Try New Foods

I poked around and see these are not exactly new, but they're new to me: Cliff Blocks. They combine instant energy, electrolyes, and Swedish Fish technology. Yummy too. That bit of sticking in your teeth gives you a kick that last longer than the usual PB & J sandwich or handfull of nuts and berries.

What other new food technologies have people experienced recently? Any recommendations?

Cheers,

My neighbor is a Cliff Bar rep (he's a cyclist too) and I've gotten to try some of these early on. I don't really like them myself - they are gelatinized Cliff Shots, essentially, and I like the shots best of all.

Tim

I have wanted to try pemmican as a lightweight, carry with you, food source for those longer day/multi day outings. I haven’t been able to find high quality pemmican at a reasonable price to try.

Perhaps someone has some experience with this?

I have been adding the clif shot bloks into hot water for a change of pace the last 2 winters..They make the warm water more interesting at least...there is also one that advertises as a protein replacement which I use at about 50% strength in summer..that does seem to help with endurance on a long hike ..I know a few trail runners and bikers who swear by that stuff...

Craig said:

I have wanted to try pemmican as a lightweight, carry with you, food source for those longer day/multi day outings. I haven’t been able to find high quality pemmican at a reasonable price to try.

Perhaps someone has some experience with this?

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Craig -

While it's called Pemmican, I'm not sure it fits the definition...just the same, I carry these . They are truly a full meal, and give me a boost. I usually buy a case at a time, and I can tell you that they last well beyond their suggested shelf life.

Scott

WinterWarlock said:

While it's called Pemmican, I'm not sure it fits the definition...just the same, I carry these . They are truly a full meal, and give me a boost. I usually buy a case at a time, and I can tell you that they last well beyond their suggested shelf life.

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Doesn't look like real pemmican to me.

There is some info on pemmican (including links to recipes) in this thread: http://www.vftt.org/forums/search.php?searchid=1256248

Doug

DougPaul said:

Doesn't look like real pemmican to me.

There is some info on pemmican (including links to recipes) in this thread: http://www.vftt.org/forums/search.php?searchid=1256248

Doug

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Admittedly, as I said. It's clearly just a brand name thing...but in keeping with the OP, thought I'd share them as they work. For me. YMMV

Thanks for the link Doug.
You guys really like getting into the bio-chem, macro-nutrient discussion levels.

I’m a 30-40-30 kind of guy. I’m just trying to expand my culinary cuisine from my myopic selection of pop-tarts. I’m just too lazy to make this goulash though.

Craig said:

Thanks for the link Doug.
You guys really like getting into the bio-chem, macro-nutrient discussion levels.

I’m a 30-40-30 kind of guy. I’m just trying to expand my culinary cuisine from my myopic selection of pop-tarts. I’m just too lazy to make this goulash though.

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I read about (real) pemmican in some of Vilhjalmur Stefansson's books many years ago. It seemed/seems interesting, but I've never tried it.

Not sure that I would want to try to live on it at home, but it could be handy on the trail. It reportedly extended the maximum unsupported trip length (due to food weight) from ~2 weeks to ~4 weeks. Historically, it was a major factor in opening up the West.

There is also an Army version which is made of nuts and dried fruits, IIRC. Clearly related to the real stuff in name only...

Doug

DougPaul said:

Doesn't look like real pemmican to me.

There is some info on pemmican (including links to recipes) in this thread: http://www.vftt.org/forums/search.php?searchid=1256248

Doug

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Why not just eat suet? I hear it comes in a number of varieties including berry:



-Dr. Wu

Whiteman said:

I poked around and see these are not exactly new, but they're new to me: Cliff Blocks. They combine instant energy, electrolyes, and Swedish Fish technology. Yummy too. That bit of sticking in your teeth gives you a kick that last longer than the usual PB & J sandwich or handfull of nuts and berries.

Click to expand...

Crafty...them Swedes!

I loves me the Clif Bloks -- all the energy goodness of the Clif Shots without the oozing mess or used foil packets discharging their remnants into your pockets. I started using them last year on an adventure race and haven't used Gu/Shots since.

An added bonus is their utility in winter mountaineering. I usually try to keep them in an inner pocket, but even if they get frozen, you can just pop one in your mouth and it thaws to chewableness pretty quickly. (Try that with a frozen Clif Brik...um, I mean Bar.)

Plus, if they're completely frozen, you can sling them with some 5mm cord and use them as chocks to rap from.

dr_wu002 said:

Why not just eat suet?

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Its for the birds...

The Inuit eat muktuk (whale blubber (fat)) like candy. I understand that it is an acquired taste...

Suet would be ok as far as it goes, but you also need protein. The advantage of pemmican is that it is a single food that meets all one's needs and keeps for a year or more simply by keeping it reasonably dry.

