NZFS Camp Cookery by D.M Cowlin.

Thousands of excellent cookery books have been published but few, if any, are entirely devoted to camp cooking with the limited rations and cooking facilities involved. When camping for some months in the hills, as Forest Service hunters do, a knowledge of how to prepare nutritious meals is essential to good, healthy living under rugged conditions.

This text is intended to assist those whose cooking experience is limited and it may also provide the more experienced with some helpful hints. Recipes are mainly based on Forest Service rations as supplied to hunters and others whose work takes them into the mountains or bush. All the recipes have been tried and tested many times under camp conditions. If the measurements and instructions given in the text are carefully followed there should be little fear of failure. It will be noted that the methods for measure of ingredients vary-for example, one recipe may say "2oz of butter", another may say "2 dessertspoons of butter". Both are the same, but the book is written in this way to help the tyro guess weights accurately. With experience it is amazing how accurately they can be guessed.

At the end of the text are appendices dealing with cooking terms, cooking heats, weights and measures, and use and storage of foodstuffs.

Cleanliness is most important in good cooking. One cannot expect a loaf of bread to be a success if the mixing bowl was used the day before to wash a pair of socks in. Likewise, clean hands and fingernails are a must when handling foodstuffs. Many harmful bacteria which the bands carry around are not destroyed during cooking and can cause serious stomach upsets.

Serving is also important. This may sound ridiculous in the bush, but an attractively laid out plate looks much more appetising than one where everything has been piled up together. It takes little time or effort to neatly arrange potatoes and vegetables on a plate, and believe me this is appreciated by even the most hardened back country men.

DON COWLIN,

New Zealand Forest Service, Hokitika

Download your copy here, NZFS Camp Cookery by D.M Cowlin.

Contents

Introduction 3

Baking 4

Bread making 5

Pies and Pastries 9

Scones 10

Fish 11

Fresh Meat 14

Hints on selecting venison 15

Venison recipes 16

Vegetables 21

Soups 22

Puddings 22

Bindings, sauces & stuffings 24

Use & care of stores 27

Cooking terms 29

Weights & Measures 30

Edible plants 30

Cooking temperatures 31

Acknowledgements 31