The Lost Art of Field Cooking II

8/8/2019 The Lost Art of Field Cooking II

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THE LOST ART OF FIELD COOKING II; FIELD RATIONS

Let’s face it. Americans are spoiled. When it comes to feeding the troops, evenAmerican soldiers are pretty well off compared to most other countries. Well, at

least the FOBBITs are anyway. For the grunts it's MRE's, which are actuallypretty good these days, although depending on who you ask MRE stands for "Meal Rejected by Ethiopia" or "Meal Refusing to Exit". This was not always thecase, and American soldiers had to make do with some awful stuff at varioustimes.

General George Washington’s troops in the starvation winter at Valley Forgesuffered unnecessarily. Political bickering and a congress (those jerks again?)unwilling to provide adequate funding and/or hiring profiteers when they did,combined to do a horrible injustice to the fledgling army. The politicians andprofiteers kept the soldiers in rags and on the verge of starvation.

During the American Civil War, the Confederate Army was very oftenprecariously balanced on the edge of starvation. Generals like J.E.B. Stuart andNathan Bedford Forrest, as well as some of the raiders and partisans, delightedin successfully capturing large amounts of Union supplies and provisions, but thiscould only be a short-term stopgap measure.

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United States Marine Corps officers and NCO’s serving in places likeNicaragua, Cuba, Honduras, etc during the “Banana Wars” of the 1920’s and1930’s were fully expected to make due with expedients added to their normalmilitary supplies of food, to include being their own butchers.

The field ration.—a. Every effort should be made to build up the supply of rations at the advanced patrol bases and outposts until they approach or equalthe normal garrison ration in quantity and variety. A patrol operating from thosebases, should never carry more, and may often carry less, than thecomponents of the field ration, modified in accordance with the probablyfoodstuffs which can be obtained in the area. Emphasis should be placed onthose articles which give the greatest return in food value for the bulk andweight carried, and the ease with which they can be transported. This may notresult in a “balanced” ration, but the defjiciencies encountered in the field canbe compensated for upon the return of the patrol to its base. The generaltendency of troops is to carry too great a variety and too large a quantity of

foodstuffs with patrols in the field. Man should become accustomed to thenative fare as quickly as possible. If properly led, they will soon learn that theycan subsist quite well and operate efficiently on much less than the regular garrison ration. This is a matter of training and is influenced in a large measureby the attitude of the patrol leader and other commissioned and non-commissioned officers.

b. The prescribed field ration is approximately as follows:

Component articles Substitute articles

1 pound hard bread…………………. 1-1/4 fresh bread, or

1-1/8 pounds flour.

1 pound tinned……………………… 1-1/4 pounds salt meat, or

1-1/4 pounds smoked meat

1-3/4 pounds fresh meat, or

1-3/4 pounds fresh fish, or

1-3/4 pounds poultry.

¾ pound tinned vegetables…………. 1-3/4 pounds freshvegetables, or

3 gills beans or peas, or



½ pound rice or other cereal.

2 ounces coffee…………………….. 2 ounces cocoa, or

½ ounce tea.

1 ounce evaporated milk……………1/16 quart fresh milk.

Salt and pepper.

c. Suitable foodstuffs from the regular issue include: rice, rolled oats, hominygrits, dry beans, canned pork and beans, corned beef hash, salmon, cornedbeef, chipped beef, bacon, Vienna sausage, hard bread, dried fruits, cheese,sugar coffee, tea, evaporated or dried milk, salt, black pepper, and limitedamounts of canned potatoes and vegetables. In general, canned and fresh fruitsshould not be carried. Small sized cans are usually preferable to the larger sizes

for issue to patrols. Generally a combat patrol should carry such foodstuffs thatnot more than one component, other than tea or coffee, requires cooking for each meal in order to reduce the number of cooking utensils to be carried andthe time of preparation in the field.

d. Native foodstuffs sometimes found in inhabited areas include: beef on thehoof, fish, chickens, eggs, beans, rice, corn, coffee, and fruits and vegetables inseason. To these may be added such wild game as may be killed by the patrol. If hostile groups are active in the area, the available supply of native food will belimited.

