Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

CHAPTER XVICAMP COOKERYMeatsThe main secrets of good meals in camp areto have a proper fire, good materials, and then toimprison in each dish, at the outset, its naturaljuice and characteristic flavor. To season freshcamp dishes as a French chef would is a blunderof the first magnitude. The raw materials usedin city cuisine are often of inferior quality, fromkeeping in cold storage or with chemical preservatives; so their insipidity must be corrected by spices,herbs, and sauces to make them eatable. In cheaprestaurants and boarding houses, where the chef'sskill is lacking, " all things taste alike " from havingbeen penned up together in a refrigerator andcooked in a fetid atmosphere.In my chapter on Provisions I advised that afew condiments be taken along, but these aremostly for seasoning left-overs or for desserts —not for fresh meat, unless we have but one kind,to the surfeiting point. In the woods our fish isfreshly caught, our game has hung out of doors,and the water and air used in cooking (most importantfactors) are sweet and pure. Such viandsneed no masking. The only seasoning requiredis with pepper and salt, to be used sparingly, andnot added (except in soups and stews) until thedish is nearly or quite done. Remember this: saltdraws the juices.The juices of meats and fish are their mostpalatable and nutritious ingredients. We extractthem purposely In making soups, stews, and gravies^2Q0