Cleaning up your kit

[Kieran]

Opening your saucepan from last night to find beans that have been there for 24 hours, there is nothing worse!

What is the best way to clean your cooking equipment when you're out? Without carrying all the stuff under your kitchen sink :P

[jbrown14]

The only two dishes I have to wash when I'm out are my titanium spork, and possibly my Orikaso mug (http://www.orikaso.com/about.php). I don't use my cooking pots for anything but heating up water. All of my meals are either cooked over the fire, or rehydrated in a plastic zipper-lock freezer storage bag. I had enough 24 hour beans stuck to pots when I was younger that I got sick of playing scullery-maid while I could have been enjoying the backcountry a little more. Anyway, that's my solution in a nutshell!
Later!

Josh

[Martin]

Have to agree with Josh on this one. I used the frying pan to cook some sausages over my Bushbuddy the other day. What a pain in the backside it was to have to clean it out afterwards. Boil in the bag, or dehydrated/rehydrate in the bag is the way to go as well as cook on an open fire foods like sausages on sticks.

Martin

[Kieran]

Yeah.. I have some boil in the bag fish (which is lovely!) and also some boil in the bag rice..
How can you rehydrate things in bags? :)

Kieran

[Ben Casey]

We used to scrub the mess tins in mud or preferably sand then rinse it in a stream somewhere :) (Army for you) But Steve used ash when we where out that was cool. If it does get dirty it is best to clean it asap so you havent got the problem in the morning :)

[Martin]

Yeah.. I have some boil in the bag fish (which is lovely!) and also some boil in the bag rice..
How can you rehydrate things in bags? :)

Kieran

Pour on boiling water and keep in some form of insulated bag like a pot cosy.

Martin

[jbrown14]

Just as Martin says, it's fairly simple, that's nearly exactly the same way I work things; I wrap the bag in a fleece or my pack towel while it's rehydrating. Bear in mind, if you use zipper lock bags, use the type made for freezing food in. They're a little more robust than the usual sandwich bags. You can get creative with the meals too. The cheapo ramen noodles (I'm guessing they're available universally...) with some kind of dried sauce package and a little grated parmesan cheese to top it off can make a very passable and satisfying "spaghetti" dinner. It also weighs next to nothing.

Josh

[GwersyllaCnau]

I was taught the same as Ben, grass also works especially with stuff thats not burnt in like beans

[garethw]

A couple of ways I do it. If its a bit dirty with some sauce or other I just put more water in and stick it back on the fire to boil...Once its boiled I give it a swill and wipe with a scourer and usually it works ok...
A mate showed me something I'd not thought of before... kitchen surface wipes... He just wipes out his pots, even tomato sauce or fatty ones with the wipes and chucks them on the fire once used. Pots are clean and "sterile" I suppose. I did rince mine with clear water before boiling for tea though so as not to get a disinfectant taste.. It did mean though we got away with just 7 litres of water for two for the whole weekend fishing.
cheers
Gareth

[Matt]

Opening your saucepan from last night to find beans that have been there for 24 hours, there is nothing worse!

What is the best way to clean your cooking equipment when you're out? Without carrying all the stuff under your kitchen sink :P

You could always heat the beans in the tin they come in, or just eat them cold(or is that just me?)

Matt.

[J_P]

Many people burn their food to their pans out doors as they are used to cooking on their home stoves, use less heat either by raising the pan up from the heat of the meths burner or lowering the gas on the stove or cooking on embers not direct flames,to clean my cookware of residue i use sand, or a tussock of grass with the soil on as a scourer, wood ash, leaf litter, coniferous tree twigs, mares tails etc anything thats around to wipe off any grub or use the dog lol ;) Then i add a small amount of water and put it back over the heat to sterilise the pot/pan.

[Kieran]

I got a brance from a tree and made a brush type thing out of it once... That worked quite nice.
That with hot water worked well :D

Kieran

[jus_young]

Opening your saucepan from last night to find beans that have been there for 24 hours, there is nothing worse!

What is the best way to clean your cooking equipment when you're out? Without carrying all the stuff under your kitchen sink :P

Only 24 hours? I have had the misfortune of finding a pot today that was used at Dave Budds working party. I felt so unclean...

[jbrown14]

Only 24 hours? I have had the misfortune of finding a pot today that was used at Dave Budds working party. I felt so unclean...

Don't feel bad. I've found a plate covered in bacon and sausage grease, and even a few sauteed onions stuck to it; tucked away in an inside pocket of my pack, several months after use. Must have been the last morning of a long trip and didn't feel like cleaning up.

Incitentally, JP reminded me, the stalks of the common horsetail (Equisetum hyemale) are quite abrasive and could be used for scouring a pot. Check out this article at Wildwood Survival (http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/tools/ssanding/index.html)for more info.

[J_P]

tut tut you filthy urchins!!! lol ;)

[GaryBeaner]

I take the wife. That usually works!............................. OUCH!!

[Adam Savage]

I go the ash from the fire route with this sort of thing, teabags can be used, and even if they split, the tea leaves offer enough abrasion for most grub. A 1 diameter stick, around 4 inch long, pummel the end so it goes kinda brush like, then use this as a scourer (needs to be green as possible though).

[Shewie]

Sphagnum moss makes a great scrub if you clean your pots straight after eating

If you're having a fire then adding some ash and water to your pan and then putting onto boil creates and alkali solution which removes grease really well, a handful of grass or bracken etc works really well with this too.

[jus_young]

Found another way whilst we were at the RV - 2 children that were told they had to do their bit whilst we were away so that everyone had time to enjoy themselves. Does this count as child cruelty?

[Ben Casey]

Found another way whilst we were at the RV - 2 children that were told they had to do their bit whilst we were away so that everyone had time to enjoy themselves. Does this count as child cruelty?

Na thats education I think lol

[Kieran]

I go the ash from the fire route with this sort of thing, teabags can be used, and even if they split, the tea leaves offer enough abrasion for most grub. A 1 diameter stick, around 4 inch long, pummel the end so it goes kinda brush like, then use this as a scourer (needs to be green as possible though).

I did this stick thing once, works well

[Adam Savage]

I did this stick thing once, works well

Cool, I'm not the only one then lol. I guess everyone has their own way.

[Ben Casey]

Cool, I'm not the only one then lol. I guess everyone has their own way.

Vinegar is pretty good to :)

[Kieran]

Cool, I'm not the only one then lol. I guess everyone has their own way.

:)))) coool

[Adam Savage]

Vinegar is pretty good to :)

As we all know, vinegar is widely available in the bush..LOL

[Ben Casey]

As we all know, vinegar is widely available in the bush..LOL

We used it to clean the gas rods on the SLR it came with my tank I think :)

[Adam Savage]

And tanks are also widely available in the bush, for such cleaning tasks as SLRs, GPMGs, billy cans.....:p

[Ben Casey]

And tanks are also widely available in the bush, for such cleaning tasks as SLRs, GPMGs, billy cans.....:p

A bit like McDs find them all over to :P

[Kieran]

A bit like McDs find them all over to :P


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