Butchering on the march.—a. Each patrol operating in the field should includea man familiar with the killing and dressing of livestock and game. If the patrol isdependent upon the country for its meat supply, suitable stock should beprocured during the day’s march unless it is definitely known that the desiredanimals will be available at or near the bivouac.



Self-propelled chow.

b. The animal should be butchered in such a manner that it will bleed profusely. It should

be dressed, cut-up, and cooked while it is still warm. Meat cooked after rigor mortis hasset in will be tough unless it is cooked in a solution of vinegar or acetic acid, or allowed

to season for at least 24 hours. Excess beef may be barbecued and utilized the following

day.”

American and Filipino troops in the opening months of WWII were completely cutoff from the outside world during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. They

too went to extremes trying to feed the troops in the field with what was at hand.

Even official U.S. Army historians made special note of this.

“Heroic measures to augment the food supply were obviously necessary if thetroops on Bataan were to hold out for the required six-month period. No sooner had the withdrawal been completed than the quartermaster began to exploitevery possible resource on the peninsula to increase his stores. Fortunately, itwas the harvest season and the rice stood ripe in the fields. It was onlynecessary to bring it to the mills, which the engineers were ordered to build near Limay. Plans were made to secure fresh meat by slaughtering carabao, the

Philippine draft animal, and a large abattoir was established by the veterinarians.In addition, the units in the field butchered whatever carabao or other animalsthey could capture. A fishery was established at Lamao, and plans were made toutilize the catch of the local fishermen who went out each night until preventedfrom doing so by Japanese fire. Salt was secured by boiling sea water in largeiron cauldrons. Before the troops had been on Bataan long, no local resourcethat would yield any additional amount of food was being overlooked.

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So serious was the shortage of food after the first few weeks on Bataan that thesearch for food assumed more importance than the presence of the enemy to thefront. Every man became a hunter, and rifle shots could be heard at all hours far from the Japanese lines. Lt. Col. Irvin Alexander, a quartermaster officer, wrote:

‘Any carabao which was encountered in the jungle was classed as wild andneither his ancestry nor his ownership was investigated. This wild game was nottoo numerous and it was very shy so that only the cunning and lucky hunterswere successful in bringing in meat. Lack of success did not discourage thehunters…One Filipino…caught a snake and ate it one day to die unpleasantly thenext. There were always plenty of experimenters ready to try any kind of nativeflora or fauna which might prove edible…although the experimenting individualsfrequently paid a high price.’”

Infuriatingly, in just about every personal first-hand account that I have read of the Battle of Bataan, when the surrender came, the skeletal dysentery-ridden

front-line troops who did the fighting suddenly found a good many stashes of canned goods and other foodstuffs in the possession of those furthest from thefront lines.

More recently and more frequently, however, the troops of other countries, andeven the average citizens, have been amazed at what American soldiers dinedupon. This led to the sardonic saying in war-time England that the problem withthe Yanks were that they were, “Over-paid, over-sexed, and over here.” Shot-down American fliers interned in Switzerland bitterly complained about the “pigfood” they received for breakfast…cheese, dry bread, and cocoa…until theysheepishly found out that they were receiving the exact same rations as the

ordinary citizen.

During the Korean War, the U.S. logistics system (when it worked) took care of providing chow to most of the UN troops, and once more the other soldiers wereflabbergasted by American plenty and excess. This was especially true for theBritish soldier, as England was still under food rationing at the time. A constantsupply of fresh steaks, hams, and chickens seemed overwhelming, and the U.S.Army Quartermaster Corps provided fresh vegetables year-round fromhydroponic farms in Japan. The U.S. Army also went out of its way to try toprovide other UN troops with food more to their liking.

