Speakin' o' cookin'

[littlebillie]

The troop in which my son maintains membership and that I support (is that right?) is doing more and more plastic bag and foil cooking - and then, of course, throwing out the 'cookware'. Half of the boys forget their messkits, but not to worry - we have plenty of paper plates and plastic utensils!

 

When I was a Scout, this kind of thing was just not done - heck, even our potatoes baked off to the side of or under the fire, and to this day I do enjoy a little burnt potato skin. If water was in short supply, we scoured with sand. etc.

 

So my question is, is this just somekind of local aberration, or is there some shift in philosophy that I just haven't caught up with yet? I really hate to have the kids model disposable culture on a camp-out...

 

 

[Fat Old Guy]

By taking the paper plates and such, you are "enabling" the Scouts, as the pop psychologists would say. There is no negative side to not bringing their gear.

 

The rest is laziness and is widespread in society. Look at the parents who buy "Lunchables" for their kids to take to school and delude themselves that they are buy a good meal for their kids.

[Bob White]

foil cooking has been in the scouting program for decades hasn't it? I know alot of serious backpackers that vacuum seal their own meals to, pack food more efficiently, reduce the need to pack addition cook gear, and to ease cleanup. I see nothing wrong with that, do you?

 

Bob White

[SR540Beaver]

I think it should be regulated to some degree. When time and space might be at a premium, disposable cooking bags should be acceptable. Cooking the old fashioned way needs to be taught and learned and used the majority of the time though. My son and I went camping on vacation this summer. Since we camp the old fashioned way....a tent instead of an RV, we couldn't pop a bag of popcorn in a microwave. We fired up the old coleman stove, poured some oil in a pan and popped the corn. Washed the pot after we were done. We sit by the campfire and ate it instead of watching a video tape on a color TV under an air condtioner. It was some of the best popcorn we've ever shared. That being said, I'm one of those people who find setting up camp for one night a waste of my time. It isn't worth the hassle to put a tent up, roll out the bags, set up the stove, dirty the dishes, etc. one evening and then pack it all up the next morning. It has to be at least two nights to make it worth my while. If I were only going to be there one night, I'd opt for quick and easy disposable bags for cooking in the fire.(This message has been edited by kwc57)

[buffalo2]

Always some variety...

And thats a good thing!

[OldGreyEagle]

Well, as they (and I am not quite sure who they is)say, Moderation in all things. I dont like the idea of always having paper plates and cups around, when the Crew camps. its personal mess kits all around as we try to follow Leave No Trace (One of our female crew members taught LNT at summercamp)as close as we can. Paper products are a definite problem there.

 

In the troop its another story, paper proudcts abound, and to see the amount of garbage generated would make the Grinch cringe. A lot of the mess can be avoided in preparation, but even there you have to be careful. I remember trying to explain that to pass the cooking requirements of preparing a meal you just cant break open a MRE package even if you use the heater (was I wrong?) Speakig of MRE's they weer quite popular for a few campouts until the scoutmaster outlawed them (pre boy lead of course) as he didnt think cooking skills were enhanced by MREs

 

Cooking is the biggest test of adults standing back, after all, its their food too!

[Bob White]

It would be funny if the same "leaders" who want the scouts to be able to play laser tag didn't want them to prep food at home and make retort pouches or cook with tin foil.

 

Bob White

[red feather]

Paperware and disposable cooking pouches, etc. are not an issue here. We just do not do it, has been that way for 10 yrs or so.

 

If a scout 'forgets' to bring what is needed to eat, he usually gets my frisbee and a fork to eat with. Hopefully his patrol is cooking something that is compatible with that. Often his patrol ponies up enough things for the scout to eat with tho. That means that the borrowing scout has to do extra on clean up. Forgetfullness drops off dramatically then.

 

Cooking is a challenge event for our patrols, each overnight the patrols compete for the coveted Golden Skillet. This is awarded by the SPL and or the ASPL who monitors the cooking preperations, by taste tests, and patrol methods. Competition can get quite intense. At times a patrol will challenge the adults, that can be a hoot.

