Ration Disasters

[Loyalist Dave]

OK here are some...,

A "progressive reenactment unit" from North Carolina (a la "hard core") which prided itself on not having tents, etc. once provided for its members "salt-pork" at an even at Ft. Frederick State Park. Well they didn't make the salt pork themselves, but bought a salt cured, Virginia ham, and cut slices, and ate it as such. NOW with salt port back then one boiled it from everything that I've read, so why they didn't at least do that I will never know...., but the result was several people :barf: Moral of the story: It's easy to be hard; it's hard to be smart.

I heard another story of several fellows who were going to fry up some taters, and one of the trio told the other two that there should be some cooking oil in the camp box, in a jug..., well there was apparently two little jugs of oil, and they grabbed a jug and fried up the taters which tasted sorta odd when done. Turned out the guys had not grabbed the jug of olive oil they grabbed the jug of CLP..., and through the night they :barf: Moral of the story: Food and cleaning stuff should be kept apart.

THEN there was the lady in charge of the group meal at an event, and she HAD to cook a turkey over the open fire, and by 9 p.m. the darn thing wasn't half-done yet. (Seems she'd never done it before in her life) So the serjeant made a run to the local store near the historic site, while others got a huge pot of water boiling, and upon the sergeant's return, medium sized taters cut into quarters, and large, smoked franks were the fare by 10:00 pm that night. Moral of the story: Don't let the person in charge of the food experiment on the troops. :shocked2:


So anybody else have some interesting 'fails' to share?

LD

 

[crockett]

Years ago in Florida guys would cook shot turkeys. They would fillet out the breasts, cut thin and fry that way. Along with "cabbage" or hearts of palm.
When I lived up North, I was the champion of burnt bannock. Now I do hoe cakes- foolproof and good.

 

[Black Hand]

I watched people eat Ramen more than once. Our local Rendezvous has a wide variety of foods that are eaten at a Potluck, but very few are PC/HC. I also avoid Potluck dinners due to being educated in Microbiology - just can't account for the standards of cleanliness or food storage observed by others.

While we range a little further afield (home-made pies), the foods we cook are PC/HC (though I have cooked whole chickens hung from a tripod next to the fire - takes 3-4 hours).

As I mentioned in another thread, there is no need to go hungry or eat a limited menu when using period rations.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I also avoid Potluck dinners due to being educated in Microbiology - just can't account for the standards of cleanliness or food storage observed by others.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Oh! the horrors I can't even begin to tell you.... :shake:

 

[necchi]

I also avoid Potluck dinners due to being educated in Microbiology - just can't account for the standards of cleanliness or food storage observed by others.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Oh! the horrors I can't even begin to tell you.... :shake:

The Same!

 

[Coot]

I remember setting up a primitive camp after dark years ago. Decided to fry up a quick dinner. The frying pan made a black circle over the fire & I could not see a thing in it but did manage to burn the contents to a crisp. Perhaps there was a reason why the main meal was prepared during daylight. :idunno:

 

[Black Hand]

This is why I carry jerky, parched corn and dried fruit...

 

[coloradoclyde]

This is why I carry jerky, parched corn and dried fruit...

18th century C-Rat's...... :haha:

 

[tenngun]

A fellow let us camp on his land overlooking buffalo river in Arkansas. Said we could have a calf that he had to put down and we could have us a roast. We were thinking it had to be put down over an injury. It had been lighting strike,found by the rancher the next day,four days before our event. Contrary to myth about the Middle Ages pepper will not make tainted meat taste ok. :shake:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

And The Carrion Award goes to...,



TENNGUN!



:grin:

LD

ps...try it with very strong curry next time..., :shocked2:

 

[Black Hand]

SHOCKING!

 

[coloradoclyde]

I'm glad he's not a USDA meat inspector... :haha:

 

[Vaino]

Bad meat is "covered up" in a few different ways, especially in areas of the world that don't have refrigeration. Sausage is one way and another is using a lot of spices as in India and its surrounding areas. Possibly smoking the meat is the third way. Some in the US use steak sauce or catsup.

Rations to me means food that wasn't immediately prepared in a kitchen {probably from the time I spent in the Army} and includes the food taken to the field on hunting trips, although most of the food on our hunting trips was made in a kitchen. Sometimes in the Army when in the field, mobile kitchens were used and this "event" was called "having mess". Don't know why it was called "mess" because it was better than "C" rations.....which were canned in 1943 and I was in the Army in 1953.

For many years I was the camp cook on our elk hunting trips which just entailed the timely defrosting of the meals, heating the food and dispensing the drinks. But, always gave my hands "the surgeon's washing" and we never had a case of the runs.

One year my nephew asked me if he could take over the "cooking" and I said yes but only if he washed his hands w/ soap and hot water in full view of the camp members....otherwise I would be unable to eat. He agreed and I ate unhindered by any thoughts of poor hygiene.

Sorta off topic and I apologize, but just couldn't resist thoughts that were etched in my mind.....having had the runs in basic training where one wasn't allowed to visit the latrine or the bushes and suffered the consequences.....Fred

 

[SgtErv]

A hypothetical fail, or one waiting to happen, at least.

I follow a few different sites and groups and have seen a conversation played out many times: "Real frontiersman didn't carry canteens or jugs! Y'all are just weak! Drink from a stream!"

:rotf:

I am not entirely sure they actually drink from streams, and I hope they don't without some sort of filtration or boiling. Real weakness will no doubt hit them hard in the form of heat exhaustion, or from a parasite like cryptosporidium or giardia.

Most, I think at least, fit a canteen into their kit whether or not the rugged type they're portraying would have or not.

I've no doubt that dysenteric bowels, fevers, and chills are historically accurate, but I'll pass on that bit of hardcore realism.

 

[tenngun]

We live today,and not back then. A long hunter or mt man probibly didn't carry a canteen, and could kill a deer, take out a roast and leave it lay as he moved on. We can't just knock down a deer or turkey or buff any time we're in field. I carry water pills,and canteens and historic foods that most guys on the frontier would not have carried. I carry a first aid kit and my wife knows where I am and when she can expect me home. I have a cell phone that may not work in the woods,but it's there in my bag.

 

[BillinOregon]

How I survived 18 years of church potlucks without coming to grief is surely a miracle.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Some people seem to be immune to food poisoning...
I knew a guy that would buy a hamburger from a fast food restaurant at noon and let it sit on the counter until 8:00 pm when he ate it for supper...
Never really saw him get sick, but he didn't have any teeth left and spent a lot of time in the restroom.....He was also the source of a major staph infection....An entire building had to be disinfected.....He rarely washed his hands, had some terrible personal hygiene habits, he picked his nose constantly, would wear the same cloths for days...
He loved to eat....never passed up a free meal....even saw him dig food out of the trash once....

Another guy I worked with actually died from food poisoning...He ate fish.

 

[Black Hand]

Food poisoning is an intoxication. Bacteria produce toxins that are secreted into the food and time/temperature/inoculum all play a role. It isn't happening all the time or in all foods, but some foods are more hospitable for bacteria (some of which appear to be common at Pot lucks). The human icky factor also plays a significant role...

 

[Bo T]

Also people in certain areas might build up a resistance to some diseases or toxins. I've been told to 'drink the whiskey but never chew the ice'. I've also got the runs from good well water that had no effect on the locals in the boondocks and the trots from good treated city water where I was visiting.

 

[Black Hand]

I've been told to 'drink the whiskey but never chew the ice'.

Best to drink whiskey without polluting it with (frozen) water...