“The Turkish troops, because of religious beliefs, will not eat pork. United StatesArmy field rations contain a considerable amount of pork and pork products.Therefore, it was necessary for the Americans to package a special field ration inJapan for issue to the Turkish Brigade. This special ration contains mainly muttonor beef and the inevitable heavy spices.

Moreover, the Turkish troops will not eat margarine. They must have butter whichis left in the open until it turns rancid before eating.



Indian troops must have their curry and rice. The Filipinos and Thailanders prefer heavily spiced foods and strong brands of tea or coffee.

Canadian and British troops subsist very well on the normal type of rations, butrequire extra issues of tea and potatoes.”

This was all well and fine, and the kind of service the combat soldier in the fieldmore than deserves and should have, although what arrives to the grunt at thesharp end of the stick is seldom as good as described above. However, it madethe UN military machine utterly dependent on large numbers of trucks and thehandful of existing roads, most of them poor to begin with, which wound throughthe mountains. When the Red Chinese made their double-pronged pincer attacks, cutting off American supply routes in the rear, an unholy mess usuallyresulted from the quick breakdown of the elaborate logistics system.

When British forces invaded the Falkland Islands in 1982, and Argentine jets

sank the Atlantic Conveyor cargo ship, a World War Two-vintage Soyer fieldkitchen had to be taken from the Imperial War Museum to provide the troops hotchow in the field.

Don't throw that thing away. You might need it someday.

The lesson may have to be learned all over again, and again at the field soldiers’expense. My step-son was in the 82nd Airborne as a cook. When they deployedto Iraq, he became a rifleman. The troops were fed by independent privatecontractors. Once more all well and fine…as long as the complicated aircraft-dependent supply system works. There may come a day when they rue to

absence of their traditional field kitchens. Murphy remains alive and well, and stillneeds to be taken into account.

We’ve covered some of the items in The Lost Art of Field Cooking and APartisan’s Life for Me. Worthy of note in all cases is the importance of salt,especially in the long term. Here’s a further look at some other military andguerrilla rations along with their supplementation and substitution.

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Allied intelligence during WWII kindly announced that, “Japanese Army rationshave been found to be entirely edible…”

STANDARD RATIONS

Contrary to the belief of some persons, the Japanese soldier does not liveentirely on rice. To him, rice is a staple food, just as bread is to us; and, if he hadonly rice for his meal, he would be as displeased as we would be with only breadto eat. However, rice does constitute well over 50 percent of the Japanesesoldier's diet.

As a general rule, the Japanese field ration in the South Pacific theaters of operations has not been standardized, but has varied from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 poundsper man per day. Theoretically, the field ration is approximately 1.5 kilograms(3.3 lbs.). Two types of specially packed field rations, "A" and "B," have beennoted frequently. The "A" ration normally consists of 30.7 ounces of rice, 5.3

ounces of meat or fish, and a small amount of seasoning and flavoring. The "B"ration normally consists of 24.4 ounces of hard biscuits in three paper bags(enough for three meals), 2.1 ounces of meat or fish, and a small amount of seasoning (salt and sugar).

In New Guinea (June, 1943) a Japanese table of ration allowances listed threeseparate categories of issue:

Basic: 1.3 Kilograms (when transportation is adequate)"A": 1.13 Kilograms (when transportation is difficult)"B": .86 1/2 Kilogram (when transportation is very difficult)

Under the "A" ration, sweet potatoes, fresh vegetables, bananas, and papayaswere to supplement deficiencies to the extent of .85 kilogram (524 calories),while under the "B" issue these local foods were to provide 1.8 kilograms (1,218calories).

It is known that the Japanese use vitamin pills quite frequently as a part of their rations. Vitamin B is supplied in three forms: (1) tablets, (2) as a liquid, and (3) atube of paste.

