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Mr.Bartley
08-06-2011, 09:03 PM
I have a gotten a new mess kit. Someone told me that I should "season" it. What did they mean by that? Some good additions to the original post would have been a few tips and tricks out added in. especially concerning water purification. I happen to think that is the most important aspect of survival aside from the psychology.

Rick
08-06-2011, 09:50 PM
This post really isn't the place for tips or tricks. We've had many many folks come on here with the attitude and/or desire to wander off into the wilderness with practically nothing and survive for ever. The purpose of the post was to give them some things to think about and provide a basis for all the the knowledge they will need to have if they want to live in the wilderness. If they don't know how to purify water then they have no business trying to survival in the wild, which IS the point of the post.

What kind of mess kit did you purchase?

Mr.Bartley
08-06-2011, 11:19 PM
Well a lot of the time, survival situations aren't voluntary. That was just a bit of input. If someone was asking that, obviously they need the basics. Ya know?

I apologize for the subject change, still getting the hang of this. It's a cheap one, it was the first one like it I had bought. It made me think I was doing something wrong in the first place. lol

crashdive123
08-07-2011, 07:48 AM
Well a lot of the time, survival situations aren't voluntary. That was just a bit of input. If someone was asking that, obviously they need the basics. Ya know?

I apologize for the subject change, still getting the hang of this. It's a cheap one, it was the first one like it I had bought. It made me think I was doing something wrong in the first place. lol

If you will go back and read the first post in this thread I think you will see Rick's point. Real quick regarding your mess kit. It is most likely (since you haven't told us) made of aluminum. Yes, it could be made of other materials - if you know - let us know. No seasoning is required. What the seasoning process does is fill the pores of the cookware with oxidized cooking oil to prevent the material from rusting. Cast iron cookware needs to be seasoned, but an aluminum (or stainless, or titanium, or coated) mess kit does not.

As you can see, I have moved your post from the sticky titles "What Do I Need To Survive In The Wild" and made it it''s own thread. It is a very good questions that others may benefit from as well.

Eastree
08-07-2011, 12:22 PM
I can't guarantee whether the layer of 'seasoning' will adhere to aluminum; I have no immediate knowledge of someone trying. But with iron-based (cast iron, at least some stainless steel, and of course carbon steel) cookware, seasoning is easy, really (at least in principle; I've seen some people really mess up some pots).

There's the oven method, and there's the stovetop method. The oven method is more thorough, since it more easily enables one to season the entire piece, which is especially good when rust is an issue. But seasoning the inside (cooking surface) is important for its benefits.

The biggest concern with seasoning cookware is the smoke point of the oil being used (Google is your friend). And yes, any oil can be used; it's the heat that must be right for the oil, however. Why is the smoke point important? Because if the heat is too low, you may end up with a sort of sticky epoxy rather than polymerizing the carbon in the oil, which is what you're going for. The layer of polymerized carbon remains on the cooking surface, leaving a nearly non-stick and very durable and smooth surface.

The stove-top method is simpler: Evenly coat the cooking surface of the pan with oil, and place the pan over medium-low heat. Slowly increase the heat (usually no higher than medium-high). Eventually, you'll notice some smoke. Here's where there are different opinions on this:
* Some say let it smoke for a while (some upwards of an hour).
* Some say remove the pot from the heat and let it cool.

The oven method is similar:
Evenly coat the piece in oil, and place it in the oven.

Some recommend placing the piece on a higher rack, with a catch pan on a lower rack, in case of drips. But a thin coat is plenty, and should not drip.
Turn on the oven to the desired temperature (usually a bit hotter then the oil's smoke point).
Be prepared to see a lot of smoke: Open a window, and use a fan.
This method, as I've read, almost always includes a recommendation to let the oil smoke for about an hour.
Turn off the oven, and let the piece slowly cool to room temperature.


From either method, now repeat. It takes several coats (some say three or five, some say "at least" ten) to see much of a difference.

From there, you must be careful of a few things:
* Not to scratch the seasoning (severely). If you scratch all the way through, you may need to scour the pan and start over. It's partly why wood and plastic utensils are recommended.
* Not to simmer acidic sauces in the pan. This may chemically remove the seasoning (partly why lye-based products, such as oven cleaner, are often used to clean old cast iron).
* To maintain and improve the seasoning with every use.
It's as simple as remembering to deglaze the pan to loosen stuck bits wipe them out, and re-coat the pan with oil. Be sure to bring it to smoke temperature to avoid the formation of epoxy.

whitis
08-07-2011, 10:39 PM
A cautionary anecdote.

