The 2 turkey bag techniques described on this thread are variations on
the Principle that Phil Phood only needs re-hydration, not
boiling/simmering, etc. to become ready to eat. In our crew vernacular,
PRINCIPLES are something virtually everyone can agree upon; TECHNIQUES
are subject to debate and opinion.
The back country cooking technique popularized of late calls for the use
of durable plastic bags designed to contain hot food items without
damage. To employ the technique, one must purchase these bags
beforehand and bring enough to last the duration of one's trek. They
cost and weigh little and take up virtually no space.
Our crew employs an alternative technique that does not require the
additional purchase of any bags and ensures that there will always be
enough because one uses the bags the food comes in.
Our crew technique uses the bags the food comes in to accomplish the
re-hydration rather than bringing the turkey bags. Between 6 bags per
meal (assuming a 12-man crew), there is more than enough capacity to
re-hydrate the foods. Some ingredients will bulk up more than others
and we used the large bags for bulkier items and the small bags for the
smaller portion things, like beans.
Our technique avoids putting any food-contained bag into any pots at
all. We use medium sized rocks arranged into little corrals to keep the
bag from spreading or tipping, although we also used logs, etc to do the
same thing.
Our ranger preferred our technique to the Turkey Bag system in that it
had no "buts" to it. I mean, you don't have to say "It works well,
but..." There is no additional trash to carry out. There are no
additional items to purchase, remember to pack and carry, there are no
holes in bags to get pots dirty. One pot is used exclusively to boil
water and the only thing that goes into the water is the cup to draw it
out. With practice and planning, one pot is enough to boil enough water
for coffee, the meal itself and enough water left over to make warm
rinse water for clean-up.
Please note that the Principle of Re-hydration is constant. The
Technique being discussed is "Turkey Bag" or "Bag the food came in" to
accomplish the re-hydration. There is little debate that using either
technique will save water, pushes faster clean-up and promotes
whole-meal consumption. The Turkey bag technique simply has more "buts"
then our alternative.
If you want a more detailed version of the Crew 506 re-hydration
technique, e-mail me so we don't waste the time of people who want to
discuss more important things.
Dave Parmly
Knoxville, TN
RLTW!
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Received on Wed Jul 6 07:24:07 2005
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