Probably the most common type of Japanese canned food found to date in the

South Pacific is compressed fish (principally salmon and bonito), which maysometimes require soaking and salting to make it palatable. Other items of Japanese food found included: pickled plums, dehydrated vegetables (beans,peas, cabbage, horseradish, burdock, seaweed), compressed barley cakes, ricecakes, canned oranges and tangerines, sake (rice beer), powdered tea leaves,slices of ginger, salted plum cake, canned beef, cooked whale meat, confections,and vitamin tablets.





others for inventing new dishes that give a more varied character to the guerrillamenu, which is com-posed mainly of roots, grains, salt, a little oil or lard, and,very sporadically, pieces of the meat of some animal that has been slain. Thisrefers to the life of a group operating in tropical sectors.

Whenever there is extra space in the knapsack, it ought to be used for food,except in those zones where the food supply is easy and sure. Sweets or food of lesser importance complementing the basic items can be carried. Crackers canbe one of these, although they occupy a large space and break up into crumbs.

The guerrilla fighter ought always to carry some personal food besides that whichthe troop carries or consumes in its camps. Indispensable articles are lard or oil,which is necessary for fat consumption; canned goods, which should not beconsumed except in circumstances where food for cooking cannot be found or when there are too many cans and their weight impedes the march; preservedfish, which has great nutritional value; condensed milk, which is also nourishing,

particularly on account of the large quantity of sugar that it contains; some sweetfor its good taste. Powdered milk can also be carried. Sugar is another essentialpart of the supplies, as is salt, without which life becomes sheer martyrdom, andsomething that serves to season the meals, such as onion, garlic, etc., accordingto the characteristics of the country. This completes the category of theessentials.

The guerrilla fighter should carry a plate, knife, and fork, camping style, which willserve all the various necessary functions. The plate can be camping or militarytype or a pan that is usable for cooking anything from a piece of meat to a potato,or for brewing tea or coffee.

A customary and extremely important comfort in the life of the guerrilla fighter is asmoke, whether cigars, cigarettes, or pipe tobacco; a smoke in moments of restis a great friend to the solitary soldier. Pipes are useful, because they permitusing to the extreme all tobacco that remains in the butts of cigars and cigarettesat time of scarcity.”

The German high command in WWII attributed to the individual Soviet fightingman an almost animalistic primitive quality, in many cases as an excuse for their own battlefield failures, who could live on practically nothing.

“He endures cold and heat, hunger and thirst, dampness and mud, sickness andvermin, with equanimity. Because of his simple and primitive nature, all sorts of hardships bring him but few emotional reactions.”



When food is the lowest priority in the supply chain, you take what you canget.

“In addition to the simplicity which is revealed in his limited household needs andhis primitive mode of living, the Russian soldier has close kinship with nature. It isno exaggeration to say that the Russian soldier is unaffected by season andterrain. This immunity gave him a decisive advantage over the Germans,especially in Russian territory where season, temperature, and terrain play adecisive role. The problem of providing for the individual soldier in the RussianArmy is of secondary importance, because the Russian soldier requires only veryfew provisions for his own use. The field kitchen, a sacred institution to other troops, is to the Russian soldier a pleasant surprise when it is available, but canbe dispensed with for days and weeks without undue hardship. During the winter campaign of 1941, a Russian regiment was surrounded in the woods along the

Volkhov and, because of German weakness, had to be starved out. After 1 week,reconnaissance patrols met with the same resistance as on the first day; after another week only a few prisoners were taken, the majority having fought their way through to their own troops in spite of close encirclement. According to theprisoners, the Russians subsisted during those weeks on a few pieces of frozenbread, leaves and pine needles which they chewed, and some cigarettes. I t hadnever occurred to anyone to throw in the sponge because of hunger, and thecold (-30' F.) had not affected them."

