Camp cooking, round 1

Materials:

• MSR WhisperLite Universal Canister and Liquid Fuel Stove
• MSR Liquid Fuel Bottle
• Snow Peak Trek 1400 Titanium Cookset
• Snow Peak Titanium Spork
• Optimus Sparky Stove Lighter

Results:

• The original pot I had was so small that it could not actually cover the unfolded blades of the stove, making it incredibly unstable.
• The stove I bought is actually quite large relative to others that only use white gas.
  • I did some research and discovered that the white gas fuel is available in the United States but not so much in Europe and is very hard to find in Asia
  • So, it was a good idea to go with the stove that can also use liquid fuel.
• My first attempt at cooking was to make hot chocolate.
  • I discovered that the thinness of the titanium pot makes it very prone to burn materials.
  • Though on the other hand it is fairly easy to clean afterwards.
• The hot chocolate was delicious but immediately after cooking it I tried to disconnect the gas, which upset the pot.
  • I spilled a lot of it requiring quick attention with paper towels and a sponge.
  • Lessons learned:
    • Wait to disconnect the gas until the stove is clear.
    • Take potential spill and splash zones seriously because cleanup materials are hard to find in a camp.

• Afterwards I found that the stove and the cooking plate and the spork and the canister stand would all fit inside the pot
  • I did not have any easy way to keep the pot closed so I cut a luggage strap to fit around it.
  • This left the fuel bottle, the fuel bottle insert, the fuel canister, the spare parts, and the air shield outside.
  • All those items fit together in the original sack, except for the fuel canister.  The fuel bottle kind of poked out the top though.
• As long as I cleaned the pot thoroughly after use I now had a cooking set contained in a pot and a sack, with a very small frying pan for a lid, small enough to fit in one of the mesh bags on my pannier.
• Even with this slightly larger pot, there was still some instability on the burner.
  • Plus if I want to fry more than two eggs, or cook more than a fistful of pasta, I need more room.
• Because of the thin walls of my cookware I will have to do most of my cooking using water to distribute heat.
  • For example steaming broccoli or squash or cooking noodles or sausage.
• I suspect I am soon going to want some kind of prep table or cutting board.
• Speaking of which, I do not have a knife.

Round 2 …