What do you cook and what on when out bikepacking

[firestarter]

As title really i know some have trangia burners some have bb stoves and coke cans some have gas but what pans do you use and what do you cook or is it a case of little stoves and hot water only ta

[whitestone]

A bit of a mixture really.

Usually it's a homemade beer can meths stove with a ti mug to boil water and then pour into the bag holding whatever. That does simple stuff and brews, so porridge in the AM and stuff like couscous based meals in the evening. Once things get a bit more involved I tend to use gas (need to get one of those canister refill jobbies so I can reuse the smaller canisters) which is a bit more adjustable than meths so easier to manage when frying and the like. We've some large pans of indeterminate origin that can be used with that - they are broad but not deep so will fit on their side in a frame bag - anything over about 90-100mm deep/wide will stress the zips on most frame bags. The other thing is that the smaller gas stoves tend to have a "point" flame which allied with lightweight pans leads to hot spots, putting a decent weight base on a pan to avoid this can quite easily double its weight.

I've also got an MSR X-GK petrol/white gas stove which is very bulky but if I were in the arctic I'd take that.

Typically you'll find with food that pre-cooked stuff is heavier but quite often that's offset by the time and fuel needed to rehydrate/cook dried food. Not always mind. So you often end up with a similar weight.

[Bearbonesnorm]

[Shewie]

I use a caldera cone and short wide Evernew 600ml pot, with a homemade Syarlyte type burner, slots nicely into my frame bag.

I usually put up with dehydrated slops and supplement with real food whenever possible

[Cheeky Monkey]

Have a variety of stoves but pick the following up more times than not:

Alpkit Kraku burner (gas)
Alpkit myti mug (the old one that was c.700ml IIRC

Just got a Soto windmaster but not loving it at first fondle as by comparison the Kraku is tiny and packs so much easier. Time and actual use will tell.

[Lazarus]

The soto is definitely more faff but its also brilliant when windy


Usually stuff i have made myself and dehydrated as dehydrated food is insanely priced

[Alpinum]

For trips in the UK almost always a cat food can meths stove (as on Skurka's website), a Toaks 600 mL ti pan with the larger diameter, which seems a tiny little bit more effective than eg the Mytimug 700 mL (tall and narrower). I wasn't sure if the flatter, larger diameter pan would fit into bags as easy a the narrower, taller one did, but found not much of a difference. Water will be heated for selfmade müsli mix, hot chocolate, tea and a supper eg var. types of noodles, var. types of mash spuds, couscous and occassionally more expensive freeze dried food from brands like Lyofood, Expeditionfood, Blåband, Real Turmat etc.

Summer in the Alps same as above. In winter mostly a multi fuel stove.

Abroad also depends much on climate and trip duration or better put, how long I have to go between resupplies.
Food is mostly the same. Sometimes I may use a gas stove. More fats for winter, more carbs for high altitude.

Here an example from a specific trip in 2019:

Breakfasts where
120 g müsli
30 g whole milk powder
10 g tsampa
10 g ground nuts
Also mixed in either 10 g malto dextrose, 10 g ground coconut, 10 g cocoa flakes or other stuff to mix things up a bit.
I packed 4 - 5 days worth of brekkers into one large pouch and used the same small pouch for about 10 days. With this I had less rubbish.
I know how much 180 g are and depending on what I expected from the day, I went with a bit less or more. And a cuppa tea.

Snacks consisted of biscuits, bars, chocolate, dried fruits and some nuts. Usually I would have more nuts with me, but since I went above 6000 m twice and spend loads of time above 4000 m I went for more carbo hydrates than usually, since our body struggles more to gain energy from fats in altitude. Going totally energy densw isn't the best option here.
200 - 300 g a day.

After riding I made cold infusion, little brown sugar, just to drink something else but plain water which I drank during the day.
Later a soup. Mostly 1 L.
For supper I had a few different flavours of Soba noodles, two different types of mashed spuds, spag bol etc. also in 4 - 5 day pouches. Then a few expensive lyo food meals from brands like Blåband, Expedition Foods etc. All in the range of about 140 - 200 g.
50 - 100 g of sweets (mostly chocolate) for dessert.

I'd have to look through my planning documents, but I rekon it was about 750 - 800 g/d. I remember it being about 3300 kcal/d. And yes, I expected to loose weight and especially around my shoulders and chest I lost loads of weight. The missing fat around my belly probably made only a minor difference.

