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Seattle P-I Plus Getaways: Gearing Up for Cooking
By KRISTIN HOSTETTER 
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER
My grandfather, who owned a restaurant on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was fond of saying: "You can't make chicken salad out of chicken----."
"What he meant was, if you use lousy ingredients or chintzy tools, your mealtime creations won't amount to anything memorable. And he was right.
Cooking pots come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and materials. To decide what's right for you, consider the types of camp meals you cook, how many you cook for, your thresholds for weight and durability, and your budget.
Aluminum pots are the most economical, which might explain why Boy Scouts have been relying on them to cook their franks and beans for decades. Aluminum is also quite lightweight, which makes it a good option for backpackers. But, alas, aluminum dents easily, and unless it's coated with a non-stick finish -- which boosts the price -- it requires some serious elbow grease to clean.
Stainless-steel pots are a bit heavier than aluminum, but they can stand up to years of backcountry abuse. Stainless also has a slicker, easier-to-clean coating, so your mac-and-cheese tuna surprise won't become one of your pot's permanent features. I've been using the same stainless-steel pot set for about seven years, and it still looks almost new.
Titanium pots pack a hefty price tag, but if you're a true ounce-counter, you may be seduced by their light weight. Titanium is surprisingly strong, but I find that food likes to stick to it, although not quite as much as to uncoated aluminum.
Composite pots are usually built from a thin layer of aluminum on the outside (to trim ounces) and a layer of stainless steel on the inside (to prevent sticking). It's a nice, happy medium, but this type isn't as widely available as the others.
Once you've decided on the right type of metal, consider these features:
Now that you've dialed into the perfect type of pot, the final question is, how many do you need and how big should they be?
If you're a solo cooker, one small one-liter pot will suit you fine, but most of us need to feed a few more mouths.
For two people, the 1.5-liter size works well; three should go with a two-liter pot; and groups of four or more need a three-liter pot.
Large groups should bring two or three pots of various sizes to accommodate sauces and side dishes.
Kristin Hostetter is the equipment editor for Backpacker magazine. She resides in Portland, Ore., but spends most of her time in the wilds testing gear. For more information on equipment, check out Backpacker's Web site atwww.bpbasecamp.com.
| Kristin Hostetter is the equipment editor for Backpacker magazine. She resides in Portland, Ore., but spends most of her time in the wilds testing gear. For more information on equipment, check out Backpacker's Web site at www.bpbasecamp.com. |
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