 

Cast iron, utensiless, survival cooking is the norm for us. The boys enjoy it and do not know there is any other way to do it.

 

yis

[Bob White]

So if I just leave my utensils at home and don't go through the time and planning nad expense of buying food I can get everything I need from others just by washing some dishes? COOL!

[Fat Old Guy]

"It would be funny if the same "leaders" who want the scouts to be able to play laser tag didn't want them to prep food at home and make retort pouches or cook with tin foil. "

 

Ah, yet another slam at Scouters who disagree with BSA policy followed by a comment that makes no sense.

 

 

[Eamonn]

Cooking is and ought to be fun.

Cooking away from home away from watchful eyes can be wonderful.

Foil cooking is good, as each "Chef" can make his packet his way. The foil can be washed and packed out.

Making a good stew in one of them Roasting bags, works and when your done you have your washing up water or the water for your tea ready to go.

Scouts like to do things with food at camp that they can't do at home. Cooking eggs in orange skins, cooking bacon in paper bags - I know that Her That Must Be Obeyed, would frown.

I'm not a lover of paper and plastic.

If I were more up to date I could put this down to LNT, but in my case it is down to me being cheap.

[littlebillie]

"foil cooking has been in the scouting program for decades hasn't it?... I see nothing wrong with that, do you?"

 

in moderation, no - always good to learn different methods and approaches, part of being prepared. I even support the teaching of this kind of cookery - just NOT to the regular and standard exclusion of pots and pans, etc., frankly.

 

the needs of backpacking can be seen as different to the needs (and abilities) of a fixed camp - at least by me.

 

after you've boiled your -scrambled-egg-to-the-nth in a plastic bag (and not even the smaller sandwich sized!), maybe it's time to move on to a griddle or skillet, for scrambling AND for poaching, frying, over-side-sunny-up-and-down, toad in the hole, whatever! If Johnny Appleseed had worn foil over his head, he'd'a been too busy listening to the alien broadcasts to worry about planting anything...

 

[red feather]

Yah, Bob, it is cool to watch the concotions that the scout that forgot his stuff ends up eating. Only the young can survive it.

 

Although seldom are the scouts bringing their own food for the major meals. That food is planned, bought and brought by each patrol.

 

Backpacking and hobo meals are planned occasionaly also. Hobo meals are cooked only using tin cans and are getting almost as good as the ones done with the cast iron. The scouts can get quite imaginative. Some of these are done by each indiviual and some are done as a patrol.

 

yis

[packsaddle]

I can remember when...(tooth sucking noises)...foil was hard to come by. Plastic bags were unknown, Elvis was scandalous, iron lungs were mass-produced, Melmac was just THE thing to have, and sofas were covered with clear vinyl (wait a minute, mine still is).

We had a lot of fun with minimal hardware. It took imagination, you know, the pre-TV concept. It could happen again........naaaah!

I'm sympathetic with littlebillie's basic idea and, I think, kwc57's sentiment. I'm not sure we actually need more regulation, though, than exists in a faithful adherence to the Outdoor Code, especially that "I will use low-impact methods of hiking and camping" part.

 

And as for Bob White's humorous suggestion of leaving the utensils home, I tried that once. Went on a weekend trip alone and only utilized stored provisions (body weight). Did I mention that I tried that...once? A sleeping bag would have been nice too.

 

My objection to all the foils and bags is the prevalence of the things I find left behind at campsites, not that I'm pointing fingers at anyone here. But after we clean up a garbage bag of foil, cans, and plastic from previous campers, I have negative thoughts when I see the same used by the guys. Yes, I know it's not fair, it's not rational. But I still cringe. I feel the same thing when I find MRE wrappers scattered around at military bases. My instinctive reaction is to waste your tax dollars picking it all up, not to mention risking stumbling over some UXOs.

 

It's hard to do but we should try to keep this stuff to a minimum.