Camp Cuisine – A practical guide

First Up, X-Products.

One point which has come up since we wrote that original post: many end-users have asked us whether the Delta Spork or the Delta Cutlery Set will break. The answer is that this cutlery is made of a glass-reinforced material, which is much stronger and more temperature stable than the plastics used in similar products. In normal use, you can regard them as unbreakable.

None of the above is rocket science, but it all involves getting one item to perform several functions, which is the key to staying comfortable while keeping your load light. In keeping with this, learning to cook with just a single pot is an important weight-saving skill. But – how to prepare several different ingredients, which may exceed one pot in volume if you only have one pot?

One answer is to use your plates/bowls to keep food warm while a second part of the meal cooks. Pour boiling water into a larger plate or bowl – for instance, the  Delta Plate or Bowl or XL-Bowl (it won’t hurt it – the melting point of the molded material is well above the temperature of boiling water), and set a Delta Bowl inside this. Put the ingredients to be kept warm in this second bowl and cover them (this is particularly easy if you use the Delta Bowl with Lid) – they’ll stay hot while you prepare the rest of the meal using your cookpot.

You will also find that the X-Pots are particularly easy to cook with. Their lightweight aluminum bases spread heat much better than titanium cookware, and the shape of the pot gives you plenty of room to simmer and stir. Having a clear lid means you can see when water is boiling without needing to lift the lid, and all X-Pots have a strain/pour facility built in.

Picture this: the end of a long backpacking day. You organize your camp kitchen and use the base of your X-Bowl to chop some mushrooms and peppers, then shave some fresh Parmesan cheese. Fire up your stove and bring water to the boil in your X-Pot/Kettle, then pour some of that boiling water into your XL-Bowl which – with the addition of the X-Bowl – will be warming some flatbread while the veggies go into the boiling water followed by some couscous. Stir, simmer, and leave for five minutes before straining off any excess water and spooning the couscous into the X-Bowl and XL-Bowl for you and your hiking partner. Add Parmesan, hot sauce to taste, then toast each other’s health with a beverage of your choice poured into your X-Mugs. Less than 10 minutes from start to finish and absolutely delicious...

Of course, if you really want to keep cooking simple, you can always just use freeze-dried meals: boil some water, tear open the packet, add the water and stir. Some of these meals aren’t bad – but all of them are much easier to eat if you remembered to bring along your AlphaLight Long Spoon or Spork.

Cooking requires water, and the best way to transport this and dispense it while in camp is to use a Pack Tap or Watercell X. You can hang them just about anywhere (they have multiple lash points), and the built-in spigots make dispensing water simple.

If you are using a gas cartridge stove in the colder months of the year, you will need to keep the cartridge warm so the liquefied propane/butane will turn to gas. Making a koozie out of foam and putting a chemical hand warmer into the koozie underneath the canister will help.