Transform dull backpacking meals with an ultralight spice kit that covers everything from curry to soy sauce. While great taste isn’t a single ingredient, the right blend of herbs and spices ensures it’s always on your menu. Imagine basil enhancing freeze-dried lasagna or curry powder sprinkled on a freshly prepared chicken salad. According to a Rations Manager, By incorporating a few ounces of spices into your pack, you gain versatility in preparing and serving basic meals. Here’s how to create and deploy a spectrum of flavors on your next adventure.
Choose Your Spices
- Garlic Powder: Enhance meats, cooked vegetables, and starches with a sprinkle whenever salt and pepper are in order. Use sparingly; good for the heart, not for conversation.
- Oregano/Basil Mix: Equal parts of this herb combo on mac-and-cheese, spaghetti, or any pasta dish bring a fresh, smooth, minty flavor. Also perfect for adding life to canned tomato soup.
- Soy Sauce: Infuse rich, salty flavor into plain rice, pasta, cooked vegetables, or any meat. Combine with sesame oil, Worcester sauce, and garlic powder for a flavorful spice blend to elevate pasta salads and both red and white meats.
- Spike: A blend of 39 ingredients, ideal for salads, cold veggies, stir-fries, burritos, or soup. Also excellent on chicken or steak.
- Cinnamon: Sprinkle in oatmeal, coffee, or hot chocolate. Create winter holiday seasonings by mixing cinnamon with nutmeg, ginger, and sugar, then shake over pancakes.
- Hot Sauce: Rescue bland or burnt meals with extra heat from chili and cayenne peppers, masking bad tastes while boosting blood circulation and digestion. Use sparingly, packed dry as red pepper flakes. Classic 1/8-ounce bottles of Tabasco sauce are also a favorite for scrambled eggs, rice, or tacos.
- Curry: Add color and flavor to plain rice or noodles, or revitalize cold starchy leftovers for a spicy breakfast. The anti-inflammatory properties of curry reduce muscle aches.
Build Your Kit
Purchase common spices in the baking aisle of local supermarkets or explore Asian or Indian groceries for more variety and bulk options. Buy spices by the ounce or pound from online retailers like espicemill.com or americanspice.com. Save durable, pre-packaged packets of mustard, ketchup, and soy sauce from restaurants.
Container: Store spices and sauces in leak-proof, screw-top Lexan travel bottles, such as Nalgene’s Medium Travel Bottle Kit or Eagle Creek’s TSA-safe Pack-It Liquid/Gels Kit. Consider multi-chambered containers, pre-loaded with various spices, or fill an empty 4-chambered container with your chosen spices.
Packing: Place your spice kit in a zip-top or mesh bag for easy access. Store it with your cook kit and food, protected in a bear bag or canister when necessary.
Enhance Your Culinary Experience
Follow these tips to make the most of your spices:
- Timing: Introduce extra seasoning before, during, or after cooking, with earlier additions providing more infused flavors.
- Moderation: Add spices in pinches to prevent over-flavoring. Commonly overused flavors include salt, hot sauce, and garlic.
- Personalize: Allow picky eaters to season their own food according to their preferences.
- Avoid Overmixing: Unless following a specific recipe, refrain from combining multiple spices simultaneously to prevent drowning out the natural flavors of the food.