[rudedog]

Try to eat out as much as possible

Stove is used mainly for heating water rather than cooking (coffees, rehydrated meals etc)

The closest thing I do to actual cooking is warming up my pre-cooked bacon for a breakfast roll

[slarge]

I tend to just boil water on a meths stove (Stu's afterburner) to make hot chocolate or fill a porridge pot.
Any more than that and I eat in a pub.

[Bearbonesnorm]

As you may imagine, I've quite a few stoves yet I seldom do much actual cooking. I do recall that it became something of a contest to see just what could be made on a single meths stove (see below) but these days, I generally CBA and find that a cafe or pub stop helps break up the day and puts a few quid into whichever local economy I'm passing through.

Here's Taylor and Matt enjoying their desert one winter bivvy. I recall a typo on their menu which meant they were having 'Chocolate Mouse' Yum.

[benp1]

Eating is mainly in the pub/cafe. On most trips I'll have a dehydrated meal with me just in case

These days my stove is, at most, used for boiling water for brews or hot water based meals. CBA with anything more complicated. Mainly for the faff and the cleaning up afterwards

[thenorthwind]

Tea is usually a packet of flavoured pre-cooked rice (Merchant Gourmet or supermarket own brand equivalent) of which there are infinite flavour variations, and tin of tuna/pack of tofu/cheese/cured meat, as appropriate. The rice packs are slightly heavier than dehydrated meals, but heat through in about 2 minutes, are a tenth of the price, and taste of actual. Crunchy bits of not-quite-rehydrated stuff can go do one.

If more than a few nights without resupply (rare) then cous cous will come to the fore.

Cooked in a big Alpkit pot (1l?) - probably bigger than necessary.

Breakfast usually porridge with whatever I can find to chuck in it.

[fatbikephil]

My cooking skills are at best below average, allied to laziness but a desire not to pay pub prices for food (as I'm tight) I tend to muck around with b in the b type things with added smoked sausage. I can usually heat these on the BB meths stove with a bit of finessing (run for two boils) or I use the soto petrol stove in the cold. This year I bought a few 'tent meals' dehydrated efforts (out of date so cheap, I just bunged them in the freezer and brought out when needed) which are pretty good - couscous based with various nuts, berries and seeds with spices and vege stock. Fine on their own or add sps for a real belly banger meal. They come in small compressed plastic packages so less waste but you need a bowl.

[firestarter]

Cheers all , some food for thought

[PaulE]

My go-to is a couscous pack, made up by pouring water (boiled over a bearbones 12g stove in a cheapo stainless steel much from Tkmaxx) into the pack. If I remember to bring one, then a peperami torn or chopped into it finishes of the gourmet treat. A full malt loaf, eaten from the pack, is an excellent desert...

Poridge in a tub and a coffee made from a sachet (usually liberated from a hotel kettle area) does for breakfast.

[Jurassic]

I've gradually progressed from DIY dehydrated supermarket stuff fortified with a small tin of tuna or some salami to just using bought freeze dried meals. I acknowledge all the faults with these mentioned above but it's mostly just for convenience and I usually have a couple in stock, ready to go as they tend to have long shelf lives. I don't get out bikepacking very often now so the cost doesn't bother me. I still use supermarket porridge for breakfast and my fave dessert is a nutrigrain bar (strawberry or apple both work well) in a pour and store bag preloaded with dried instant custard, try it it's quick, easy and bloody lovely!
In terms of stoves, it's a Vargo Triad titanium meths stove in summer or an Alpkit Kraku gas stove for winter and cooking is just boiling hot water in a titanium mug. Eating out would be great but my bikepacking all takes place in remote bits of Scotland and there's rarely any civilisation of any form where I camp (although I'll eat lunch in a cafe or buy from a village shop or petrol station if I'm passing one).

[godivatrailrider]

My standard meal for an overnighter is instant mash potato, decanted into a tub with added pepper, grated cheese and chopped up Quorn cocktail sausages.
It's surprisingly good.

[samwise]

Another Alpkit Kraku and Ti Pot setup.

One of my favorite lightweight options to bulk up a meal is some Idahoan instant mash.

[faustus]

As above, the little a do get out, involves boiling water in a ti mug and kraku stove. Sachet of porridge/coffee in the morning. Did buy a tin of lavazza coffee at a garage last time I was out, and despite expecting it to be sh!te, it was really nice in the morning and I didn't bother with a brew. Something noodly, or one-pot rehydrated thing for dinner. I have a real taste for taking cold roasted/air fried potatoes (cut quite small) with me, seasoned with salt and pepper and rosemary, and just eating cold with a smoked tofu weiner or other cold snack (yes, yes, very southern hipster etc. ). Might also just make do with a bagel or two with cheese or peanut butter. None of it is light and is a bit bulky, but good to eat and feels substantial. A 'warm' drink in the evening usually consists of a nip of whatever is in the hip flask! Tend to take a multitude of cereal bars/flapjacks as general fuel/calorie filling.

