Pemmican

[Rabbitsmacker]

did anyone see the ben fogle program the other night? 'secrets of scotts shed' or something, very good, they discussed the lack of heating/lighting/cooking fuels as the most likely man made reason for the deaths, the climatic issues exposed the weakness in equipment by delaying them beyond their supplies limits. leaking of fuel via leather gaskets on the fuel bottles.
really enjoyed it, but it did show the segregation/intergration aspects of the different expeditions of the time. it probably did contribute in a morale type way, they also discussed the cook but don't remember much about the diet being discussed, might have to watch it again in case i missed that bit.

 

[rik_uk3]

The diet in the hut was very good, I've got a list somewhere of all the food taken, the range was, for the time, as good as it gets. Canned fish, game, chickens, beef, veal, tongue, tripe & onions etc, several hundred POUNDS of tobacco and the same in butter. They picked up fresh lamb in New Zealand which of course got frozen for later use. Try and get the Book I linked, it really does put Scott in a new light, he was not the despot leader some authors would have you believe. If you look online at pictures of the Scott trip you will notice that many of the pictures were setup to show things like Colemans Mustard or Heinz Baked Beans etc.......sponsorship ain't new.

Sleeping bag design was not the best, the fur trapped moisture and the bags doubled in weight over time but items like the close weave Burberry cloth anoraks performed well in the dry cold conditions.

You can view some of Scott's diary online via the British Library here
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/virtualbooks/index.html#

 

[Wayland]

I've been looking into the idea of Pemmican a bit lately with an eye on supplementing my rations on next years Arctic course.

I want something I can put together in a billy after a trip to a supermarket over in Norway so I don't have to fly with it and the maximum it will have to last for is two weeks in cold conditions.

I was aiming to use butter as the principle fat content. There are various options available to provide carb. content but so far the main problem seems to be what to use to provide protein without a ready supply of dried meat?

 

[Husky]

A suitable salami is good raw or cocked, cold or hot and is what I often carry as a snack and/or ration supplement.
As mentioned, peanut butter is a good source of energy.
Won't you get fed on the arctic course?

 

[Toddy]

Protein's easy, if you think vegetarian instead of meat.
Tofu is the easiest way but dried tvp is very quick to cook, lightweight and versatile.

Whether Norwegian stores will carry those though
I think if I were a meat eater I'd be looking at the dried fish and salami options.
Both can be eaten as is, but both can be cooked in hot meals too.

You could just take tablet ...butter, sugar, milk

atb,
M

 

[Wayland]

A suitable salami is good raw or cocked, cold or hot and is what I often carry as a snack and/or ration supplement.
As mentioned, peanut butter is a good source of energy.
Won't you get fed on the arctic course?

It's self catering and most people are likely to go communal, I have problems with quite a few popular foods so I usually like to have a back up option if I cannot eat what has been prepared.

Protein's easy, if you think vegetarian instead of meat.
Tofu is the easiest way but dried tvp is very quick to cook, lightweight and versatile.

Whether Norwegian stores will carry those though
I think if I were a meat eater I'd be looking at the dried fish and salami options.
Both can be eaten as is, but both can be cooked in hot meals too.

You could just take tablet ...butter, sugar, milk

atb,
M

Salami is very high on my list of options, it also has a good fat content as well.

Hadn't considered TVP might have to look into that.

Tablet, fudge and flapjack are all on my list as well, especially if I can find a flapjack recipe that I can cook in a pan.

 

[Melonfish]

It's self catering and most people are likely to go communal, I have problems with quite a few popular foods so I usually like to have a back up option if I cannot eat what has been prepared.



Salami is very high on my list of options, it also has a good fat content as well.

Hadn't considered TVP might have to look into that.

Tablet, fudge and flapjack are all on my list as well, especially if I can find a flapjack recipe that I can cook in a pan.

you sort of can, have you seen oat pancakes?
basically you soak oats in water overnight, next morning you can use the oat/water mix to make a type of pancake straight in a pan. perhpas you could do something similar for flapjacks? you could them mix the wet oats with the main ingredients and do it in say a zebra plate/lid in the embers?
hmm worth a go that actually

 

[rik_uk3]

Wayland, don't forget the peanut butter, its LOADED with fat. I would have thought you could buy pemmican in Norway? Its grim stuff mate IMHO Take curry powder, lots of curry powder, better still get some Norwegian army rat packs out there.

