Posted: 12/29/2010 5:34:04 PM EDT
| Any pros/cons to cooking over a fire with a used soup can? I can't see paying lots of money for some cookware, When I can use something I have plenty of. This is something that will be kept in my BOB. |
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Quoted:
Any pros/cons to cooking over a fire with a used soup can? I can't see paying lots of money for some cookware, When I can use something I have plenty of. This is something that will be kept in my BOB. The limited surface area on the bottom could lead to scorching... The real answer to the question is can YOU get it to work for YOU? Try it. 
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cans often have liners....plastic....
once you burn the liner out....and the coating off the exterior of the can.....it will rust. hit your local thrift stores and yard sales.....I have literally scored over 15 different mess kits doing this.....the most I paid for any of them is $5.00....they can be had for as little as $0.50. don't restrict yourself to mess kits....you can get some good, small cookware for next to nothing. all my camp silverware comes from good will stores......I pick the good quality stuff....who cares if it matches....I want durable. |
| We have used cans of various sizes to cook over or near a campfire. Like Echo2 said, watch out for the lining in the can. The thin metal will overheat and scorch the food inside. Get a big SS spoon, like one of the old USN tablespoon types to keep the kibble stirred. You can make a bail out of a coat hanger or piece of wire. As you cook by a campfire, you can tell, in general terms, the temp by holding your hand near the cooking area: 1-2 seconds is about 450 deg, 3-4 sec 350 deg, 5 to 6 seconds is around 250 deg. By the time you fashion an expedient set of hobo cookware, you could buy a small, heavier pan with a lid from the Goodwill for a buck or two. Scour a flea market, as well. My wife and I were out killing time yesterday and saw a bunch of old cookware on the cheap. Post pix of your Paula Dumpster-Dean PAW cookware set when you get time. I love campfire cooking! |
| Soup cans are for Depression-Era hobos. These days you can buy a cheapo pot from Wally for $5, and probably <$1 at any yard sale in America, and probably free if you visit your local recycling center. My point is that if you would lower yourself to cook from an old can, why not settle on a shitty old saucepan? If you are lucky, the handle will have a hole already drilled in it to add a piece of twine to carry it hanging from your pack. |
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Story Time:
When I was a kid, I'd grab my fishing pole, and my ginuwine Boy Scout backpack and head out into the woods. I used to love following old streams for brook trouts. I carried a small steel frypan tied to my pack, and some salt pork wrapped in wax paper. I caught trout and had them for supper. Fried in salt pork, they were delectable. I can still smell them. Its a wonder I was never killed by a bear or something. For that matter, its a wonder I never died from Giardia. We kids drank from the streams regularly, the idea being thaty moving water tasted better. We never had a clue about Giardia until way later - I was a teenager I think when I heard it for teh first time. So I guess I am saying that you can survive and have a great time for very little. I am dismayed over how people think they need the fancy Ti cookware. Big $$$ in my opinion... for a pot that will scorch in a flash, lol. Heaven forbid you should have to use one to cook over an actual fire instead of a fancy like stove. |