Commando Otto Skorzeny went so far as to claim, “The Russian soldier cansleep without hurt in wringing wet clothes, live on roots from the fields or chunks

of raw flesh torn from a rotting horse, he can drink from marshes and shell holes,and subsist virtually without supply columns.”

Although there is obviously a bit of exaggeration is found in Skorzeny’scomments, the reputation of Russian military chow, then and later, especiallyamongst the field soldiers, has always been bad.

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WWII: “The rations of the Red Army are not elaborate, but are nourishing andheavy. Standard are rich soups and stews of vegetables and meat, garnishedwith sour cream if possible. One common dish is "kasha," a sort of porridge of buckwheat. In time of war, living off the country is an established practice of theRed Army.”

Consider even as late as the end of the Cold War in the 1970’s and 1980’s.

“A chronic complaint among Soviet soldiers is the poor quality of rations. Thestandard diet consists of kasha and bread, supplemented with fish and a littlemeat, usually pork, as a source of protein. Cabbage, potatoes and some farinaalso are provided. It seems that the food is poorly prepared and the same dishesserved repeatedly. In one instance, a Soviet unit was the object of a bureaucraticmistake and had to subsist on kasha and fish for 30 consecutive days, bringingthe troops to the point of open revolt.

Even when the supply system works well, the Soviet soldier is likely to receivethe same meal at least three times in a single week. There is limited evidencethat Soviet field rations provide inadequate calories and vitamins and someevidence that portions are insufficient. In any case, complaints about the food inthe Soviet army seem chronic. Even when compared with the food available tothe average Soviet citizen, rations in the army are monotonous, poorly preparedand generally below what the Soviet citizen is used to. That this represents asource of almost constant irritation to the troops is, therefore, hardly surprising.”

In the field in Afghanistan, Soviet troops, especially in isolated small garrisons,subsisted largely on “Dry Rations”, similar to the old American C-Rations. The

menu included 3 different meals: A can of meat, crackers or taste, jam and a teabag; two cans of meat mixed with oatmeal; or a can of meat and a can of vegetables and fruit.

Such a bland and unbalanced diet led soldiers to supplement their rations bypurchasing civilian food locally. This led them to being exposed to all kinds of funky and strange local diseases and infections for which their immune systemhad no defense.

During the Korean War, North Korean and Red Chinese supply systems workedin the same way as the Soviet WWII system, and “living off the land” consisted of

buying, or more often just taking, whatever the local inhabitants had on hand.When he was supplied by the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army, the CCFinfantryman usually received something along the lines of a bag of rice, ricecakes, and dried fish.

More modern Cold War rations for the Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army came inthree forms.



The standard ration consisted of rice, flour, pork, fish, eggs, soybeans,vegetables, edible oil, and salt, sugar, and other condiments. The individualsoldier was issued 4 to 6 kilograms of food per day. Most of the fish, pork, andvegetables are produced locally by individual units for their consumption.

The combat ration consisted of dried rice, dried fried wheat, or a baked mixtureof soybeans, corn, millet and kaoliang (Chinese sorghum) to which water isadded before eating. Prior to a major operation, each soldier is issued theequivalent of from 5 to 7 days’ rations.

The emergency ration is a compressed, rectangular biscuit made of flour, salt,and oil. Each soldier carried about 12 of these biscuits in addition to his combatration.

Under simulated or actual combat conditions, companies, battalions, andregiments each store the equivalent of 7 days’ supply of rations. Divisions

maintain 10 days’ supply, and armies from 2 to 4 weeks’ supply. Rations aredelivered from division to regiment, and from regiment to battalion and company,or directly to forward positions. During troop movements in peacetime, rationsare often purchased from local communes.”

As for the Germans during WWII, technical innovations were constantly beingtested and produced in an attempt to make the supply of food to the troops bothnutritious and easy to transport. As our look at sawdust bread and wild edibles inthe other article noted, the supply end was the biggest problem. The following isfrom a war-time German military magazine, so no doubt at least some of itcontains a bit of embellishment.

