View Full Version : Mac and cheese question
Believe it or not I've never made mac&cheese while hiking. What do you do? Just make it with water and skip the butter and milk?
Lone Wolf
08-30-2007, 12:09
Believe it or not I've never made mac&cheese while hiking. What do you do? Just make it with water and skip the butter and milk?
me either. i absolutely hate cheese. i don't even eat pizza
Footslogger
08-30-2007, 12:09
Believe it or not I've never made mac&cheese while hiking. What do you do? Just make it with water and skip the butter and milk?
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Depends on the brand. There are a couple out there that don't have the "powdered cheese). The cheeze is a goopy paste.
But yeah ...skip the butter and milk, unless you're carrying powdered milk.
'Slogger
i have never made it either. If I did I would still add the butter and milk. I would use Nido for the milk and stop by some fast food place that has packaged non-refrigerated butter and take it.
You can just skip the milk and butter, and it still tastes fine. Just don't put in too much water or the "cheese" ends up too thin.
BTW, if you do freezer bag cooking, mac and cheese is super easy to make in a freezer bag. Just cook the mac and then add the cheese powder right before you eat it.
Footslogger
08-30-2007, 12:19
BTW, if you do freezer bag cooking, mac and cheese is super easy to make in a freezer bag. Just cook the mac and then add the cheese powder right before you eat it.
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Have not done the freezer bag cooking but I can see one HUGE advantage ...clean-up. MacNCheese can really mess up a cookpot !!
'Slogger
warraghiyagey
08-30-2007, 12:20
me either. i absolutely hate cheese. i don't even eat pizza
Then you'd be in luck w/ most mac n 'cheese' mix as I think technically it isn't really cheese. It should be called 'mac n powdery flavory (not) yellow stuff.'
But to answer the question, yes you can make it with just water and it works out fine, or as fine as you can get on the trail without packing in butter and or powdered milk. I usually have it about once a week on the trail and everything bland tastes better when the body just needs food.
:)
Hikes with a stick
08-30-2007, 12:46
Its just regular butter than has been heated slowly to remove the milk, water, and other solids from it. You can then pour it in a small bottle, and it will harden, so it will not leak. You can then just scoop it out, or you can toss the bottle into a pot of boiling water, and it will liquefiy it so you can pour it. It keeps for a long time. Its also know as ghee.
I used it to make some coffee cake once while camping... It was awesome. My favorite thing to use it for is pancakes. It makes them turn out like the pancakes you get at the cracker barrel, with the light crispy coating on the outside. Regular butter won't do that.
Believe it or not I've never made mac&cheese while hiking. What do you do? Just make it with water and skip the butter and milk?
I use liquid margarine or oil in place of butter and add a bit of powdered milk with the powder that substitutes for cheese. If I have it, I also add some real cheddar or other hard cheese.
But as others have said, it is okay without butter and milk.
Weary
EZ MAC does not use butter or milk, add water and thats it and as far as mac and cheese goes it aint bad.
THEmapMAKER
08-30-2007, 13:31
You can buy little packs of Olive Oil to substitute for butter. I have never done this before, but I am leaveing this Sunday to do the GA portion of the AT and will be using the Olive Oil. I bought them at EMS.
I bought them at EMS.
EMS sells olive oil now?
Who woulda thunk it...
http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=8455 24442589872&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574488340549&bmUID=1188495660267
dixicritter
08-30-2007, 13:52
For the butter flavor there is a product called Butter Buds (http://www.butterbuds.com/). It is like the dry milk. To add that "buttery flavor". :)
i've used mac and cheese all the time while hiking, i've found that if you add a little chicken (canned) it helps make it more to eat than just mac and cheese.
sometimes i'll bring a little extra butter in a small container to add to the pot, i've never brought milk because i've found that it is only for the cheese powder, so i just leave a little extra water and it works out fine.
Footslogger
08-30-2007, 14:11
[quote=dmb658;399301]i've used mac and cheese all the time while hiking, i've found that if you add a little chicken (canned) it helps make it more to eat than just mac and cheese.
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Try a tuna packet ...YUM !!
'Slogger
Try a tuna packet ...YUM !!
'Slogger
I whip this up in camp and call it Pasta Formaggio con Frutta di Mare
Sounds fancier than Mac n Cheese with Tuna... :)
Lone Wolf
08-30-2007, 14:14
[quote=dmb658;399301]i've used mac and cheese all the time while hiking, i've found that if you add a little chicken (canned) it helps make it more to eat than just mac and cheese.
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Try a tuna packet ...YUM !!
'Slogger
yup. cans are a thing of the past. foil packets rule. they even have single SPAM in a foil packet.
Finally SPAM in a foil packet. Yum. Great stuff sliced and then fried crisp on both sides. I shall look for the stuff. Thanks.
Lone Wolf
08-30-2007, 14:24
Finally SPAM in a foil packet. Yum. Great stuff sliced and then fried crisp on both sides. I shall look for the stuff. Thanks.
Walmarts carry it.
