Anyone given some thought to the relative merits of...

Heavy bread (dark German/rye), vs.
Tortillas, vs.
Pita bread, vs.
Crackers

Based on
* How well they keep in the wild,
* Nutritional value,
* Taste,
* Calories per weight, and
* Bulk (important for bear-canister users)

I've taken all four of the above items into the wilderness; they're all relatively acceptable. Just wanting to take a harder look at them - especially with a long, bear-canister trip upcoming. (I *might* end up going with "None of the above!")

- Elizabeth

Of them the tortillas carry best in canisters - get soft taco size. They have better shelf life than bread or pitas as well.

I think people going on really long trips without resupply, using a bear canister, generally find that tortillas pack the best.

Personally I use buttery crackers. They taste good, have pretty good energy density, and serve as good "delivery systems" to make high-energy-density fat-based foods (olive oil, hard cheese, ...) palatable. They don't pack down very well, however. Cookies such as Lorna Doones also work well -- I kind of like the taste of a Lorna Doone with olive oil on it.

Leavened bread is something I would take on the first day, leaving it in the outside netting of my pack and finishing it off before camping for the first night.

-Ben

We used tortillas and "thin buns". The thin buns did get smashed a little, but they are already thin to begin with. They were still quite usable.

Thank you for the Thin Buns tip. I much prefer whole-grain items; and thought that whole wheat tortillas or whole wheat pita bread were my only options.

Crackers are yummy, but they're so full of preservatives and have poor nutritional content. And they are always breaking into little tiny pieces...

- Elizabeth

Fair warning - those thin buns can go stale quickly. We eat them a lot at home (they are high in fiber).

Crackers? Not all are equal. Try Kashi crackers. They are durable and made of all natural ingredients. No preservatives, high fiber, etc. And there are many other brands in natural food stores that are the same. Many are healthier than bread or tortillas....

Which comes to this - the tortillas that last the longest are the ones full of crap. No way around that. Same with bread. Moisture in the bread is what makes it taste good - and without preserving it it goes bad fast.

Tortillas have the longest shelf life. Greek style pitas are a good choice too. Bagels are very durable but take up more space and don't last as long.

How long will a typical tortilla last?

I had some on my counter for a month and I couldn't believe there was no mold. It is hot and humid here. Is there something magical about tortillas or are there just tons of preservatives in there.

In PA we have these: Arnold Sandwich Thins.

They have an unrefrigerated shelf life of about at least a week (possibly two but I can't remember) and are pretty "smush-resistant."

I was wondering about tortilla shelf life myself. In my local supermarket, tortillas are all refrigerated items as opposed to bread.

This has led me to believe that tortillas have fewer or no preservatives (which is a good thing in my book), or they go bad quicker. Can anyone comment as to why?

Of course, if you're hard-core tortillas a pretty easy to make on the trail. The ingredients are simple, flour, salt, and baking powder (I think). You just need a flat surface to roll them on, something to roll them with (a Thermos works), and a flat surface to toast them with.

Leftovers can be cut into quarters, fried up in (hopefully healthy) oil, and sprinked with cinnamon sugar for a tasty treat...

They also make BAGEL THINS which are great,too. Softer than regular bagels and will last in excess of ten years in my house:) Well, at least a couple weeks.

It depends on the store - here you see them on the shelf. Only un-cooked ones would need to be chilled. Many tortillas (as in the big brands) have shelf lifes of weeks or longer.

But as with many items.....modern shopping has us buying everything out of the cooler, whether or not it needs to be there ;-)

All of these "thin" breads are fine except if you need the calories, these aren't helpful. The sandwich thins are 90 calories, and bagels are 110. I found myself getting hungry pretty quickly and didn't realize why until I read the packaging. But, if you want something like a cracker (Wasa or other healthy types)I pack mine in a platic tub and use the tub for my freezer bag meals at night.

I sometimes have carried bagels or naan, which, depending on the heat, can last several days.

And yep....tortillas are powerhouses for calories!! Depending on size you can get 300-600 per piece. Which is amazing for their size ;-)

Walkers shortbread cookies are one of the most nutritionally dense foods I've seen at about 150 calories/oz.

Delicious too. One disadvantage though is that they are brittle and tend to crumble easily.

"Walkers shortbread cookies are one of the most nutritionally dense foods I've seen at about 150 calories/oz.

Delicious too. One disadvantage though is that they are brittle and tend to crumble easily."

Crumble them up on purpose before packing; they will take up less space that way. Then eat them with a spoon.

Logan bread or any derivative, christmas cake, plum pudding, and quick breads are very calorie dense and will have relatively long shelf life. The longer you cook logan breads and "hardtack" breads, the longer they'll last (so I've been told, I usually eat it too quickly). Just use fresh ingredients, especially oils, so that they don't go rancid while cooking or after.

I think crackers and yeast breads are less dense than most other items, and so they'll be less efficient uses of space in your pack. However, if you want to make meat and cheese sandwiches, dessert breads might not be your first choice and so you might have to settle for some kind of cracker or tortilla anyway! For different takes on flat breads, you could make some kind of naan or bhature, corn tortilla, pita, dosa, lavash, etc.... But all will have shelf life similar to a tortilla.

I like the Guererro's branded tortillas over the Mission branded (they're both made by the same company, Gruma) since they have more fat and calories...

> Walkers shortbread cookies
Yeah!

> they are brittle and tend to crumble easily.
Don't keep them that long ...

Cheers

On trips where I'm not worried about fuel use (because wood is available, for example), I just make bread--usually damper. Basically, use flour and baking powder to make self-rising flour, mix with water to make a stiff dough, and cook it as a quickbread. Add flavorings (sweet or savory) if desired. The flour mix is perfect for packability. I usually start with damper on day 4 or later of a trip, by which time I'm usually craving additional textures in my food. Use it as a vehicle for peanut butter, etc.