebra i used a tea caddy billy, the style just seems to suit me.

Rob

Each unto their own, not everyone gets on with the same kit.

J

 

[Fraxinus]

The Zebra lid makes the plate/bowl a saucepan and also doubles as a shallow bowl while preparing ingredients, very useful.
The plastic bits can be swapped out for metal versions but these are really only useful if using as an oven and laid on it's side.
It has to be mentioned that the plastic clips were designed for the original use of the Zebra billy as a lunch pail to stop contents spilling out during transport.
The fact that it has found favour over the years amongst the bushcraft community (Uncle Ray included) is because it works.

Rob.

 

[Toddy]

The silicon sheet cut to fit really does work too. You can do a brilliant fry up in a thin pan with them, and it doesn't stick
Excellent when used inside the bottom of an inner billy when baking as well; bannock comes out as clean as a whistle. It also lets you make things like flat bread, oatcakes and potato scones in a plain stainless steel or aluminium pan, with no bother about them sticking or burning onto the pot.
Excellent if you want to make a 'toastie' or roasted cheese piece.

M

 

[KenThis]

Personally I think it depends on what you're cooking.
I like to use my zebra for adding stuff to boiling water. Pasta and rice and things, boil water first add what needs to be cooked and then keep stirring if there's a liklihood of sticking.
For making soups, stews or where you want to fry anything off before adding water I do prefer a wider pan.
In general I like the 14cm zebra lunch box pan but would also usually take a little billy too as they are bombprrof for fire cooking.
Been looking at the tatonka 1.6l as an addition to my mountain of underused kit.
I'm addicted to shiny things.

 

[Nice65]

It's all been said already, but lightweight cook pans don't have thick metal bases for spreading heat. Coupled with a small but powerful burner, there will be a hot spot that can cause burning.

The best advice for rice or pasta is as above, and what you'd do at home, get a rolling boil going and add it. Then turn the heat down and stir every few minutes. I'm a cheater, I take the ready cooked sachets of rice and pour them in. But I also use a wider burner head for cooking anything other than water.