Trail pasta

[DownEaster]

I keep up my spirits and motivate myself to put in the miles with real food on the trail. I've got trail Alfredo sauce worked out, but I'm not doing as well with the fettuccine. Normally you use a lot of water so the boiling noodles have room to move around relative to each other. However, in a 1.4 L pot there isn't much room. I tried breaking ½ lb. of fettuccine into sixths (lengthwise) so there would be less surface area to cling to another piece, and I stirred frequently (and carefully) with my plastic backpacking spoon (short enough to fit in the pot when stowed). This resulted in largely edible pasta, but there were still too many pieces that didn't cook all the way through because they stuck together.

Do I need to downsize the pasta from fettuccine to linguini? (I've already substituted angel hair for anything requiring spaghetti, and that's worked out well. Less cooking time and fewer mechanical problems for the same taste.) Narrower noodles aren't going to hold the same amount of sauce, so the proportions will be off a bit. But 1/3 less cooking time is desirable in itself.

The standard solution to pasta sticking together is to add olive oil. I haven't tried that yet for a couple of reasons: (1) it'll leave a residue that will make the Alfredo sauce fall off the noodles; and (2) I have no idea how olive oil would change things if I popped the pot into its cozy for 2X the "simmer" time instead of actually simmering.

Have any of you played with these variables of trail pasta? If so, please share.

[Chris_Cates]

Cook your pasta then dehydrate it.

[cliffordbarnabus]

put water in pot. put pasta in pot. add heat. when it boils, turn off stove. leave covered. wait....wait...wait for it. and then eat at your preferred level of al dente.

[DownEaster]

Cook your pasta then dehydrate it.
Not particularly practical for 5 months of hiking, while you can buy some form of spaghetti pretty much anywhere.

[DownEaster]

put water in pot. put pasta in pot. add heat. when it boils, turn off stove. leave covered. wait....wait...wait for it. and then eat at your preferred level of al dente.
This would make the "noodles stuck together" problem worse (no stirring, no water boiling). You don't get a "level of al dente"; instead, you get multiple levels depending on how many layers of noodles stuck together (and impeded the cooking process) in each forkful.

[squeezebox]

How about penne or rigatoni? elbows? shells?

[TTT]

I add oil to water to get things not to stick to each other.

[orthofingers]

Maybe, get a bigger pot. I just returned from a canoe camping trip where we did some real cooking and one of the most useful cooking items was a largeish IMUSA grease pot (I think about $8 from Walmart). I haven't weighed it but it seems very light.

[DownEaster]

Maybe, get a bigger pot. I just returned from a canoe camping trip where we did some real cooking and one of the most useful cooking items was a largeish IMUSA grease pot (I think about $8 from Walmart).
I checked those and they're the same size as my cookpot: 1.5 quart/1.4 L.

[TTT]

Perhaps scale back on your ingredients - half of everything. Aluminum pots cooks better and titanium has a propensity to burn stuff

[grubbster]

The logistics might not work for thru hiking, but I would think a good answer to trail pasta would be homemade pasta. It is very easy to make and dry and only takes a few minutes to cook in a cozy after boiling. Tastes much better than the commercial dried stuff too.

[illabelle]

DE, I understand what you're talking about. If you use a pre-packaged pasta packet like Knorr, the problem is worse because if you add enough water for good cooking, you've totally diluted the cheese powder. Ugh.
I believe one of the problems with fettuccine is that it's flat. Substitute a spiral pasta or some other shape and you'll have less sticking. I avoid the bowtie pasta because of the different results in the chewy folded center "knot" vs the soft outer part. I avoid penne pasta because it often collapses and the two sides stick together same as fettuccine.
What are you doing for the Alfredo sauce? I bring a container of Parmesan cheese and pretend.

[Tipi Walter]

Cook your pasta then dehydrate it.

Exactly my thought. Even on a thruhike you could do this and send mail drops.


Not particularly practical for 5 months of hiking, while you can buy some form of spaghetti pretty much anywhere.

Yes but can he get Alfredo sauce everywhere---or its ingredients??