If I was heading out to more remote places, I would consider a stove with a remote burner for stability, and would take more pre-made stuff, including dehydrated meals.

[woodsmith]

MSR Titan pot with a home made cozy. Soto windmaster stove on multiday trips with medium gas can ( nests perfectley inside the pot). Vargo triad alcohol stove on weekenders.
Uncle Bens or similar parboiled rice packets with a tin of mackel , tuna, quorn cocktail sausages or chorizo. Muesli with real milk for breaky, I don't care about the extra weight and I ate my last ever porridge years ago.
I very rarely do the pub food thing due to budgetary constraints and for me cooking and eating dinner in the tent while looking at the days photos etc is one of the highlights.

[Lazarus]

My standard meal for an overnighter is instant mash potato

Yes it's good and has loads of calories per 100g. I add dried onions and "cheese "powder
Used to have a self made chilli and rice dish and also risotto.

Puddings i did semolina with brown sugar, coconut, cinnamon and raisins.

Carried loads of chocolate and flapjacks and marzipan ( not great with nuts so can only get away with limited intake.

I advise a two pot system if proper cooking as you can cook in one and heat on the other ( but like a steamer ) and meths stoves are a massive pain to actually do anything beyond boil 300mlnof water ( and time consuming )

As a vegan unused to have to carry all food ( even now it's risky so I tend to have a days worth on me ) and it's certainly easier to just buy it

[psling]

Stoves: I pick from a choice of 3 gas stoves depending on where and how long.
Pots: If just for boiling water it'll be a ti pot. If I'm cooking it'll be an aluminium pan. Ti conducts heat too fast and food sticks to the pan.
Food: I'm happy to carry weight for first night so I'll have a ready meal that can be heated in a pan eg steak ragu with papadell pasta and then cafés during the day plus shopping for subsequent nights. Breakfast is home-made granola ( I have a nut allergy) with real milk.

[benp1]

Ti conducts heat too fast and food sticks to the pan.

Sorry to be a pedant, but it's the other way around. It conducts heat poorly, so you get a hotspot where the flame is while the heat doesn't disperse well across the base. So your food tends to burn unlike ally pots where the heat from a narrow flame would still heat the whole base (to a point, depends on width or flame and thickness of material)

Its one of the reasons you can drink from a Ti mug without burning yourself unlike an ally or steel mug

Caveat that Ti mugs/pot will be an alloy so mixed with other stuff

[Dave Barter]

I've gradually progressed from DIY dehydrated supermarket stuff fortified with a small tin of tuna or some salami to just using bought freeze dried meals. I acknowledge all the faults with these mentioned above but it's mostly just for convenience and I usually have a couple in stock, ready to go as they tend to have long shelf lives. I don't get out bikepacking very often now so the cost doesn't bother me. I still use supermarket porridge for breakfast and my fave dessert is a nutrigrain bar (strawberry or apple both work well) in a pour and store bag preloaded with dried instant custard, try it it's quick, easy and bloody lovely!
In terms of stoves, it's a Vargo Triad titanium meths stove in summer or an Alpkit Kraku gas stove for winter and cooking is just boiling hot water in a titanium mug. Eating out would be great but my bikepacking all takes place in remote bits of Scotland and there's rarely any civilisation of any form where I camp (although I'll eat lunch in a cafe or buy from a village shop or petrol station if I'm passing one).

I am similar. Sadly I do more backpacking than bikepacking these days and am quite happy with expedition meals with a pub/cafe/spar stop to supplement when I can. So much less faff as I just need to boil water and no pan cleaning or anything. I quite like the Expedition Foods range and they have a decent calorie count but are spendy. As per Jurassic I always have a few in the house. I've done 3 solid wilderness days on these alone.

[psling]

Sorry to be a pedant, but it's the other way around. It conducts heat poorly, so you get a hotspot where the flame is while the heat doesn't disperse well across the base. So your food tends to burn unlike ally pots where the heat from a narrow flame would still heat the whole base (to a point, depends on width or flame and thickness of material)

That would explain it! Sorry, my misunderstanding but yes, a lot less scrubbing of the alu pan compared to the ti pan afterwards