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Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 10:46 am
by Damien Gildea
DnD,

Yeh, it's something to do with craving salts and fats, but also variety, as expedition food in general can be pretty same-y. Altitude plays havoc with appetite in general, and most people don't eat much, but it's back down at base camp that the unusual tasty things get gobbled up. At BC for G1 a few years ago the sundried tomatoes, smoked mussels in bbq sauce and Vegemite did not last long.

In the case of longer expeditions, particularly polar trips, it's the things you can't have that often lure you - bananas, fresh milk, bread etc. When people get back from skiing to the Pole, one of the most popular meals requested was always bacon and eggs, regardless of time of day. On the other hand, I remember years ago being stuck at Vinson BC for several days, waiting to fly out, and in the beginning Mark Tucker of IMG had this great semi-cooked freeze-dried bacon of which the rest of us unguided peasants were jealous, but after a few days of that, as much as they could eat, they got sick of it pretty quick and Tuck couldn't give it away.

It took me a few trips to both the Karakoram/Himalaya and Antarctica to get my food right, sometimes ditching regular items and timings. For Antarctica, I factored in much more the use of soup, cheese and nuts before the main dinner course, whereas in the Karakoram I'm sick to death of bloody soup. Just remembering it makes me gag. For breakfast in Antarctica I'll usually have a packet of fruity/oaty type cookies - the Chilean version I use give around 450 Calories a packet. Great with a big mug of tea for breakfast and they can be opened and eaten while still deep in your sleeping bag, unlike cereal & milk etc. We never have 'lunch', just a constant supply of snacks. Chocolate in Antarctica is OK when you're moving all the time, but after a day or two in the tent you can't stand it - savoury snacks are better. Whereas in the Karakoram chocolate does not usually survive the heat of the approach, at least not in any recognisable form.

D

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 4:31 pm
by aedwards
Damien Gildea wrote:Cooked On Vinson:
- dehy mashed potatoes made up then mixed in a bowl with a sachet of sweet chilli salmon, then molded into patties and fried in a pan with butter


Awesome, I'm making this! Thanks!

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 5:58 pm
by ScottyP
We had PIZZA on Denali at 14 camp. Very good! Much better than the mashed potatoes (dehydrated) we had at 17 camp!

Thin sliced bagels (costco)
Cheese (grated)
Tomato sauce in a squeeze tube (Safeway)
Pepperoni (Sliced)

Heat pan (We had a griddle) over stove
Toss Cheese into pan in a pile to melt slightly
Pour sauce on top of cheese
Add Pepperoni to mix
Top with Bagel, twist to get cheese to stick
Remove and eat!

I have since made this at home as well on the stove with the kids. Good stuff!

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 12:50 am
by Deltaoperator17
Thank you all and (Damien especialy!), I maybe need to lean towards more of the "Native" meals of each region (Ecept Vinson which Danien nailed)

Still I need Everest, Elbrus, Kili. Carstensz and Denali. Wha do the locals eat?

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 3:54 am
by jspeigl
For Kili, you have Ugali, a staple of East Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugali

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 6:30 pm
by Alpinist
jspeigl wrote:For Kili, you have Ugali, a staple of East Africa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugali

And don't forget Banana Beer, served in a community bucket, er, I mean cup...!

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Mon Dec 06, 2010 6:48 pm
by Bruno
Deltaoperator17 wrote:Still I need Everest [...]. Wha do the locals eat?

Tsampa

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:15 pm
by Deltaoperator17
Mt Everest, Tsampa-Thank you Bruno
Aconcagua, Papas Fritas Con Rajas
Denali, Denali Salmon Quesadillas- Thank you Tom Tom Tom Expedition via Splattski
Mt Kilimanjaro,Pilau Rice
Mt Elbrus, Bliny
Vinson Massif, Damien’s Chili Salmon Taters- Thank you Damien
Carstensz Pyramid, Babi Ketjap


If anyone thinks there is better, more authentic or actualy something cooked at base camps that resembles the native cuisine- please share ?

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:28 pm
by radson
I dont know about the last one. Pork in Soy Sauce - Babi Kecap is a Chinese (Hokkien) dish I think. Maybe thats what they cook at base camp but I don't think would be a 'traditional' meal. Then again perhaps that's for the best.

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2010 6:31 pm
by Deltaoperator17
radson wrote:I dont know about the last one. Pork in Soy Sauce - Babi Kecap is a Chinese (Hokkien) dish I think. Maybe thats what they cook at base camp but I don't think would be a 'traditional' meal. Then again perhaps that's for the best.

WEll yes and no. This version is a thick rich tasting sweet soy sauce, which is widely used in Indonesia, Malaysia.

Re: Food from the Seven Summits

PostPosted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 2:18 am
by radson
The thing is West Papua or Irian Jaya while of course officially Indonesia since '73...and if we were to disregard Suharto's trasmigrasi, the whole area is culturally and ethically very different from Western Indonesia/Malaysia. I think of the 250 something languages that are in Indonesia, over 200 of them are from the province of west papua.