[pct-l] cold soaking food containers

[Jim & Jane Moody]

Finally!  A topic I know something about.  



Last year I started going stoveless, to save weight and time and avoid an unintended forest fire.  I use clear plastic Nalgene containers (cylindrical), the 125 ml and 250 ml sizes.  They weigh 50 gm and 65 gm respectively.  They're p uncture-proof and leak-proof, unless you put in something that fizzes , building up pressure.  Then you're on your own. 



I would put my dry food in a container in the AM, add water (and sometimes olive oil) and stir, hike till lunch, then eat.  I'd repeat then for the dinner meal.  As best I could, I would clean it out after each meal with water (slosh it around, then drink it).  If I got worried about bacteria after 2 or 3 days, I'd squirt in a little alcohol handcleaner, add a dab of water to ensure the gel got distributed all around, shake well, empty, rinse again with water and let air out so the alcohol can dissi pate. 


When in town, I'd clean the containers thoroughly with soap and hot water; I also packed a small toothbrush to get the screw threads clean . 



I eat a lot of peanut butter, made from dried, ground peanuts, to which I added honey crystals, Nido, and coconut milk powder.  I would mix up the peanut mixture at home and send a ziplock full in each resupply box.  It took a while to learn how much water to add in the morning, but runny peanut butter is still tasty . 



My main dried meals included a variety of freeze- dried meats, veggies, and cheese, to which I would add a carb bought on the trail.  I found that instant potatoes, cous-cous, and dehydrated bean mixes rehydrated the quickest and most thoroughly.  I had worse luck with instant rice and pasta. 



This isn't exactly on topic, but I tried to stop for dinner at a water source or at least a site with a view.  After dinner I could clean up, rinse out smelly containers, stow garbage in trash ziplock, and hike an hour or three to a campsite.  That way I was minimizing food smells where I was sleeping. 



Good luck.  You'll do fine. 



Mango 


----- Original Message -----


From: "Carrie Jilek" <fancyjilek at gmail.com> 
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Friday, March 8, 2013 9:30:10 PM 
Subject: [pct-l] cold soaking food containers 

Hey everybody. I plan on cold soaking all my meals and don't think it will 
be possible to reuse some of the bags I vacuum seal with to cold soak in as 
well. Does anybody have any experience with this? Did you use another 
separate container or bag? If possible, when not in bear country I'd like 
to attach my cold soaking system to the outside of my pack to heat up the 
contents! Any thoughts? 

Also when vacuum sealing I've had some difficulty with the contents 
puncturing the Sealsaver bags. The manufacturer suggests you use a paper 
towel lessen the contact of the dehydrated food on the bag, but I'd like to 
avoid any extras if possible. 

thanks, and cheers! 
Carrie 
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