Chapter 33

Camp Cooking and Grub Lists

It is difficult to state just what any party should carry into the woods for a fishing, hunting or camping trip. Camper’s tastes vary, so there must be some leeway as far as grub lists are concerned, and the method of transportation must also be taken into consideration. Naturally, if you are on a canoe or hiking trip far from grocery stores, you must plan your grub list accordingly, making it light in weight and as compact as possible. On the other hand, if you travel right to your camp door in your auto, you can take along a larger variety of foodstuffs and forget the matter of weight and bulk.

I wish to have it understood that the following suggestions, grub lists and recipes are subject to individual correction. When you look at a list of food to be taken on a trip, eliminate the items which you don’t like and substitute other food materials of equal weight. For instance, if you like coffee and not tea, don’t take the tea along just because it is on the grub list.

May I suggest that you pack food supplies carefully before leaving for camp. Pack items, such as flour, bacon, salt pork, sugar, oatmeal, rice, beans and cornmeal, in small bags of medium-weight cloth that are equipped with puckering strings. The individual bags should then be placed in slightly larger bags that are waterproofed. The bags may be tagged so that they may easily be identified.

The use of dehydrated foods for camping use is rapidly becoming more popular. Dehydrated vegetables are vegetables with all moisture content removed — they crackle and break in your hand.

Such vegetables as beets, carrots, potatoes, onions, turnips, beans and tomatoes are easy to carry in such a concentrated form. Many of the small packages weigh only 1 3/4 ounces yet the contents will be found sufficient to make several servings. Such vegetables, being in concentrated form, require no refrigeration.

On overnight trips, don’t load yourself down.

If you go on overnight trips away from your main camp, don’t load yourself down with grub. If there are two in the party, take some sandwiches, 1 package Dehydrated Potatoes, 1 package prepared Pancake Flour, I can Evaporated Milk, 1 pound Bacon, 1/4 pound Brown Sugar, a handful of Coffee, 4 Tea Bags, 8 lumps Sugar, 1/4 pound Butter and 4 Doughnuts. This is enough grub for four meals.

Carry a combination salt and pepper shaker, a folding handle frying pan, a two-quart pail, 2 knives, 2 forks, 2 spoons, 2 plates and 2 cups. Put all food and cooking and eating utensils in a small knapsack. The total weight of knapsack, cooking and eating utensils and food supplies is less than nine pounds. By using two knapsacks and dividing the load you can hunt or fish, going and coming. If hunting, cover knapsack with red handkerchief.

If you are going hunting, fishing or camping and you want to cook as little as possible, the following grub list will serve your purpose. It is just about right for a party of two adults for six or seven days. It is for those campers who have an opportunity to easily transport their supplies to camp.

4 Loaves Bread

1 Can Tomatoes

2 Cans Baked Beans

4 Ounces Salt

2 Cans of Corned Beef Hash

4 Ounces Soda

1 Lb. Coffee

2 Lbs. Salt Pork

1/4 Lb. Tea

4x4-oz. cans Dehydrated Potatoes

2 Lbs. Sugar

1 Can Peaches

1 Bottle Pancake Syrup

1 Lb. Butter

2 Packages Prepared Pancake Flour

1 Small Can Pepper

3 Cans Evaporated Milk

1 Small Bottle Vinegar

3 Lbs. Flour

1 Small Jar Mustard

3 Lbs. Bacon

1 Dozen Doughnuts

1 Doz. Fresh Eggs

1 Lb. Cookies

1 Can Corn

The above grub list may be changed to suit your particular requirements. For instance, some campers make pancake syrup from brown sugar or from cakes of maple sugar.

The flour will be found useful for preparing gravy and for cooking fish. If you plan to be away from camp at lunch time each day, add at least two loaves of bread to the above grub list. Add meat to this list to suit your requirements.

Apples, oranges and other fresh fruit always go well in camp.

BILL GORMAN > Today you could condense all the food L.L. lists for an overnight trip into two packages. You don’t need things like flour, sugar, and butter because they are already in the prepared, dehydrated dinners. You just add water.