I cooked Hardtack today: an everlasting food

Kendal Mint Cake lasts pretty much forever and is a reasonably common survival food in the UK:

Ingredients:
500g (1lb) granulated sugar
150ml (5 fl oz) of milk
1/2 teaspoon of peppermint essence or oil

Method:
1. Place sugar and milk into a saucepan and bring to a slow boil, stirring continuously until you have a thick mixture
2. Drop a bit of the mixture into a bowl of cold water and see if it can be rolled into a ball between you thumb and finger to test if it is ready
3. Once ready, add 1/2 teaspoon of the peppermint essence and stir in
4. Butter a cake tin, pour the mixture in and place in fridge until set
5. Once set slice the cake into small bars

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Thanks for the details. I'll give it a try

a reply to: EasyPleaseMe

Very cool, and a bit of a shocker. I wouldn't expect something containing milk to last long at all. I'll have to try out the recipe. thanks for sharing

Get you a can of Borden sweetened Condensed milk. That's how they made the milk non-perishable. Imagine that meal!! Imagine that bowel movement!!a reply to: Ghost147

a reply to: Ghost147

This is very neat.

Can you add honey to the hard tack?

Since honey has a long shelf life.

Might give it a hint of flavor

a reply to: grey580

I was contemplating that too, but in my research someone mentioned that when you heat honey up, it looses the property it has to last forever, and actually goes rancid quite fast. So it wouldn't really work that way.

The Hardtack I made was about 3/4 inch thick, and after a day of being it out could probably go through a car windshield. I started eating it by putting it in chicken soup for a few minutes (which I highly recommend), but initially I had dipped it in a bit of honey, when it was softer (also recommend trying).

What I may do next time is make a super thin batch, and see if the thinness would make it more edible on it's own, so I could just drizzle some honey on top and make it more of a harder cracker than a biscuit-type thing

a reply to: Ghost147

Its the salt that make them last so using half would not make sense for preservation means.

a reply to: Curious69

the salt is actually an optional ingredient Plus, it's not really enough for it to be the sole reason Hardtack lasts. Although it is certainly a massive contributor to why McDonalds lasts.

Some cool recipes here. Thanks for that.

In addition, I would recommend a cow.

That means that milk plays a huge role in a traditional Maasai diet. Drunk raw (or soured), drunk in tea, or turned into butter (which is especially important as a food for infants), milk is a part of almost every meal for Maasai herders.

Traditional Maasai Food: Blood and Milk A balanced diet in the bush

Seriously.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Ghost147
Flour is food?

It is for insects.

originally posted by: aorAki
Some cool recipes here. Thanks for that.

In addition, I would recommend a cow.

That means that milk plays a huge role in a traditional Maasai diet. Drunk raw (or soured), drunk in tea, or turned into butter (which is especially important as a food for infants), milk is a part of almost every meal for Maasai herders.

Traditional Maasai Food: Blood and Milk A balanced diet in the bush




Seriously.

Blood in the bush? Nah. Not gonna touch it!

a reply to: aorAki

For long-term living, I would say having your own animals is almost an necessity. However, I was mainly referring to being stuck-in-a-shelter kind of thing, for survival. But, the link you posted is pretty interesting. Thanks for the information

I have an extensive honey collection. There are all kinds. I favor organic. some are useful for healing wounds. I would add that to the hard tack, and back off on the salt a bit

originally posted by: Ghost147
Liqour

Liquor only has a shelf life of about a week at best...


Might as well look at freeze dried it says a shelf life of 25 years but I bet that is just a number they picked to give it something.

originally posted by: Ghost147
a reply to: aorAki

For long-term living, I would say having your own animals is almost an necessity. However, I was mainly referring to being stuck-in-a-shelter kind of thing, for survival. But, the link you posted is pretty interesting. Thanks for the information

I agree, animals are important.

In a shelter?

Hmmm...space-wise it would have to be an insect farm. Quick breeding, high protein. Tasty once you're used to it!

a reply to: aorAki

I REALLY want to find some good recipes incorporating insects. It's incredibly easy and cheap to farm crickets/grasshoppers/super worms, but my culinary skills aren't good enough to begin creating a recipe from scratch.

Great thread, ive been reading all the great info here but nobody seemed to mention the dried fruit called dates. Its mostly eaten by middle easterns and muslim people during the month of thier fasting but i have heard that it last quite a long time.

a reply to: NexusNaViL

Always reminds me of the line from the original "Flight of the Phoenix". Upon discovering they had a huge supply of pressed dates, the captain said "At least we'll die regular"

Used to eat this stuff as a kid. Tasted good with butter on it, that's about it. Tasted like cardboard, otherwise.

a reply to: Kromlech

perhaps you should try this recipe? I find it simply tastes like a thick Ritz cracker

a reply to: Ghost147

If you can get it, get Manaku (?) honey. It comes from New Zealand and is super good for scratches and sores etc. Just put spot about the size of a pea on a band aid and leave for a day or 2 and hay presto.