Every soldier thinks his chow is always the worst.

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Of the new rations: “Among them are the following: Soybean flour, calledEdelsoja, which added to soups and breads provides proteins, fats, and mineralsalts without the use of meats, milk and eggs; tomatoes, cheese, jam andapplesauce in powdered form; ‘bratling powder’, a substitute for meat, apowdered mixture made from soybeans, grain and milk albumins spiced with

herbs; vegetable juices of spinach and cabbage, carrots and spinachcompressed into brick form; sauerkraut dried and compressed into cubes; meat,cooked, packed in small paper boxes and gradually frozen which preserves itwithout refrigeration for about six days. Also, for temporarily isolated units, suchas tank, mountain or parachute troops, they have developed a concentrate called‘Pemmikan’ which contains, smoked meat, bacon, soybean flour, dried fruits,whey, tomato pulp, yeast, green pepper, cranberries and lecithin. Another concentrate called ‘V-drops’ contains dextrose, whey, milk, fat and vitamin C, issaid to have been used to augment the ration in the Norway campaign.

Allied intelligence noted, however, some differences from the above in the 2-3

day food supply issued to the fallschirmjaeger parachute troops.

“Special foods taken include Wittier bread, sliced and wrapped, which issupposed to last indefinitely until unwrapped (but, in fact, does not); chocolatemixed with kola (Schokokola), and with caffeine (Kobaona), which is not believedto be any better than ordinary chocolate; and simple refreshing foods like grapesugar. Most of the food is quite ordinary.”

British Commandos of the Second World War trained to get the most from their field rations as well.

“A special ration, designed to give a man enough sustenance to enable him tooperate under rigorous conditions, was developed at the Advanced InfantryAssault School by an officer who had had considerable experience in mountainoperations in all climates. The ration was simple and light in weight; it wasdesigned for individual cooking, and was easily handled in the field. A U. S.observer subsisted on this ration and reported that it proved to be sufficient for the period for which it was designed and that it was reasonably palatable.

Typical Ration.-A typical ration follows:

Daily Requirements:

Pemmican (dried meat, 60% lean, 40% fat)-----------------ounces 3

Chocolate-------------------------------------------------------------------do 3

Oatmeal --------------------------------------------------------------------do 5

Biscuit --------------------------------------------------------------------- do 6



Dried fruit ----------------------------------------------------------------- do 5

Margarine or butter -------------------------------------------------do 1-1/2

Tea or coffee (compressed)-----------------------------------------do 1/4

Salt ----------------------------------------------------------------------- do 1/4

Sugar (lump)----------------------------------------------------------do 1-1/2

Total weight---------------------------------------------------------do 25-1/2

Diet Sheet:

Breakfast:

Oatmeal ------------------------------------------------------------------do 3

Biscuit---------------------------------------------------------------------do 2

Dried fruit --------------------------------------------------------- ounces 1

Margarine ------------------------------------------------------------ do 1/2

Tea ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pint 1

Midday Meal:

Oatmeal ------------------------------------------------------------ounces 1

Biscuit--------------------------------------------------------------------- do 2

Chocolate ---------------------------------------------------------------- do 2

Dried fruit ---------------------------------------------------------------- do 2

Evening Meal:

Oatmeal ------------------------------------------------------------------do 2

Biscuit -------------------------------------------------------------------- do 2

Pemmican ----------------------------------------------------------------do 3

Dried fruit ---------------------------------------------------------------- do 2



Chocolate ----------------------------------------------------------------do 1

Margarine or butter --------------------------------------------------- do 1

Tea or coffee ---------------------------------------------------------- pint 1

Rations were carried in their packs by the soldiers. Food was prepared in messtins, individually. The soldiers were encouraged to use dandelion shoots, grassnettles, and other herbs in conjunction with pemmican and oatmeal for making astew. These herbs in the stew contributed vitamin C.”