New b,
Buy a box of Kraft mac n cheese from store. open box.. dry maroni and unopened cheese packet go into a zip lock bag.
at camp: bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add macaroni... boil for about 8 minutes. water will boil off. take off eat..add cheese from cheese packet and stir. Yummy. The box says you need 6 cups of water..but use only 3. Otherwise you have extra water to drain out which you shouldn't do.. (LNT principles).
Lone Wolfe: you don't like cheese? You don't even eat pizza? How do you survive??!!! I could not have hked 10 miles of the AT with out cheese and no pizza in town? unthinkable!
David
Lone Wolf
08-30-2007, 14:43
The box says you need 6 cups of water..but use only 3. Otherwise you have extra water to drain out which you shouldn't do.. (LNT principles).
well i've ignored that "principle" for over 20 years. i have and always will drain my pasta water on the ground. i do pack out my tooth paste spit and poop.
Grumpy Ol' Pops
08-30-2007, 15:11
Whenever I'm preparing my food for the trail, I repackage everything that has any kind of air space in the original containers.
With the Mac & Cheese, I simply put the pasta and cheese sauce into a resealable bag and add 2/3 cup of powdered milk and one tablespoon of Butter Buds to the bag. I write the amount of water I'll need for the pot on the outside of the baggie. For the M&C, which usually needs 6 cups of water at home, I use two cups of water and I don't rinse the pasta. Be sure you try one package at home to see if it turns out the way you like it -- adjust the mount of water, powdered milk and butter buds up or down acording to your taste.
I do this preparation with all the dried foods I carry, including dry cereal and any of the dry pasta meals -- even Hamburger Helper is good with a can of chicken or a pouch of tuna, salmon, crab meat or shrimp!
You can buy little packs of Olive Oil to substitute for butter. I have never done this before, but I am leaveing this Sunday to do the GA portion of the AT and will be using the Olive Oil. I bought them at EMS.
I carry a small (3 ounce) container of olive oil.. It's excellent to put on wild greens or to put over angel hair pasta. Angel hair is good hiking food 'cause it boils up in just a couple of minutes. Also good is cous-cous. Just add a cup of boiling water to a cup of cous cous and let sit for 3 minutes. yum.
The Weasel
08-30-2007, 17:46
Believe it or not I've never made mac&cheese while hiking. What do you do? Just make it with water and skip the butter and milk?
purpose of milk and butter in Mac/cheese is to reconstitute the powder to cheese. Butter serves as the "fat" component, and milk adds some milk solids and a little liquid. Both are unnecessary, and milk powder isn't a bad idea but not needed. Just cook with minimum amount of water and add the powder when al dente. tastes fine.
The Weasel
jodestick
08-30-2007, 19:04
you can also buy the shells and cheese version of mac and cheese. it comes with cheese in a pouch and requires no milk, no butter, no water, and boy is it good! it weighs a little bit more, but i think its worth it! i like to add tuna and dehydrated peas to the shells and cheese...i call it tuna noddle casserole! yum!
well i've ignored that "principle" for over 20 years. i have and always will drain my pasta water on the ground. i do pack out my tooth paste spit and poop.I used to do that also, but then once I was preparing supper for 12 people at a campsite in Maine and accidentally dumped out half the pasta. Now, I just use enough water to cook things. No more trail draining of pasta for me. A cup of pasta takes two cups of water.
Strangely, oatmeal is the same. Do you suppose that one cup of all dried things require just two cups of water? I'll have to check.
Oh wait. I remember now. I already checked a decade or so ago. It is true.
Weary
i do pack out my tooth paste spit and poop.
sure you do.
johnny quest
08-31-2007, 10:37
one purpose of boiling pasta with an overabundance of water is so that you can then pour off the starches that become suspended in the water. improves the taste of the pasta if nothing else.
that being said, i dont think that slight flavor improvement matters on the trail. when im hiking i would "eat the boarchinch out of a dead dog's navel"...to paraphrase my daddy.
Dirty Harry
11-24-2007, 02:23
Its all about Parkay and Velvetta, but be weary velvetta bites after consuming for months.
peakbagger
11-24-2007, 10:55
Lipton (Knorr) made a variety of noodles with cheese that I used for several years section hiking. Bascially dump the contents in a pot of water, bring to a boil, cook for about 3 minutes. I carried an assortment of dehydrated veggies and would add them after cooking, then let it sit for 5 minutes. I did not add any milk or fat and found out that the clean up is lot quicker. Anytime I did try it with olive oil of margarine, the clean up was a lot more work.
I loved EZ Mac on the trail. I'd never eat the stuff at home, but it was damn good after a day of hiking and super easy to make. Adding a packet of tuna makes it a little heartier.
I was reading the post on, what else, Mac & Cheese and got hungary, so I thought I would take some of the ideas divulged here and go for a test run.
Dumped a box of Mac & Cheese elbow maccaroni into my camp pot, added just enough water to cover, then boiled on my camp stove, adding just enough more water half-way through cooking to keep the maccaroni covered.
Just before it was done cooking I dumped in a healthy splash of olive oil, some tobasco sauce, and some left-over ham chunks. Bon Apetite!
What I learned for next time: 1. Learn bag cooking for easier clean-up.
