hi all.

i want to get together the smallest cooking kit (alcohol stove) that allows me to make a ramen, or angel hair pasta, or perhaps mac n' cheese. my 0.9l evernew is overkill for that, and i'd love to get a center-burner alcohol stove and a small pot.

so, can you make a ramen or angel hair in 600ml? mac n' cheese in 700ml? just looking for guidance on how small a pot you can go with and still boil (and not burn to the bottom) some pasta or standard thru-hiker fare.

any suggestions on pot size (and compatible stoves) would be great!

Those 600ml pots are really just a large mug, aren't they ?
I have been looking and fondling those mugs for a few years now. Every time I visit a certain shop in the city (they have a good selection of Snow Peak gear) I had to pick one up . No way, too small!!
In the meantime, I have also been lusting after the Caldera Cone system, because it made sense to me.
On top of that, the idea of (in emergency) of using wood did appeal to me, so enter the Ti Tri system .
Eventually getting over the minute size of those mugs, I realized that if I can cook (boil water) a meal for two with my 900ml pot, so I should be able to have my meal for one out of a 600ml pot with room to spare.
Those lovely guys at Ti Goat just put together the Mini Ti Tri Caldera system, ( formerly called "new size") 550ml pot, about 130 g for the pot,cone and stove.(about the weight of my 900ml pot alone)
So I transferred some cash to them six days ago and the parcel arrived this morning here in Melbourne . 15 minutes later I had my first boil.
500ml, 15g of Ethanol, 6 min 20 sec to a roaring boil and a 4 min boil. So far so good.
Why has it taken me years to realize that a 550ml pot is big enough ?
Franco

Edited by Franco on 04/15/2008 03:35:27 MDT.

You sprung for the TriTi Mini? Sweet... I have to admit I'm eyeing one... however I have the Original Tri Ti, so I suspect my cash would be better spent elsewhere...

I used a 700ml in the past, but now I use the SP Trek 900ml set.

I'm not a big pasta guy, but I often did cook Ramen in my 700ml. It worked fine so long as I did not overboil and kept a close eye on it while stirring frequently. I would imagine mini pasta would be very similar but with a smaller serving size perhaps.

The only reason I went with the 900 was because I was gaining some cooking volume but still saving weight over my old cookware. I could do just fine with a 700 so long as it is tall enough to keep water from boiling over. 600 may be pushing it though, but it should still be doable.

Smallest volume for "cooking" is a Freezer Bag. Smallest volume for pot to heat it up depends on the amount of water your food takes. 1 cup is 236ml, 2 cups is 472ml etc. I've been pretty happy with my esbit beer can stove for compact and cheap use.

For Ramen, my Snowpeak 600 is perfect -- if you only use it to boil the water. If you add the Ramen to the cookpot, it might be too small. Let me explain to you my process of cooking Ramen, so you can think through how a 600ml cup might fit into your cooking style:

I boil 2c water in a Snowpeak 600, which leaves about 3/4" between the surface of the water and the pot rim--just enough to keep it from boiling over. While that's boiling, I break up the Ramen into 4 pieces (while still inside its wrapping, no mess this way) and put it into a large red Dixie cup (16/18oz). These are great--tall and wide, and only 0.2oz. I find I can put boiling water in these with no softening of the plastic. And for a 3-day weekend, I can bring 3 of these for each dinner and still come out lighter than if I brought a Ti mug large enough to cook the Ramen in. Plus, I get to simply toss the cups (full of any trash, or stacked on day 2 and 3) into my trash bag (freezer bag) at the end of the meal for a no-mess, no fuss cleanup.

Anyway, I then add the spice pack, my own dehydrated veggies & TVP, and pour the water over. A few minutes later it's cooked through and at the perfect temperature--no cozy needed. While I eat the Ramen, I get more water boiling for a drink--usually cocoa or spiced cider. I find this process to be quick, easy, mess-free, and seamless.

Edited by jcarter1 on 04/15/2008 13:44:28 MDT.

It depends on how big of an eater you are. For me, the minimum I need is 2 packets of ramen. This can be done in a Foster's can with constant attention, breaking the noddles into eight pieces that I slowly add to the pot (starting from cold water) until it reaches a boil, then it goes into a cozy to finish. This makes very nice al dente noddles, but it is a very close fit and if you aren't careful it will boil over and make a big mess...generally I find 900ml is much better for the volumes I cook.

Good points. I should have made it clearer that I intend to re-hydrate food with the 550ml pot, not "cook" .
Best to try it with your smallest pot at home first...
Franco

Hot water. That's all I've ever been after going solo. 2 cups of hot water for a dehydrated dinner and then coffee and instant oatmeal in the morning. The rest is snacks, bagels, nuts, dried fruit and the like.