A couple years ago I prepared for a 21 day backpacking trip by preparing a big spaghetti meal at home---cooked properly in a pot and added all the sauce and ingredients---as if you're going to sit down and eat it---but instead of eating it I dried the whole wad and ziplocked it for the trip. A gallon bag lasted me 9 days for 9 dinners.

The beauty of this is that the pasta is already cooked---so you just bring my mix to a boil and let sit in the pot cozy for 30 minutes. Preparing uncooked pasta in the field uses up too much precious water and fuel.

https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpacking2012/TRIP-137/i-QcNcLzh/0/cfbdeafb/L/TRIP%20137%20014-L.jpg

[clusterone]

Check out Barilla Pronto Pasta. It is a champ as you do not have to bring to a boil. In fact I just cook it like a bag meal...heat water, add to pasta in Ziploc and let it sit. Cook sauce while the noodles finish, then eat like a king!

https://www.barilla.com/en-us/product-results/pasta/range/pronto/?sort=alpha

Available in five delicious shapes (Half-Cut Spaghetti, Penne, Elbows, Half-Cut Linguine and Rotini),

[cbxx]

Best pasta for the trail: couscous. Experiment with recipes.

[hipbone]

We can hydrate everything before we go hiking, then mail it to our ourselves. There's a link below that has a really good dehydrating book. We use it regularly:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0811713474/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1502823553&sr=1-4&refinements=p_n_feature_browse-bin%3A2656022011&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=linda+Frederick+yaffe&dpPl=1&dpID=615JdY0wvAL&ref=plSrch

[hipbone]

We can hydrate everything before we go hiking, then mail it to our ourselves. There's a link below that has a really good dehydrating book. We use it regularly:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0811713474/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1502823553&sr=1-4&refinements=p_n_feature_browse-bin%3A2656022011&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=linda+Frederick+yaffe&dpPl=1&dpID=615JdY0wvAL&ref=plSrch


"can hydrate" ="dehydrate"

[DownEaster]

Yes but can he get Alfredo sauce everywhere---or its ingredients??
Yes, I've got that figured out. These flavor packets (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000LKU8A6/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3ILDFEA6O9H8D&colid=VBCWP6XPOP0J) are just 1.48 ounce each, and I'll get 2-3 in each supply box. To that I add milk (from Nido powder), butter (which I carry in a Coghlan's squeeze tube), and dry parmesan cheese (Kraft if that's the only option, or better if I can find it). With one batch of Alfredo sauce I can have fettuccine (or more likely linguine) at night, and Eggs Benedict the next morning (replacing the usual hollandaise sauce). Alfredo sauce also works on potatoes: just make your Idahoan mashed a bit on the dry side, and add Alfredo "au gratin".

[TexasBob]

The truth is that you are unlikely to replicate on the trail what you cook in your kitchen at home. For me the goal is to produce something that is tasty, relatively simple to prepare, easy to clean up and generally available at most resupply points.

[ScareBear]

The truth is that you are unlikely to replicate on the trail what you cook in your kitchen at home. For me the goal is to produce something that is tasty, relatively simple to prepare, easy to clean up and generally available at most resupply points.

+1 but with the proviso of containing sufficient calories and calories from fat.

I am a bit confused with your aversion to olive oil. Even with a big cookpot at home, you don't add olive oil to the boiling water before adding the fettuccine? The solution to the Alfredo not sticking to noodles with oil is to...hang on.........rinse the damn pasta before saucing it. But, that requires extra water and a strainer would be nice.

So, my advice is to just forget the damn fettuccine. In Italy, the dish is called Pasta al burro(butter), not fettuccine alfredo, and the key phrase for you is PASTA. Italians make it with different pastas. Like spaghetti. My fave is penne pasta. The key here is that penne should cook up just fine without oil and holds the butter and cheese better than other pasta. Cooking pasta and tossing with butter and cheese is about 500 years older than Alfredo Di Lelio's restaurant in Rome. Free your mind from the freaking fettuccine. The sauce is nothing more than butter and cheese. Try it with something other than parmigiano for a treat.

Here's a hint, leave out the parmigiano, add garlic and parsley and toss with any noodles. Pasta aglio et olio. Voila. BTW, aglio et olio doesn't need cheese at all and to my way of thinking is not authentic with the cheese...