2. No butter required. Olive Oil worked fine.
3. No milk needed (but I may take
powdered Nido on my thru hike).
4. No draining of excess water.
5. Needs salt (personal taste).
Until next time :cool: .
Appalachian Tater
11-25-2007, 18:31
I
5. Needs salt (personal taste).
If you routinely add salt to things like boxes of macaroni and cheese, it might be a good idea to get your blood pressure checked if you haven't lately.
Wind some good basil to it.
I like the kind that smells like licorice.
Thanks for the idea Appalation Tater, but spent a while in the VA hospital with all kinds of tests being run (trying to find out what was wrong) and learned that I have almost no collesterol(sp) and blessed with low blood pressure (take meds because it's too low, in fact). So salt for me is no issue WHOOPIE! Thanks again.
Nightwalker
11-26-2007, 04:57
i don't even eat pizza
You're Un-American! I have a hard time believing that! :)
Nightwalker
11-26-2007, 05:04
If you're using the Deluxe, so much the better. It's goop instead of powder, and is pretty nearly pure cheese. Add a half-sized can of peas, the same of corn and a small envelope of tuna. You then have a "first night feast" that townies just don't get! :sun
New b,
Buy a box of Kraft mac n cheese from store. open box.. dry maroni and unopened cheese packet go into a zip lock bag.
at camp: bring 3 cups of water to a boil. Add macaroni... boil for about 8 minutes. water will boil off. take off eat..add cheese from cheese packet and stir. Yummy. The box says you need 6 cups of water..but use only 3. Otherwise you have extra water to drain out which you shouldn't do.. (LNT principles).
Lone Wolfe: you don't like cheese? You don't even eat pizza? How do you survive??!!! I could not have hked 10 miles of the AT with out cheese and no pizza in town? unthinkable!
David
Farr Away
11-29-2007, 00:46
I don't use the butter even when I'm at home - just a little extra milk. On the trail, I use velveeta, cooked and dehydrated shells, freeze dried veggies, nido, a little dill and a tuna packet in a freezer bag. Add boiling water - presto, dinner!
Tennessee Viking
11-29-2007, 00:59
The Kraft E Z Mac singles work best for pack and go. You should be able to boil it until soft, then sprinkle the cheese packet on it.
I'm not a huge mac and cheese fan unless it's made the really old fashioned way at home by my mom in her big blue casserole dish! But, I've substituted mayo for butter or oil while on the trail. I pick up individual mayo packets at deli and fast food places, and carry one or two. Doesn't need refrigeration. Commercial mayo is generally whipped up oil and it melts down easily. Two packets makes about a tablespoon of fat to my "eyeball-it" measuring system.
Tipi Walter
11-29-2007, 01:26
Wow, not to take away from this thread, but I was reading some in depth posts on hunting, Teddy Roosevelt and the demise of the buffalo, and another one on should a thru-hiker be the source of All Knowledge and then ZAP! I hit Today's Posts and see MAC & CHEESE at the top. It made me laugh.
AT-HITMAN2005
11-29-2007, 08:00
mac and cheese was the main staple of my hike, i ate liptons every once in awhile but they just didn't fill me up as much as mac did. i used the basic kraft brand or store brand equivalent(the most), shells and cheese-or other "gourmet" style with the cheese sauce already made(ocassionally, as a treat, heavy stuff,also barely fit in my little titan kettle). then i tried easy mac in the whites(and only the whites) for me it didn't have much flavor. Also it seemed like it was a lot messier. the cheese was like more adhesive or something hard to describe.
now with the kraft brand i did several things to change it up.
1. i carried a squeeze bottle of parkay margarine. there is one type that is "refrigerate after opening". this means it will last a while in the woods with out needing refrigeration. then i would usually get a new bottle when in town next, to avoid any chance of contamination.
2. the usual tuna/chicken/ham whatever foil packet of meat you prefer. also tvp was made available to me at some points, just add it towards to end of the cooking time to reconstitute it some and your good to go(fake pepperoni was my favorite) i switched to the oil based tuna at some point because it helped reconstitute the cheese some, and added a little more flavor.
3. i didn't do this one a whole lot but it was a good idea i think. i would take a box of minute rice, and measure it out in town, to about a serving per baggie.(minute rice is nice because it has a 1-1 cooking ratio). i would cook the rice first in my pot, then put the rice back in the baggie it came in. then i would cook the mac and cheese like normal and mix the rice in with it. main problem with this is was the size of my pot, and the cooking involved.
4. i tried this one a couple times but i wasn't really partial to it. at some restaurants they have salad dressing in good size packets(wendy's comes to mind). i would get the italian kind and use that as a cheese reconstituter. also with this you could add some pepperoni and have a nice italian style meal.
astrogirl
11-29-2007, 18:03
I actually carry (salted) butter in a gladware. It lasts a week, no problem. I put it in nearly everything I cook, so it usually only "lasts" about 4-5 days. :)
That said, I do not hike in high summer.
Squeeze parkay is some unhealthy stuff, by my way of thinking. If I were going in hot weather, I would carry olive oil, but for mac and cheese, I'd just use milk powder.