Back when I was a kid scout camping in Berlin, Germany we had a new cast iron dutch oven that we seasoned over the camp fire. I used a long stick to remove the lid and the oil ignites sending a column of flame tens of feet up into the tree tops. Put the lid back on, removed from fire and let it cool a while. Removed the lid, air hits it, and it happened again. Stew sure tasted great. It is hard to control the temperature for seasoning over a camp fire. Oven is easier, though you don't want to overheat and repeat this indoors. Also, even if you aren't trying to season, be aware that this could happen preheating oil too long. One of many reasons to be careful where you site your camp fire.

Another d*mn fool stunt at the same campground was using a piece of concrete storm sewer pipe as a fire ring. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Sitting around the fire telling ghost stories, nearing the punch line, when it exploded sending pieces of concrete and hot sparks in all directions. Several guys sitting on a log looked pretty comical as they rolled back onto their backs and the sparks flew just over them. Water trapped in the concrete boils to make high pressure steam. This piece was expected to be in compression rather than tension so no rebar.

We also asked for permission to wander off to the "obstacle course". Scout master was thinking the usual boring obstacle course with tires and stuff. The army officially called it a "G.I. Confidence Course". "Soldiers are encouraged, but not forced, to go through it. ... Soldiers who have not practiced the basic skills or run the conditioning course should not be allowed to use the confidence course. Instructors must explain and demonstrate the correct ways to negotiate all obstacles before allowing soldiers to run them. -- FM21-20". Not designed for unsupervised kids. No big deal if you exercise some common sense, but not a good place to get stupid. We had two kids hospitalized in 20 minutes. One kid tried to do a Tyrolean of a multi story tower with a sloping steel cable. He looped his belt and ankles over the wire, wrapping one end of the belt around his hand and relying on the buckle to keep his other hand from sliding off the other end. Belt buckle was held in place with snaps which unsnapped and he broke both arms. Then there was the part where you jogged through a grid of barbed wire suspended about six inches off the ground. One kid nicked himself on the barbed wire, then panicked. Do not panic. Chewed himself up good.

shiftyer1
08-08-2011, 12:08 AM
Theres a thread here somewhere regarding seasoning cast iron. I don't know of any other cookware that requires it, although I know some people cover their cofee pots and kettles and such on the outside with dish soap to prevent blackening from the campfire.

kyratshooter
08-08-2011, 01:36 PM
I have found that the best way to prep light weight cookware like aluminum or sheet metal is to wash them and put them on the stove and heat them until the water steams off.

Watch them closely and as soon as the last bit of water is gone hit them with a shot of Pam cooking spray, then let them cool and wipe them with a paper towel.

No baking or tempature monitoring needed.

When you do this you cut down on the sticking you usually get with lightweight gear.

hunter63
08-08-2011, 06:34 PM
Been a long time since I used a new cooking kit, but I'm guessing if it was a less expensive kit, it would be made out of aluminium, or maybe even enameled steel.

So I would just wash it, rinse with clean water,(NOT cast iron). then set it on a fire to dry.
Bar soap rubbed on the bottom and sides will help with blackened pans, again.... Not cast iron.

kyratshooter
08-08-2011, 09:28 PM
I use a lot of sheet metal and enamelware at weekend camps Hunter. Usually I only take one dutch oven for a Friday-Sunday event. Two breakfasts, the feast meal Saturday night and a couple of samiches get me through a weekend and the sheet metal saves weight in the transport.

One real hot weekend I took only bagels, ham, cheese and an apple pie. It worked fine.

hunter63
08-09-2011, 09:39 AM
I use a lot of sheet metal and enamelware at weekend camps Hunter. Usually I only take one dutch oven for a Friday-Sunday event. Two breakfasts, the feast meal Saturday night and a couple of samiches get me through a weekend and the sheet metal saves weight in the transport.

One real hot weekend I took only bagels, ham, cheese and an apple pie. It worked fine.

I hear ya, this last week end was pretty much cups/plates, and coffee pot....too hot for a fire, and they had a burning ban until shortly before the event....was lifted.
Didn't even dig a pit, but did bring a brazer just in case.

I use my enameled ware alot, still like the small cast iron fry pan.

My concern with washing new gear is simply what may have been used in manufacturing/shipping/preseveration.

kyratshooter
08-09-2011, 01:36 PM
You have a point there. I always wonder about the glue they use to hold the sticker in the frypan!

I usually break my stuff in using it in the kitchen just in case I get a stuborn product that insists on tearing my eggs up when I flip them. I hate sloppy eggs, torn up cornpone, bologna cartwheels stuck it the frypan...

One thing I will do right off is wash the pan then fill it with vegatable oil and slice up a mess of potatoes and fry them up. By the time you cooked supper and ate the oil has saturated the sheet metal or enamelware as much as it will take. A quick wipe out and it shouyld be ready.

Almost all my light treking gear is sheet metal or tinware. Of course treking gear is only a tin cup and tin billy or folding frypan.