View Full Version : Has anyone tried corn pasta?
Downhill Trucker
02-13-2009, 05:35
... for backpacking, obviously.
Thughts, concerns, recipes?
Hikes in Rain
02-13-2009, 06:48
Had it once. Tasty, but real hard to get here. I'd think it was loaded with complex carbohydrates. So rare as to be a treat, instead of a staple.
Tipi Walter
02-13-2009, 07:58
I've taken whole corn elbows out a bunch but they are tricky to cook and if you cook them too long(easy to do), they end up a tasteless mush. Worth trying out though and a change O pace from the usual wheat.
Tipi Walter's right about the cooking situation. I figured it was too specific and touchy for cooking on trail, but sure, can be done and are tasty! :)
In 2001 hiked some with Tuna & Wild Boy. Corn pasta & tuna was all they ate.They said that it had more carbs than regular pasta. They brought it in bulk and did food drops.
Yeah, I tried it once when a friend offered me some of his. Thought I was going to hate it, but it was actually really pretty tasty. Never made it myself though, so I have no cooking suggestions.
SGT Rock
02-13-2009, 11:35
I probably over cooked it because I thought it sucked.
garlic08
02-13-2009, 11:38
Corn pasta is sort of a joke among PCT hikers who have read Ray Jardine's book "Beyond Backpacking". Mr Jardine proposes corn pasta as the most perfect food of all time, nearly. But most who try it agree that it's pretty horrible to eat. Just look in any hiker box along the PCT.
SGT Rock
02-13-2009, 11:40
He also says Raw only is the best food to eat, but then also mentions in other places that he couldn't make raw foods work on the trail because he couldn't get enough calories that way.
Nearly Normal
02-13-2009, 11:49
I like corn,
grits,
on the cob,
fried,
by kellogs,
and in a jar.
Never tried pasta.
Farr Away
08-09-2013, 07:38
Tried corn pasta last night. It wasn't bad. The texture was just a little bit off, but I may not have cooked it quite enough.
It required more water than wheat pasta. Also a lot of starch cooked off it, so it needed a lot of rinsing. For those reasons, I don't think I'd want to fuss with it on the trail.
coach lou
08-09-2013, 07:44
I have tried it at home many times. You can easily over cook it, it just isn't the same with tomato sauce. My wife and I do enjoy it a few different ways. I don't think it is a good trail choice. It is the same weight as regular and takes the same time (too much) boil.
rocketsocks
08-09-2013, 08:15
Tried corn pasta last night. It wasn't bad. The texture was just a little bit off, but I may not have cooked it quite enough.
It required more water than wheat pasta. Also a lot of starch cooked off it, so it needed a lot of rinsing. For those reasons, I don't think I'd want to fuss with it on the trail.
I have tried it at home many times. You can easily over cook it, it just isn't the same with tomato sauce. My wife and I do enjoy it a few different ways. I don't think it is a good trail choice. It is the same weight as regular and takes the same time (too much) boil.
I've had it as well....kinda grainy, like whole wheat...I like egg based pasta better. Though tortillas soup is not bad.
had some great corn last night...it was "NBC" night...nothin but corn...and some veggies
Just Bill
08-09-2013, 09:31
Corn pasta is sort of a joke among PCT hikers who have read Ray Jardine's book "Beyond Backpacking". Mr Jardine proposes corn pasta as the most perfect food of all time, nearly. But most who try it agree that it's pretty horrible to eat. Just look in any hiker box along the PCT.
A "Ray Way" staple for sure, tricky to cook indeed, an acquired taste- absolutely. Ray makes his with pasta sauce which helps a lot, you can put the dried pasta flakes in with the water and the pasta absorbs the flavor as well. Seems to aid in the cooking a bit. That said- takes more than trying it out- it's a skill. Growing up Italian I never could get over the taste and texture and couldn't make the mental leap. Like Whole Grain pastas, something about it is off, and it never tastes right. Worth playing with though, try it at home to figure out how to cook it- but overall most folks (myself included) never convert to it. Bulger, Millet, rice, and other grains do the trick for me, I get my corn from Pinole.
Ray was a corn pasta proponent in the PCT Hikers Handbook but by Beyond Backpacking said they don't make it like they used to and nixed the idea.
Just Bill
08-09-2013, 10:25
Ray was a corn pasta proponent in the PCT Hikers Handbook but by Beyond Backpacking said they don't make it like they used to and nixed the idea.
He's back on the corn (Spaghetti)- Trail Life pages 146-148. Ray has one of the best nutritional sections of any backpacking book, IMO. Not all aspects of the Ray Way are the way, but you can certainly learn a lot from the fella. Detailed advice on how to obtain and cook the magical corn are included.
He's back on the corn (Spaghetti)- Trail Life pages 146-148. Ray has one of the best nutritional sections of any backpacking book, IMO. Not all aspects of the Ray Way are the way, but you can certainly learn a lot from the fella. Detailed advice on how to obtain and cook the magical corn are included.
Never read Trail Life, but found at the time it would have been nearly impossible to hike the PCT without the Handbook.
