Survival knife saves the day (in an unsual way)

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Brock O Lee

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Jun 29, 2011
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My lovely wife bakes rusks every now and then for our family. It is a traditional South African type of "double baked bread", somewhat comparable to biscotti, but larger thicker chunks. It is a common "on the go" breakfast food with coffee. You typically dip it in your hot coffee for a moment to soften, and then take a bite.

So this time around, in an effort to make our rusks healthier, my wife experimented with a different type of wholewheat flour, which turned out delicious when we tasted them before drying them out. However, after drying, they turned rock hard, which was unusual and unexpected. These "fossillised" rusks were reluctant to soften after a soak, and we were debating about throwing them out.

I hate throwing food away. It was obvious to me that these rusks were simply too chunky, and combined with an impressive Rockwell hardness it made them a health hazard instead of a healthy snack... I volunteered to chop them in half to see if we could salvage them. Best tool for the job was the new ESEE 6 I bought at the end of last season for fire prep for the wood burning stove...

To bring this long-winded tale to a conclusion, there I was batoning rusks in the garage with a survival knife and a rubber mallet. I totally saved the day. These thinner rusks soften up faster, will not cause a dental emergency, and are still delicious. What a weird but rewarding day.





How did your knife save this day?

Edit: spelling
 
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Brock O Lee said:
My lovely wife bakes rusks every now and then for our family. It is a traditional South African type of "double baked bread", somewhat comparable to biscotti, but larger thicker chunks. It is a common "on the go" breakfast food with coffee. You typically dip it in your hot coffee for a moment to soften, and then take a bite.

So this time around, in an effort to make our rusks healthier, my wife experimented with a different type of wholewheat flour, which turned out delicious when we tasted them before drying them out. However, after drying, they turned rock hard, which was unusual and unexpected. These "fossillised" rusks were reluctant to soften after a soak, and we were debating about throwing them out.

I hate throwing food away. It was obvious to me that these rusks were simply too chunky, and combined with an impressive Rockwell hardness it made them a heath hazard instead of a healthy snack... I volunteerd to chop them in half to see if we could salvage them. Best tool for the job was the new ESEE 6 I bought at the end of last season for fire prep for the wood burning stove...

To bring this long-winded story to a conclusion, there I was batoning rusks in the garage with a survival knife and a rubber mallet. I totally saved the day. These thinner rusks soften up faster, will not cause a dental emergency, and are still delicious. What a weird but rewarding day.





How did your knife save this day?
Click to expand...
I am glad this worked for you and commend you on your reluctance to throw food away.
 
Brock O Lee said:
My lovely wife bakes rusks every now and then for our family. It is a traditional South African type of "double baked bread", somewhat comparable to biscotti, but larger thicker chunks. It is a common "on the go" breakfast food with coffee. You typically dip it in your hot coffee for a moment to soften, and then take a bite.

So this time around, in an effort to make our rusks healthier, my wife experimented with a different type of wholewheat flour, which turned out delicious when we tasted them before drying them out. However, after drying, they turned rock hard, which was unusual and unexpected. These "fossillised" rusks were reluctant to soften after a soak, and we were debating about throwing them out.

I hate throwing food away. It was obvious to me that these rusks were simply too chunky, and combined with an impressive Rockwell hardness it made them a heath hazard instead of a healthy snack... I volunteerd to chop them in half to see if we could salvage them. Best tool for the job was the new ESEE 6 I bought at the end of last season for fire prep for the wood burning stove...

To bring this long-winded story to a conclusion, there I was batoning rusks in the garage with a survival knife and a rubber mallet. I totally saved the day. These thinner rusks soften up faster, will not cause a dental emergency, and are still delicious. What a weird but rewarding day.





How did your knife save this day?
Click to expand...
Sounds like that bread could be used as "hardtack" / "survival bread" . So your survival knife seems appropriate to use with . ;)
 
DocJD said:
Sounds like that bread could be used as "hardtack" / "survival bread" . So your survival knife seems appropriate to use with . ;)
Click to expand...

You are correct! Rusks were indeed a type of survival food, common since the late 1690's in South Africa, and throughout the pioneering years and wars. I believe it originated much earlier in Europe, as a long lasting food for extended sea journeys. Double-baking removes moisture and makes it last much longer than fresh bread. A number of other countries have variations of their own.

 
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