Spaghetti as a Survival Food

Old CW4

Old CW4

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I can't recall seeing spaghetti mentioned as a handy/dandy survival ration in this section of the site. Why not? As a widower I do my own cooking and usually make spaghetti two or three times a month. It's quick, tasty with many variations such as meat, cheese, sauces, etc. Also high in calories, and should store uncooked for ages with little deterioration. I've got a 13.25 ounce box of 'Barilla whole grain' here on my desk as I'm typing this. The box says it has 1400 calories total or a bit more than 100 cals per ounce. That's right up there with peanut butter, trail mix, and other 'survival' foods. All you need to make a batch is water and a little salt, then mix in whatever else you like. I even have leftover spaghetti for breakfast once in a while. A bit of olive oil in a frying pan and then the spaghetti. When it gets hot, break and mix a couple of eggs and pour over it. Turn it in sections to incorporate the eggs, then form it into a nice brown sort of 'cake' in the pan. Real tasty and hearty. Any comments or am I out to lunch with this one?
 
Old CW4 said:
I can't recall seeing spaghetti mentioned as a handy/dandy survival ration in this section of the site. Why not? As a widower I do my own cooking and usually make spaghetti two or three times a month. It's quick, tasty with many variations such as meat, cheese, sauces, etc. Also high in calories, and should store uncooked for ages with little deterioration. I've got a 13.25 ounce box of 'Barilla whole grain' here on my desk as I'm typing this. The box says it has 1400 calories total or a bit more than 100 cals per ounce. That's right up there with peanut butter, trail mix, and other 'survival' foods. All you need to make a batch is water and a little salt, then mix in whatever else you like. I even have leftover spaghetti for breakfast once in a while. A bit of olive oil in a frying pan and then the spaghetti. When it gets hot, break and mix a couple of eggs and pour over it. Turn it in sections to incorporate the eggs, then form it into a nice brown sort of 'cake' in the pan. Real tasty and hearty. Any comments or am I out to lunch with this one?
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Makes me hungry. There is a tapas type recipe that is like that.... With French Ham I think, ridiculously good.

Oh yeah, I think you have made a good point, it has a long shelf life, is easy to cook. And, if you get the good stuff, it takes good, all by itself.

Marion
 
Old, I am certainly for it. It remains as one of the stable items of bachelorhood, and is easy to make on the trail. Hell my buddies and I have even made Lo-mein with it, due to the fact that someone packed a walmart fold-a-skillet in. I've been told by a Cajun fellow that crawfish go good with it (a Cajun fella, imagine that!) But when you think about it, you can get Indian meal moths and drugstore beetles in rice, but it is hard (albeit not impossible, it does happen) to get a pest in a spaghetti stash. Just mixing it with soy sauce or an easy pesto myth will undoubtedly dissolve the "same taste all the time" blues. Easy to make, thermo tolerant, and cheap. What more could you want?CW4, I personally thank you for this post. Tomorrow we shall have pesto pasta in your honor!
 
That settle's it.......I'm having spaghetti tonight.


Never thought about it but will definitely take some next time I go camping. I always have a hard time thinking of things to take, these recent food threads have given me many ideas (and made me hungry) so thanks to everyone and your ideas.
 
Two reasons why I don't use spaghetti in the sticks: Needs a bigger cooking pot than I tend to carry or has to be broken down making an inconvenient shovel load. And it is a food oddity in that it's the only one I can think of off the top of my head that really requires a fork to eat it effectively. I haven't taken a fork into the sticks on a proper trip in a long while. I do use pasta a whole lot, mainly lasagne sheets. Easy to pack with a rubber band round and thin so it cooks quickly when broken into a pot, yet still gives a worthy scoop full.
 
Inexpensive.
Dietetic wise Effective.
Easy digestion
Good in terms of energy/weight ratio.
Long shelf life.
Not too prone to degradation in the field (although avoid humidity).

Now regarding cooking: you need quite a lot of water, you need having it boil and keep it hot for quite a while and most of the water is discarded in the end.
So not great if you got limited water and/or fuel (and/or if you need to carry most of your water and/or fuel).

