ok, this is important… carry mac and cheese (from the box), or the kraft EZ mac? what do you use to strain pasta, and what do you do with the water? id imagine you dont want to dump it on the ground for fear of the various critters that are going to visit the smell later at nite…
andy
Not familiar w/EZ Mac, but you must not strain any water you must dump your cheese mix in and eat till its all gone or the bears WILL smell it and will come into your camp at 3am and EAT YOU ALIVE.
dirtgrain
You never strain anything, even yourself. Cook everything together. If it’s a little watery good, you usually are dehydrated anyway. By the way, the bears don’t eat you until 4 AM.
Blue Jay
OK, a straight reply to the question.
First, I not familiar with EZ Mac. For regular Mac & Cheese, most thru-hikers cook it with a minimum of water so there is no excess to drain off.
Myself, I use lots of water, and then using the lid, drain the excess water onto the ground away from the shelter. May not be perfect, and probably something that shouldn’t be done in bad bear country, but I haven’t been eaten by a bear yet, just the bugs.
Peaks
How about using a little extra water, pour it off into your mug and add the hot chocolate you’re also carrying. Starch water has been used for years, by us chef types, to thicken soups etc. Also has a few calories. We need those.
Bushwhack
If ez mack is what i think it is, it is heavier. Isn’t that the stuff with the liquidy cheese that you squirt on the noodles? IMO, it may not be worth the weight on a long hike. It is nice, though, to have an occasional ‘heavy’ meal. For example, there is a supermarket brand of pad thai that uses a packet of liquid sauce that we cooked a couple times on our hike. It was heavy but tasty. There are also similar Indian food dishes from TraderJoes. Since Indian food, Thai food is a rarity on the AT, it was worth the weight as a rare treat. Mac & Cheese, though - i dunno if EZ mack is worth it! IMO, just use regular mac & cheese, add a little oil and powdered milk if you have it or leave it off if you don’t.
jitterbug
If you have a partner, have one person hold a bandana while the other pours into the bandana. Clean bandana preferable.
brian
I used LOTS of Easy Mac. You only cook the macaronis with 2/3 cup of water for several minutes (they don’t take but a few minutes to cook–less than conventional mac), then add the cheese powder and stir. That’s it. I added a 3 oz. foil packet of tuna or chicken if I had it. If not, I ate 2 packs of Easy Mac. It was light weight and easy to use.
Journey
easy mac is pretty much the same as regular macncheese, but no milk or margerine is needed. You boil the water and stir in the powder. Annie’s organic makes a great version as well, plus you can buy just the cheese powder.
uberpest
Kraft EZ Mac is formulated to work in a microwave oven. 2/3 cup of water, Mac, Cheese Sauce and microwave for several minutes. Uberpest indicated that you boil the water and stir in the powder. Uberpest, at what point do you put the Mac in to cook? Note: It is very tasty and now they have a larger family pack. Check your local grocery store.
I imagine you could boil the mixture in two thirds cup of water. I haven’t seen a hiker carry a microwave into the woods, but then again, anything is possible. (you would need a long cord)
Frogge
This is how I do a regular 7.25 oz box of Kraft or off-brand mac & cheese. Bring the noodles and 2 cups of water to a boil, then put the pot in my cozy. In 15 minutes, the noodles are completely cooked and there is just enough water for the cheese mix. I add a couple spoons of powdered milk and pour in about 2-3 tablespoons worth of olive oil. This seems to work out just perfectly with 2 cups of water. To jazz it up, I sprinkle on a little garlic salt and chili powder. With the powdered milk and olive oil, we’re looking at close to 1000 calories. If I’m really ravenous, I’ll add some bag tuna, turkey or ham, and/or throw in some cashews or almond slivers-- maybe top it off with some croutons, Durkee French-fried onions or crushed Ritz crackers…:boy :boy :boy :boy
Cobra Commander
What, pray tell is a “cosy”? Have I misses essential gear just as my credit card has cooled off?
Debby
Debby a cosy is just a pad to put around your pot to hold the heat in. I used to put my fleece jacket around the pot and eventually had the predictable bad result. I now have a cozy made out of an old insulite pad and duct tape. As far as excess water in your mac N cheese, I always put the excess water in my mug and made some nasty tea with it. Usually I was so dehydrated at the end of a tough day I would drink anything. When you have to go a half mile downhill to filter water you hate to waste it.
Big B
You are a damn fool if you carry anything but velveeta shells and cheese. While it may be heavier, it is about the best tasting thing you can eat and a full package contains about 1600 calories.
tam
I agree with Tam.
It’s extra weight, but very worth it. You can also tease the other hikers that you camp with that don’t carry it because of the extra weight.
bearbait
Debby,
for info on cozy cooking, check out this site: http://flappyhappy.tripod.com/cobrastove.htm and scroll down to the “Cozy Cooking” section…
Cobra Commander
Thanks for the info. I am taking off for the Shenandoahs for a week on my first solo. All this food talk has me ready to do some serious shopping. The dehydrator is on and doing its thing to canned peaches (candy!), immitation crab, sugar snap peas, onion, and fruit cocktail (an experiment). The velveeta and shells sounds like a winner.
I get hungry just thinking about hiking!! Food makes such a difference. Cobra, I’ll check out the site. Thanks
Debby
I would just take the ordinary 7.25 oz boxes of Kraft mac and cheese. All you need to do is have enough water to cover the macaroni and cheese. That water will mostly boil out, and it’s good to have a little bit of liquid remaining if you add powdered milk to the mac and cheese like I did last year while I was on my thru-hike. It’s all personal preference, but the boxes of mac and cheese are cheaper, and I never had to worry about draining water if you just barely cover the macaroni. I hope this helps.
Superfeet