What's Even More Important Than Water

I have a case of Twinkies I can send for a side dish. At least 10 years old.

 

Jerky? check. Cheese wiz? check. Pretzels? check. Water? always! Beans n rice/1:5 ratio? Mucho Kilos! Home canned Meat/Fish/Poultry? Lots of qts and pts ............. poptarts? NADA! Beer? Nada, but lots and lots of wine. Shelter from the storm and relative security? Yup .... Happy Camper? YUP! most of the time anyways

 

Pop tarts...Pop Tarts, Healthy Breakfast of Boy Scouts.

 

Toaster Pastries, KELLOGG, KELLOGG'S POP TARTS, Brown sugar cinnamon Nutrition Facts & Calories
nope

 

The blueberry frosted ones are better.

 

The cheddar cheese looks like a winner!

 

Years ago,. I flew in to the Tin City RADAR site. Weathered in, a bunch of us went to the local Tin City trading post. The owner always had ivory for sale. Got it from the Natives who traded for bullets etc.

Two things about that visit have stayed with me for these last 35+ years....
The guy had a Stevens (Savage) 300 sitting on the rack for sale. (No, I took a pass)

and a rack full of Hostess Fruit Pies - the 'newest' was almost 15 years old. I couldn't help myself - I gave the guy $5 for one and cracked it open. Other than being a bit dry, it was perfectly reserved, I tasted a bit and it was still lemon favored.

I dumped the rest of 'pastery' at the edge of the runway. Even the foxes wouldn't touch it....

Sugar is a powerful preservative....

 

I sampled some Vietnam era MRE's in 1992, they were still perfectly fine, zero taste and salty as hell!
The next gen MRE's from the 70's were quite an improvement in quality and taste, still backed you up and made your innards hurt!
The Third gen MRE's tasted even better, supposedly had low salt, and tasted like the stuff in the mess hall, still backed you up, but didn't hurt so much.
Last gen MRE's were KRAPTASTIC! Almost no meat, all veggies, and sauces with rice or noodles, and all the goodies we used to look for were gone. Hell, there wasn't any thing worth hording to trade for later, and worse, they still backed you up and hurt like hell, and when they finally let you go, it was BAD! Took a week to recover from one week of those damn MRE's!
Salt preserves every thing, and causes all sorts of troubles later on!
Best thing is to make your own MRE's! in my mind, Pemmican, smoke cured meats and fish in a very light vinegar and honey based brine will be the best thing you can do. You can also preserve other things this way, but canned is better for a healthy life style!
I always have a satchel full of Jerky and Pepperoni ( usually Venison and smoke cured salmon ) in my possibles bag, and I never let it drop below half ( about 3 pounds, 6 days worth) and I am happy as a puppy with two tennis balls!

 

That reminds me that I have no 'Sailor Boy pilot bread' or Pilot Crackers (I think they are the same thing?). I meant to get a case of #10 but forgot last time. I suppose if one wants a sugar buzz that Pop Tarts would definitely do the trick but...I'll stick to Pilot Crackers.

 

Experiment: We set a pack of Twinkies atop the fridge for four years! Tasted fine, moist, sweet.......we didn’t swallow though!

 

Here you go...
I have a recipe if you're really curious.
SitNews: Long Lasting Pilot Bread Has a Long History By DAVE KIFFER

 

OK, Never heard of "Pilot Bread" but Hard Tack, I know well! My Family has a version of this made with Rye Flower and white wheat, ground coarse. it's a side recipe of our classic Ukrainian black bread, and made with most of the ingredients. it can also have coffee grounds very finely ground, and or chocolate powder! I highly recommend trying it, you'll like it! Most of us rely on it for long lasting energy, and it lasts long, especially when stored in cheese cloth! There are many different versions on line you can try, look for versions that use Molasses and dark rye as main ingredients! to increase shelf life, add 2 table spoons of dark, unfiltered, un renderd honey!!!

 

Off subject - but...
@Sgt Nambu
Your avatar gives me an itchy trigger finger.
Miss the days when I used to blast those little rodents to kingdom come.

 

First of all alcohol as a guarded acquaintance is one thing, but it is a false friend that will betray you .
Second , caned food stores best, usually has it's own water, needs no second cooking an provides you it' own dish and tool if necessary. "It's lid"
Unlike the plastic bags MREs are stored in, are easily compromised.
A steel or aluminum can is far more durable .
One way or another your carrying the food weight , and empty cans can be buried or used for the things.like alarms in trip wire/string, boiling water . Can't do that with an MRE bag.

 

Hardtacks of all varieties were commonly used for sea voyages since it is inexpensive and keeps a long time. So it's likely named for that type of pilot as opposed to folks who fly aircraft, though in AK its likely all the same.

I like the rye based varieties the best, perhaps due to my Norwegian blood. Sure miss Ry-Krisp, especially the seasoned version. IMO it was the best. They are trying for a come back, but the date keeps getting pushed back.