Water way to cook and boil

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Hogan

Tenderfoot
Jun 10, 2004
53
0
67
Scotland
Survival scenario. I've carried my water in my condom shoved in a sock back to camp. Have had the luck to still have firesteel and knife, so have healthy fire going, shelter made from available materials. Fish caught on hook & line from survival tin.

Only thing is, no cookware. No saucepans, mess kits or anything like that would fit in survival tin.

Question: How do I boil the water to make sure it's safe to drink? and what do I cook in (assuming I have no desire to eat raw fish).

Over to you......
 

Hjaltlander

Life Member
Feb 4, 2004
72
2
57
Shetland Isles
Not sure about boiling the water, would need to think about that...

The fish though, you could eat raw e.g Sashimi (my choice, yummy!)

Or wrap in large leaves, and cover in clay and place on edge of fire to steam, then break open and voila!

Or skewer fish on a stick and cook over fire.

Hjaltlander
:chill:
 

Adi007

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 3, 2003
4,080
0
I've boiled water in hides or containers made of birch bark by adding hot stones to it.
 

Martyn

Bushcrafter through and through
Aug 7, 2003
5,252
33
58
staffordshire
www.britishblades.com
Like adi says, hot stones. This is how our ancestors used to boil water before heatproof saucepans were available. Just fashion a waterproof container from wood, bark or whatever you can and drop in a few hot rocks.
 

Ed

Admin
Admin
Aug 27, 2003
5,973
37
51
South Wales Valleys
and what do I cook in (assuming I have no desire to eat raw fish).
You don't really need anything to cook in.... you just have to adapt your methods... ie roots can be roasted directly in/on coals, rabbit can be made into a kebab, and as Hjaltlander mentioned above, use large leaves to wrap things in and cover with hot coals for a primitive 'leaf' oven ;-)

Ed
 

Hogan

Tenderfoot
Jun 10, 2004
53
0
67
Scotland
Adi007 said:
I've boiled water in hides or containers made of birch bark by adding hot stones to it.

This I've got to try.

Just goes to show what lateral thinking can do... :biggthump

Birch bark containers... How are these made?

Do this actually bring the water to the boil, or just heat it? . Would it be sufficient to purify the water for drinking?
 

Ed

Admin
Admin
Aug 27, 2003
5,973
37
51
South Wales Valleys
Birch bark containers... How are these made?
Soak the bark, and fold it into a box/container shape..... use natural cordage to sew any bits together as needed (ie to hold the corners in place for a box shape). Wildwood Wisdom by Ellsworth Jaeger has a whole chapter dedicated to barkcraft, well worth reading.

:)
Ed
 

Hogan

Tenderfoot
Jun 10, 2004
53
0
67
Scotland
:biggthump Many thanks.

and to quote Columbo... "eh, just one more thing..."

Can you sustain the boiling process to the point where the water is safe to drink, i.e. 5 mins or so?

Thanks again
 

Tony

White bear (Admin)
Admin
Apr 16, 2003
24,176
1
1,932
53
Wales
www.bushcraftuk.com
To purify the water you don't need to keep it boiling, you just need to get it to the boil. So that should cut down on the amount of stones you were thinking of :wink:
 

SquirrelBoy

Nomad
Feb 1, 2004
324
0
UK
Hogan said:
Survival scenario. I've carried my water in my condom shoved in a sock back to camp. Have had the luck to still have firesteel and knife, so have healthy fire going, shelter made from available materials. Fish caught on hook & line from survival tin.

Id use the survival tin you got the hook and line from :wink: :eek:):
 

TheViking

Native
Jun 3, 2004
1,864
4
35
.
Hi...

I wouldn't waste a fish, boiling it! :wink: I would roast it or bake it in leaves, as mentioned before. :biggthump But if I must boil some water, i'd use the rock boiling method as Adi mentioned. :wink:
 

ChrisKavanaugh

Need to contact Admin...
Leans over my hiking staff with a Yoda-esq look of bemusement. I pull my BCB tobacco tin out and extract a folded square of heavy guage cooking aluminium. Folding it into a simple box ( you want origami? go see my screen progenitor Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid) I have a container that with care ( don't let it scorch and burn through) will boil water over a fire. Now, impatient we are young bushwalker, but wait. Heavy responsibility uluminum is, shiny,yes. But, beware THE DARK SIDE! ALuminum for some reason is tasty to bush creatures and they will eat it. Then the stomach lining is irritated and swells intestines shut. Animal dies a slow, agonising death. Aluminium found in bush, always collect. Now go, master must rest. Your MREs, good they are.
 

Keith_Beef

Native
Sep 9, 2003
1,366
268
55
Yvelines, north-west of Paris, France.
Hogan said:
Survival scenario. I've carried my water in my condom shoved in a sock back to camp. Have had the luck to still have firesteel and knife, so have healthy fire going, shelter made from available materials. Fish caught on hook & line from survival tin.

Only thing is, no cookware. No saucepans, mess kits or anything like that would fit in survival tin.

Question: How do I boil the water to make sure it's safe to drink? and what do I cook in (assuming I have no desire to eat raw fish).

Over to you......

Fashion a pot from clay that you dig from the earth, or use hot stones, as others have explained (Steinbier is made like this).

Chris mentions carrying aluminium foil in your survival tin. I think that stainless steel foil is more resilient.


Kobayashi Maru approach.

How big is a survival tin? I've seen people mention Altoids and Fisherman's Friends....

When I was in the Scouts, we put together some survival tins of different sizes. Some had first aid kit, fire kit, navigation and signalling in a single tin. A cigar tin is bigger than a Fisherman's Friend tin, sure, but still manageable. I mean the oval tins that tobacconists have on the shelf, with 24 or more cigars in them. There are probably several different sizes, so maybe you could find one just big enough to serve as a small billy can, as well as container for kit.

As for cooking the fish, you can take green twigs and make a sort of racket that holds the fish, and makes it easy to turn so both sides cook. If you try to skewer it, it risks falling apart as the flesh cooks and softens.

Keith.
 

ditchfield

Nomad
Nov 1, 2003
305
0
36
Somerset
Rig up wooden stand and hang full condom over fire with neck open. It will not melt unless you let the water boil dry. Not the most sturdy method though.
 

Adi007

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Sep 3, 2003
4,080
0
ditchfield said:
Rig up wooden stand and hang full condom over fire with neck open. It will not melt unless you let the water boil dry. Not the most sturdy method though.
Have you tried that?
 
T

theorsmeister

Guest
It is not infact true that purifying simply requires bring to the boil.

You should infact boil the water for as long as possible, but after ten minutes there are no microorganisms left to kill. So atleast ten and add an extra minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level, as water boils at a lower temperature higher up.

If you cannot afford the time and effort, boil for as long as possible, bringing it to the boil will still kill most microorganisms, but it will not be completely safe.

Use this as a guide, I believe to be true, but do not hold me responsible for anything that may go wrong.
 

Goose

Need to contact Admin...
Aug 5, 2004
1,797
21
56
Widnes
www.mpowerservices.co.uk
To the best of my knowledge, everything is killed before the water actually boils, boiling confirms you have passed that temperature, and the minute or so before you reach a boil and time as it cools is long enough for water to be sterilised. Some advice depends when and where information is gleaned from, if I was miles from help, and imodium, I would boil for as long as was practicable but it is "belt and braces".

Never tried boiling water in a condom but have tried using a paper bag, but the water based glue melted..... :eek:
 

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