British WWII manuals offered extensive advice for military personnel in Burma for both survival and to supplement standard rations. Again, this was merely asupplement and not intended to feed troops in the field without supply.

“Food of some type is always available in the jungle—in fact, there is

hardly a place in the world where food cannot be secured from plants andanimals. All animals, birds, reptiles, and many kinds of insects of the jungle areedible. Some animals such as toads and salamanders, have glands on the skinwhich should be removed before their meat is eaten. Fruits, flowers, buds, andoften tubers, leaves, and bark can be eaten. Fruits eaten by birds and monkeysusually are acceptable to man…

“A ‘stick’ of rice for carrying with you can be obtained by using a section of small, thin-walled bamboo to cook it. Cut the section of bamboo…fill it with riceand water, and boil. The surplus water will evaporate, and the rice will swell to fillthe entire cavity of the section. After it has cooled, the section may be split open.

The boiled rice will emerge in a stick form, covered with an edible film of silvery-white inner skin from the bamboo. The rice can be carried in this state, or left inthe bamboo for added protection.

A frame for drying meat can be made by erecting four bamboo stakes andconnecting them with pieces of split bamboo, which are tied to the stakes.”

All of this is well and fine, for those who know how to handle such things.However, the overwhelming majority of citizens (subjects?) of a modern industrialsociety are so far removed from nature and agriculture that the knowledge byitself is almost useless.

Killing animals, domestic or wild, does little good to people who don’t know howto butcher, cook or preserve the meat. Even the knowledge of what flora is edibleis of little use if you’ve never tried it. I make it a practice to pick and sample a fewwild edibles every year and sample them in the comfort of my own home. If youdon’t know what it takes to prepare them ahead of time, you will be in for somebig surprises and disappointments when you really need them in the field.



Some time later, we’ll take an in depth-look at survival and emergency rationsfrom various countries, old and new, military and civilian, and some home-madealternatives. None of these survival or emergency rations, with one possibleexception, provide everything the body needs, but will keep you alive andreasonably well until better food can be obtained.

I personally try to hit the field with as little weight and gear as possible. In fact, for just one or two nights out hunting in the boondocks, I have only an LBE, a mix of the old British Pattern 58 and pre-MOLLE American LBE gear. A compactbedroll, which I’ll detail some other time, is attached beneath the butt pack. Thisdoesn’t leave a whole helluva lot of room for food. The biggest problem is that Iutilize the magazine pouches to carry stuff when bow hunting. I’d have to re-adjust things if I had to carry six FAL magazines, that’s for sure.

Most often my vittles consist of the staple of many of the nations above; rice. Toaccompany this, I have either instant soup mixes or bullion cubes to make it

palatable. This is supper and to it is added any wild edibles I happen to comeacross in my travels. While bow hunting, my friend Jerry introduced me to thesmall game/bird tips for arrows. He demonstrated how well they worked bybagging a few grouse when we hunted together. Now I carry one in the middle of my quiver between the hunting broadheads. Meat is the best addition to my littlecup of rice. Edible flora is tossed in when found mainly for the nutritional valuealthough a very, very small handful of wild edibles do actually taste good, IMHO,though some people have opined to me that a little wild onion goes a long way.

Breakfast is universally flavored instant oatmeal. A couple of small boxes of raisins, a chocolate bar, and a small amount of jerky in a plastic bag pretty much

round things out for “lunches”. I usually bring tea rather than coffee for a hot drinkdue to the odor if I am camped anywhere near the place I plan to hunt first thingin the morning. It ain’t Denny’s but it gets me through a short hunt in the backcountry. For longer periods, it would very soon be found wanting.

Meanwhile, give some thought to what kind of rations you might carry in the field.You can only afford money-wise (and physically carry) just so many MRE’s, evenwhen you “field strip” them. What alternatives can you think of or suggest?


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The Lost Art of Field Cooking II