[cliffordbarnabus]

This would make the "noodles stuck together" problem worse (no stirring, no water boiling). You don't get a "level of al dente"; instead, you get multiple levels depending on how many layers of noodles stuck together (and impeded the cooking process) in each forkful.
the key is not to be picky. but to be thankful.

[DownEaster]

I am a bit confused with your aversion to olive oil. Even with a big cookpot at home, you don't add olive oil to the boiling water before adding the fettuccine? Nope; just lots of water and lots of stirring to keep things from sticking.


Here's a hint, leave out the parmigiano, add garlic and parsley and toss with any noodles. Pasta aglio et olio. Voila. BTW, aglio et olio doesn't need cheese at all and to my way of thinking is not authentic with the cheese...
But I like the cheese; that's what makes it tasty and fun for me. Plus the protein is good.

[rocketsocks]

the key is not to be picky. but to be thankful.i like that!

though you could just leave a little starchy pasta water in the pot to improve schtick. Also drop your pasta and stir to break up friends, once they part ways they should be good to go.

[Harrison Bergeron]

I'm with you. You don't want to scrimp in the food department.

So cook up a big batch of Chicken Alfredo, pig out, and then head to Walmart to buy your Mountain House pasta for the trail. Because it's a bad idea to go grocery shopping when you're hungry! My favorite is chili-mac. The lasagna is not bad but the spaghetti is better. But it's all good. You can buy the double-packs to save some money, but fair warning -- when your appetite kicks in you'll have a hard time saving the 2nd half for tomorrow. But I can tell you this -- you're not going to feel like gourmet cooking after climbing mountains all day.

The only place I ever had a problem finding Mountain House on the trail was Mountain Crossings. If you come through after the bubble the chili-mac will be all gone.

[mtngoat01]

For long distance hiking I prepare all meals at home by fully cooking the entire meal...including the cooked pasta and dehydrate. If your dehydrated meals are stored properly and you have help sending out mail drops it really is worth the effort because the taste....soooo good.

However...if this isn't your style of resupply on a long distance hike try orzo. It cooks up fast, it is compact, it seems to goes well with just about any sauce or topping out there. Let's face it too...if you are cooking up a meal after hiking all day and it is remotely tasty then you will gobble it down with no complaints.

Just one more thing to add...In dehydrated meals, orzo rehydrates nice plus it isn't as pokey to plastic storage bags as other types of dehydrated pasta.

Good luck


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[DownEaster]

If your dehydrated meals are stored properly and you have help sending out mail drops ....
I won't have that much help, alas. I might get a half dozen boxes total, and the first one I'll mail myself before I leave. So those boxes are going to be for lighter clothes, multivitamins and similar small consumables, and things I really want but can't expect to find in normal stores (loose high quality black tea, and maple sugar for my pancakes, for examples). 99+% of my food is going to be purchased as I go. I expect to eat pasta at least a couple times every week, and a box once a month doesn't jibe with that.

[BionicAnkle]

This past weekend i tried pasta after a short six miles and it worked awesome what i used was a quick boil pasta only takes three mins if that and it seems to not stick together all that much.

[Huntmog]

I've gotten hooked on cheese tortellini as my one cooked meal a day. Add whatever extras you crave.... we've done packs of sun dried tomatoes, olives, jerker, parmesan etc. You can even add sauce.

No sticking, no thinking and most importantly...6 oz of hearty food after banging out 20 miles!

[bikebum1975]

Made pasta many times in a camp pot never had any issues with it sticking either. Hard rolling boil salt the water add pasta cook drain eat. Easy peasy. Sure you can add some oil to it. Also regarding the cheese choice I'd much rather hump in a good chunk of real cheese and skip that canned crap. But hey hike yer own hike if it works for ya
Oh and do stir occasionally no need for all the time

[bikebum1975]

Also if it sticks after cooking do toss it with oil to keep it seperatef

[jeremywerlin]

Great suggestions here.

[DownEaster]

Also regarding the cheese choice I'd much rather hump in a good chunk of real cheese and skip that canned crap.
What canned cheese are you referring to? I make my own Alfredo sauce.