Thanks, Ann, I have been wanting a new stove for my canoe trips. This review is very helpful, although I usually just pack some homemade grenola and fruit for breakfast.
michael On Aug 12, 12:19 am, Anne Paulson <[email protected]> wrote: > I recently bought a Trangia stove with the pot and frying pan set. > Rivendell sells this fine product and recommends it for campouts. > Based on my recent experimentation, I concur. Here's a report on my > experiments: > > Water for a cup of tea boils quickly. I didn't time it, but something > like four or five minutes, perfectly fine for a camping breakfast or > for an afternoon warmup on a long cold ride. And unlike my MSR white > gas stove which roars like a freight train, the Trangia is completely > silent. > > But what about actual food? I tried pancakes, made with Krusteaz > buttermilk pancake mix, on a sub-24. I brought along some Krusteaz in > a ziplock. At the campsite, I mixed it with enough water to make a > pourable batter, just stirring so that most but not all the lumps were > gone (why yes, I do bring along a wire whisk when camping, why do you > ask?). I used the Trangia without the simmer ring; pancakes cook > fairly quickly. I made two or three little pancakes in the frying pan > at a time, turning them over when the bubbles popped. Results: > Delicious. I spread them with Nutella. > > Emboldened, I moved on to a biscuit. For this, I used a homemade mix > of 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup powdered milk, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 > teaspoon salt,1 tablespoon Crisco. I mixed the dry ingredients > together, then cut the Crisco in using two knives. (If I made a bigger > batch, I'd mix in the Crisco in the food processor with six or eight > quick pulses.) I took about 1/3 cup of the mix, and mixed in just > enough water to make a stiff dough. I formed it into a biscuit-shaped > round about half an inch thick, and cooked it in a lightly greased > frying pan, covered with a makeshift aluminum-foil lid. I had to > experiment with the simmer ring setting. The first time, I had it set > in the completely open position, but that resulted in burned outsides > and gummy insides. The simmer ring about half covered worked better. I > cooked it about eight minutes on the first side, turned it over, and > cooked it around five minutes on the second side. Result: delicious. I > was home this time, so I put on butter and honey, but a biscuit like > this would be good with dinner too. > > The biscuit mix would work well for pancakes too-- just add an egg if > you have one, plus enough water to make a pourable batter and maybe a > bit of sugar if you happen to have any. Then cook and enjoy. > > The small cookset, which is what I have, is really only adequate for > one. I was able to boil spaghetti for one (about 1/6 lb) successfully, > but when I tried spaghetti for two there wasn't enough room in the pot > for the noodles plus the water to cook them. For two people, I > recommend the bigger cookset. Cooking for a group of four or more, I > recommend a gas stove. > > Here's the recommendation: If you do sub24s, buy a Trangia. They're > simple, they're light, the whole cookset packs up in one neat small > package*, they burn HEET** and denatured alcohol***, both readily > available. > > * The Trangia comes with a screwtop so that if there is still fuel in > the stove when you're finished cooking, you can snuff it out, let it > cool down, then screw on the lid. However, unfortunately, you can't > transport the stove (say, in your panniers) with alcohol in it, > because it will leak, even with the screw top. I emailed Trangia to > ask, and that's what they told me. So use up all your fuel in the > morning. > > ** HEET in the yellow container. The red container HEET is the wrong stuff. > > *** but do not buy Sunnyside brand denatured alcohol, the house brand > of Tru Value hardware stores. It smokes. > > -- > -- Anne Paulson > > My hovercraft is full of eels -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