We take a larger billy for group outings and something closer to a real cooked meal.

More cooking = more water, more cleanup, more fuel, more chores. I wanna recreate!

If you use a rolling pin, or some such thing, (baseball bat?) to break up the Ramen in its package, before opening, you can put it in a freezer bag and just pour the boiled water from your 500/600/700 ml. mug. Zip the Ziplok and insulate in your jacket or sleeping bag for 10 minutes. No need to cook the stuff. Angel hair pasta or rice noodles "cook" even faster. I add curry powder, freeze dried chicken, raisins and crushed dry roasted peanuts to the freezer bag while bagging the Ramen. Curried chicken in 10 minutes and no messy pot to clean. Yum.

So Franco,

Are you rehydrating IN the pot, in a Ziploc, or in something else?

Rod

I guess you could "cook" in a 600ml cup, but for me its not enough volume. Even hydrating things like noodles, pasta, ramen, can only be done in a bag or larger pot due to their expansion when hydrating.
My standard alcohol setup is a Titanium cone and my Snowpeak 900. 900ml of volume is enough volume to cook a meal in the pot, or enough hot water to hydrate a 2-person meal with water leftover for a hot drink.

Hi Rod
Yes, no, yes
Mostly I will use the pot, the bags have occasionally failed so I am now going to use the Decor container you see in the picture. It is a 500ml version that holds 600ml , this way I can have a bigger meal than from the pot only. The container will be used to hold my sugar/tea/coffee/chocolate. 70g.
I used so far a 900ml pot, WB stove,windscreen and a cup for coffee or soup.
Now I plan to use the 550ml mug as a mug... and if I need the Decor to re-hydrate and eat out of it. This way I can still have a coup of tea or soup with dinner.
BTW , old system with mug 330g, new with Decor bowl 250g.
I will still use the old version if I need to cook for two.
Franco

So a 600 ml pot is equal to 18 ounces. (100 ml = 3 ounces) So you can boil about 1 3/4 cups water without worrying about boil over when it gets rolling.

You could easily with that water prepare a number of meals using ramen, couscous, rice, instant grits, instant polenta, mashed potatoes, etc.

What I wouldn't recommend is boiling pasta. You need more volume! Now, boiling water to pour over precooked and dried pasta is different. Then all you need is 1 1/2 cups of water to boil :-)

If I were just going to boil water to pour over ramen, I would go with the pack bowl

http://backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm?PRODUCTS__ProductID=BP2000

Just over an ounce and very versatile, plus packs down to nada. I'm still not convinced I could make 2 packets of ramen with under 2 cups of boiling water. MAYBE if I smashed them up with the rolling pin trick first, but otherwise 2 cups water isn't enought to cover my ramen :(

Italian style noodles

Tot preparation and cooking time 7 min
Ingredients
2x instant noodle portions (125 g tot)
1x packet of tuna in tomato sauce and onions (90g)
1x teaspoon of olive oil
1x garlic clove

bring to boil 300ml of water and the garlic
add the noodle broken in half
let it boil for 2 minutes
add the olive oil
turn the heat off
wait for 2 minutes
mix the tuna in it

serve
Buon Appetito !
Tot weight 500g (17.64 oz)

If you are using the Caldera system, just 7-10 ml of fuel will give you the total cooking time.
If you are Italian, disregard the Italian style bit
Franco

Oh, I see. Different noodles...Mine are 85g per packet, so 170g total.

Hi Franco

> Now I plan to use the 550ml mug as a mug... and if I need the Decor to re-hydrate and eat out of it. This way I can still have a coup of tea or soup with dinner.

Hum ... wait until you taste your tea in the Decor container after it has had onion soup in it ... Sigh!

There are some nice Cascadia cups and bowls from GSI Outdoors. Spotlite Reviews coming.

Cheers

Yes I know what you mean, chicken flavored tea is an acquired taste (still working on that one)
That is the reason why I intend to have both with me. The mug is for boiling water and have tea/coffee/chocolate or soup in it , the Decor bowl is only for my main meal if I want to have a cup of tea or soup (from the mug...) as well.
BTW I like the tight fitting lid of the Decor. Lexan would be better...
But I am looking forward to your GSI review.
Franco

Franco, Rod
I have had a lot of luck using glad steam lock bags, made for microwave steaming, they are much sturdier than normal glad bags. I use them for soup and my main meal, only need to boil my stove once and there is no clean up of the pot.

Edited by bretthartwig on 04/17/2008 05:45:43 MDT.