Otherwise they are just fine.
 
Elbow mac has always had a place in my camp food choices. Pasta rocks.

I often cook it in a little Ti pot over coals. Add in a can of chicken or tuna, some Olive Oil and herbs, and you have a fine meal.
 
I like the pasta that cooks in 5 or 10 minutes to save fuel.

This pasta is some of my favorite to take on the trail because it cooks pretty fast.

http://www.rossipasta.com/Pasta_C6.cfm?UserID=898643&jsessionid=d03019a841e3z$27$A6$

Fourth, its ease of preparation. Our linguinis and fettuccinis cook in 2-4 to 3-5 minutes, respectively -- far less than the typical 8-10 minutes (or more!) characteristic of semolina or durum-based pastas. Some of our variations, like Capelli d’Angelo, cook in as little as 90 seconds!
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I love spaghetti. Also egg noodles mixed with tuna is awesome, but I've never taken it on the trail, you need too big a pot IMO, but I'm sure you could make it work. But as something to stock in your house as emergency food rations, I can see it.
 
If you extend this to "pasta", Couscous is a great thing to pack. You can get a lot in a small bag, cooks up fast, and is very spoon friendly.
 
I keep 3 or 4 oz of tiny alphabet pasta in my kit with a pack of lipton soup and a few oxo envelopes. I can make 2 or 3 little filling pots of soup for next to no weight/bulk.
I hate trying to drain pasta with small pots and no strainer, one pot meals are easier for me.

I like to bring the uncle bens natural select flavored rice. Cooks with a 10 min simmer but it is flavored and really tasty.

I dehydrate chopped chicken breast and keep a half cup in a bag to add either meals

I try not to bring anything that needs more than 10 min to cook because when I am up high it is more like a half an hour.
 
I personally don't like spaghetti. I do like other pastas. It has something to do with the shape I guess.
 
The foregoing points are well made, on both positive attributes and concerning cooking limitations.

I can't recall the name now, but aren't there some Japanese noodles that are based on bean flour and have a slightly higher protein content? That might be another possibility.

DancesWithKnives
 
Brad "the butcher";7725905 said:
I hate trying to drain pasta with small pots and no strainer, one pot meals are easier for me.
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MSR makes a folding plastic strainer that works very well.
 
To drain pasta, I just hold a blade against the edge of my little pot, and pour. Out goes the water , but the pasta stays. :)
 
knifenut1013 said:
That settle's it.......I'm having spaghetti tonight.


Never thought about it but will definitely take some next time I go camping. I always have a hard time thinking of things to take, these recent food threads have given me many ideas (and made me hungry) so thanks to everyone and your ideas.
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Me too!!!!
Opens the eyes to the possibilities...got me thinking now :)

:thumbup:Great post CW4, thanks.:thumbup:
 
Shotgun said:
I personally don't like spaghetti. I do like other pastas. It has something to do with the shape I guess.
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I prefer Macaroni - much easier to eat than spaghetti! Sure it takes 8 minutes of boiling for the standard stuff (but I have seen 3 minute varieties) - but as long as you have the water and fuel then it shouldn't be a problem to cook.

Has anyone else tried seasoning with lemon pepper? Mmmmm - tasty. I like how you can cook pasta and then add whatever for flavour, so many options for the 'whatever' - meat, cheese, sauce, etc.
 
spaghetti is a no-go for me.

it needs alot of fuel and water, and the water goes to waste, or you have to apply it to something else. some buddy can enlighten me to what that might be, preferrably in a realistic sense.

ramen comes in a lot of flavors, and can be found in a spaghetti-like flavors or you can improvise them, and i believe it is much-higher in calories, and you use all the water that you cook with.


pre-cooking the spaghetti at home or in main camp, as i think has been mentioned, might be good to have some variety on the first day or two of your treks, in a non-emergency movement.

if you have an abundance of time, water, and fuel, by all means, bring the regular pasta.


i'll stick to rice, ramen, crackers, and oatmeal as low-volume-high-calorie squirrel extenders.... :cool::thumbup:

HTH.

vec
 
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