 

[Husky]

I would have thought you could buy pemmican in Norway?

Actually when the norwegians did a dogsled expedition to follow Roald Amundsen’s route to the South Pole in 1986, one of the problems was to recreate pemmican. Even they had forgotten how it was originally made.

 

[Andy BB]

Hmm - oat pancakes - sounds tempting with a bit of honey!

I remember seeing a chef saying that porridge oats are best prepared by leaving the oats to soak in water for a half-hour or so before cooking - anyone know if my memory is correct, or just playing tricks on me again!

 

[Melonfish]

Wayland, don't forget the peanut butter, its LOADED with fat. I would have thought you could buy pemmican in Norway? Its grim stuff mate IMHO Take curry powder, lots of curry powder, better still get some Norwegian army rat packs out there.

+1 on the norgie rat packs, those things are TASTY! Mmmm!
had a chance to sample Norwegian, Swedish and german rats in 2006, bit airsoft shoot. there were more yank MRE's then you could shake a stick at for that weekend too, they pale in comparison to the norgie and swede ones.

 

[Totumpole]

Interesting debate here. :swordfigh

With regards to vitamin C Ive got rosehip powder the mrs bought from a health food shop, not tried it yet - anyone got any experiences?

Ive been making my own Jerky/biltong for a few years now, might try my own pemmican sometime. If it really keeps that long it could be a good emergency ration like the yummy tallow candles. Thanks for the links!

 

[Wayland]

Wayland, don't forget the peanut butter, its LOADED with fat. I would have thought you could buy pemmican in Norway? Its grim stuff mate IMHO Take curry powder, lots of curry powder, better still get some Norwegian army rat packs out there.

Unfortunately peanut butter is one of the things I cannot eat, not allergic or anything just can't stand the taste.

I started off by thinking about how to make ordinary butter more palatable and remembered being given butter and sugar for a sore throat when I was a kid. I loved the stuff, it was almost worth having a sore throat just to be dosed with it.

So I melted some butter and stirred in lots of sugar, some dried fruit and a bit of mixed spice and the result was quite tasty. More importantly it was still edible when frozen.

Only thing missing was protein so I thought about the salami that is easily available out there which seems to be the best option so far. Needs to be defrosted but pretty tasty.

Combined with as much milk chocolate as I can get in the duty free on the way out and it should do the job of replacing a few meals when needed.

 

[Toddy]

I'm told that chocolate elsewhere is dire might be worth taking some from home ?

cheers,
M

 

[rik_uk3]

You could make up some mint cake Wayland, easier to eat if frozen than chocolate perhaps.

http://www.kendalmintcake.net/recipe.htm

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Peanut butter, butter, salami, I can feel my arteries harden just reading it.........interesting thread though.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

I'm told that chocolate elsewhere is dire might be worth taking some from home ?

cheers,
M

Dire, Toddy ?.......you..can't beat Cadbury's I know, but what one eats in the UK would not be called chocolat in France, Belguim or Switzerland.........a question of taste & what one's used to no doubt, ......I'm a real philistine, as I prefer white chocolate, which technically, isn't chocolat at all.

 

[Toddy]

Sorry but Cadbury's doesn't appeal to me much tbh. I do like Lindt and black, black Maya Gold though Occasionally I take a notion to Galaxy but generally black is more to my taste.

I have a friend who travels from one end of Europe to the other with his job, he says that most foreign chocolate tastes like Scotbloc that's why I commented. I do know the Ikea stuff's not something I'd go out of my way to eat.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Wayland]

I have quite a taste for the Lindt with sea salt at the moment or Marmite chocolate when I can get it but from a nutritional point of view, milk chocolate seems to tick more boxes in a cold environment.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

You've got me craving now, fortunatly I've some in the cupboard.