Rumor had it Ray hiked the AT this year, but I never saw where anyone spotted him.
PS Amazon says Trail Life (2009) is Ray's colorized version of Beyond Backpacking. I couldn't find any mention of corn pasta (spaghetti) in it.
Just Bill
08-09-2013, 10:40
Trail Life is the best version yet. As a climber Ray was one of my hero's long before I even heard of the PCT or AT- amazing dude. His site has a little blurb and a few photos from March on the AT...next post is a long motorcycle ride in the southwest in July. Possible...but doesn't look like a Thru. Small blurb on the news page too with some pics seems to say springer to at least Virginia. Even at around 70 I wouldn't doubt he could pull a four month hike, just doesn't look like he squeezed it in. http://www.rayjardine.com/adventures/2013-03-AT/index.htm
Trail Life is the best version yet. As a climber Ray was one of my hero's long before I even heard of the PCT or AT- amazing dude. His site has a little blurb and a few photos from March on the AT...next post is a long motorcycle ride in the southwest in July. Possible...but doesn't look like a Thru. Small blurb on the news page too with some pics seems to say springer to at least Virginia. Even at around 70 I wouldn't doubt he could pull a four month hike, just doesn't look like he squeezed it in. http://www.rayjardine.com/adventures/2013-03-AT/index.htm
Looks like his Dad died. That certainly would have interrupted his hike. After his Dad''s memorial which he rode to on a serious BMW, he switched gears so to speak. Something I may have to look into.
23262
Just Bill
08-09-2013, 10:50
Was just reading that...if Ray is 69- not a bad run for his pops. Likely a few decades left in Ray! Not to start a fight- but if there was one guy who shaped the way we all backpack- he's the man.
Not to start a fight- but if there was one guy who shaped the way we all backpack- he's the man.
Even more than Warren!? (heh, heh... I agree.)
Just Bill
08-09-2013, 11:32
Even more than Warren!? (heh, heh... I agree.)
LOL- apples and oranges- but quite simply- what Warren has done for the AT, Jardine has done for the entire world of backpacking. Both are equally controversial- but when you pick up nearly any frameless pack, quilt, or modern tarp- you picked up a piece of Ray Way gear- even if you don't know it. (Speaking generally- not at you Sly) Warren is cool- Jardine took a rocket ship to a whole 'nother planet though. Sides- Ray completely changed climbing first, then when he got a bit older he mucked around with leisure activities like backpacking.:D
Tried it once. Went back to real food.
"When I drink Whiskey I drink Whiskey! When I drink Water I drink Water"
LOL- apples and oranges- but quite simply- what Warren has done for the AT, Jardine has done for the entire world of backpacking. Both are equally controversial- but when you pick up nearly any frameless pack, quilt, or modern tarp- you picked up a piece of Ray Way gear- even if you don't know it. (Speaking generally- not at you Sly) Warren is cool- Jardine took a rocket ship to a whole 'nother planet though. Sides- Ray completely changed climbing first, then when he got a bit older he mucked around with leisure activities like backpacking.:D
Of course I agree. Jardine is not only a noted author, he has gear creations/inventions. Has kayaked, rowed, climbed, hiked etc. etc. etc.
Didn't really mean to knock Warren. I genuinely appreciate and admire his accomplishments.
Of note, Warren founded ALDHA and turned Jardine on to the idea who later found ALDHA West.
Just Bill
08-09-2013, 12:30
Peas in a pod!
Peas in a pod!
Very accomplished individuals who have inspired or directly helped countless others to enjoy long distance hiking (among other things) to be sure.
That said, to suggest they have done great things for our Trails is a stretch.
But I am probably missing something.
Just Bill
08-09-2013, 12:54
Warren- always a debate- but certainly an influence.
Ray- didn't influence our trails- but monumentally shaped our sport. There have been a lot of discussions of various greats in various sports lately. I would put Ray up as the greatest sportsman period. Bo Jackson played two sports, and played them well- but he didn't fundamentally rewrite the game like Ray did with first climbing and then backpacking. Nobody I can think of in any sport, let alone two changed the game they were involved in in so many ways as Jardine. Gear, technique, style, limits, boundaries, all exploded and changed in each sport. Modern Climbing is built upon friends (active protection) and wouldn't exist if not for his invention AND application of that invention in the sport. Regarding backpacking- every modern pack- based upon his design. Quilts and tarps- debatable but there. The rest of his stuff was so controversial that it has turned into a joke in many circles, but the last laugh is his, as nearly everything he came up with is still used today- sometimes so completely that people can't see that it came from him, they just assume it's part of the sport.
Sorry to spin off into a dramatic man crush:(- ALDHA is a good group- and those efforts definitely help all trails.
The corn pasta elbows are fine. Getting quite common too in larger grocery stores in the Gluten Free or Organic sections. There's nothing particularly tricky about cooking corn pasta. When you overcook or oversoak pasta, no matter what grain it's made from, it gets mushy. Like most pastas you add flavor to it to please. Don't fear the corn pasta. Try it.