Doug

DougPaul said:

I read about (real) pemmican in some of Vilhjalmur Stefansson's books many years ago. It seemed/seems interesting, but I've never tried it.

Not sure that I would want to try to live on it at home, but it could be handy on the trail. It reportedly extended the maximum unsupported trip length (due to food weight) from ~2 weeks to ~4 weeks. Historically, it was a major factor in opening up the West.

There is also an Army version which is made of nuts and dried fruits, IIRC. Clearly related to the real stuff in name only...

Doug

Click to expand...

The only “high quality” pemmican I have been able to find on the net is here. Unfortunately, it’s a little pricey just to give it a try.

I can’t imagine it’s very tasty either. Probably bout like that bird feed.

Whiteman said:

.What other new food technologies ,

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"Food technologies" just desn't seem appetizing.

Though I do like cliff bars.

pemmican-what's wrong with pepperoni and a hand full of dried fruit?

Craig said:

The only “high quality” pemmican I have been able to find on the net is here. Unfortunately, it’s a little pricey just to give it a try.

I can’t imagine it’s very tasty either. Probably bout like that bird feed.

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Probably a bit greasy...

It shouldn't be that hard to make a small quantity. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pemmican+recipe&aq=0&oq=pemmican+ brings up lots of recipes. If you discard those that use anything except meat and fat, then you should be able to find a good one.

http://paleofood.com//pemmican.htm looks like as good a place as any to start.

Doug

Little Rickie said:

"Food technologies" just desn't seem appetizing.

Though I do like cliff bars.

pemmican-what's wrong with pepperoni and a hand full of dried fruit?

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I like the nuts and berries, and I enjoy the pepperoni once I'm done for the day (but it doesn't sit right when I'm still moving). But any food product from the Gummi Bear/Swedish Fish/jelly bean complex, and I'm a happy camper.

And I found the Cliff Blocks at 25 degrees to be easily chewed. I think you'd have to get below zero before you could use them as chocks. Great idea in a pinch!

cheese sticks

I like the individually wrapped cheese sticks - fat , protein, and sodium. They've got it all. And, of course, my Cliff Bars.

I do wonder what reasonable shelf life is under varying temps though.

DougPaul said:

There is some info on pemmican (including links to recipes) in this thread: http://www.vftt.org/forums/search.php?searchid=1256248

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I don't like eating very much when I'm hiking but this pemmican stuff actually seems interesting. I wonder if I'd vomit it up. But it promises that I can hike 36 hours straight on like 4 oz of this stuff. Good enough for me. Can't you just eat a slab of beef jerky and chase it with a cup of lard? That seems a bit gross. How about melted cheese? Fur traders from way back when seem to have been really into this stuff. This dude from work makes this beef jerky that is just unreal and I bet it would go well with anything. Unfortunately he was fired last week... maybe I can call and get the recipe.

-Dr. Wu

dr_wu002 said:

I don't like eating very much when I'm hiking but this pemmican stuff actually seems interesting. I wonder if I'd vomit it up. But it promises that I can hike 36 hours straight on like 4 oz of this stuff. Good enough for me. Can't you just eat a slab of beef jerky and chase it with a cup of lard? That seems a bit gross.

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Nutritionally, eating the ingredients should be the same as the combination. However, the combination can keep for years and guarantees that one eats the proper ratio of components. (Remember, this was developed back before refrigeration, freeze drying, etc.)

You can probably make some trial pemmican from very lean chopped beef (my usual store carries 93%) and lard, butter, or (your favorite ) suet.

Fur traders from way back when seem to have been really into this stuff. This dude from work makes this beef jerky that is just unreal and I bet it would go well with anything. Unfortunately he was fired last week... maybe I can call and get the recipe.

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Jerky is just dried sliced lean meat. (Perhaps marinated and spiced.)

I understand that it takes a bit to get used to pemmican. It was also sometimes eaten as a component in soup.

I have no idea if the Indians, traders, and explorers who used it actually liked it. However, that advantages of its energy density and long term storage* would have been very compelling. One would think that it would be of interest to modern ultra-light long-distance hikers.

* I have read that they would make 90lb blocks and carry it in skin bags. If need be, it could be buried and dug up a year later. One merely needed to shave the fuzz off and the rest would be fine...

Doug

DougPaul said:

I have no idea if the Indians, traders, and explorers who used it actually liked it. However, that advantages of its energy density and long term storage* would have been very compelling. One would think that it would be of interest to modern ultra-light long-distance hikers.



Doug

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Yea, even if they didn't like it back then, it certainly served its purpose. There are certainly enough trail foods out there whose taste I despise, but when you have to eat and your options are limited you have no choice. I wonder how much of a scent pemmican throws off. One of the reasons I hesitate bringing jerky on anything more than a day-hike is its aroma. Its usually quite strong, even the more organic non-processed variety. I reason if I can smell it, so can every other critter who might have a hankerin' to investigate on an overnighter.