Post by paden on Mar 2, 2009 15:12:04 GMT -5
Greetings,
In an effort to try and keep my rations easy but historically accurate, I searched and found a recipe for a modern equivalent of the Union issued Essence of Coffee. I have also found a butcher shop that carries cured and smoked bacon so it needs no refrigeration. www.butchershoppe.com/main.html I also make my own hardtack. I had the bacon for breakfast today and it fries up rather well. It is a tad salty, but what bacon isn't. The hardtack recipe is easy to find and there are a few different ones, so I won't bore you with the particulars of the ubiquitous tooth breaker, but Essence of Coffee may not be all that familiar to everyone.
I won't bore you with the story of it, but you can find a recipe and information about it here. www.fugawee.com/coffee.htm.
The recipe at the bottom is rather easy and yes, when it says add water by drops, do so. It takes surprisingly little water to get the instant coffee to break down. I used a dark roast instant coffee.
Now, the taste test. Living in a household that relishes its tea far more than coffee makes it hard for me as I love a pot of hot coffee on at anytime. But when it is just me who will drink it, it's usually a waste to make a whole pot.
Modern instant coffee is OK, but it's never as good. So off to the kitchen I go to mash together what was a Civil War staple of any good fighting man.
I won't get into the details of making it, if you follow the recipe as I did it will turn out. When I was done, I put the kettle back on, filled up my camp mug and added about 3 tablespoons of the thick dark paste and waited for it to cool a little.
Now, much to my girlfriends chagrin, I like my coffee rather sweet. Sugar doesn't stand a snowballs chance in Hades in our house when I am around. Using the condensed milk sweetens it rather close to my tastes. I am a triple triple man myself at the evil empire known as Timmy's ;D.
This was as close to how I would make my coffee as it gets and all I did was use the paste and water. For those of you without a massive sweet tooth, maybe try a lower sugar condensed milk.
All in all, a pleasurable cup of coffee. Nothing like a freshly brewed dark roast from fresh beans, but more than passable as a morning kick in the pants and easy enough for even the most kitchen illiterate of us to do.
So try it out. Let those with more muscle than brains roast and crush their coffee beans. With a little time and effort at home, you can have a cup of steaming coffee in the time it takes to boil water out on the field.
I will bring some to the next drill and you can all wonder in amazement at my culinary skill, and if someone brings a mucket or kettle, maybe we can all have a cup and discuss the finer points of pencil sharpening in the Mesopotamian Age ;D
Safe soldiering to all.
With Greatest Respect,
Pvt. Alexander
In an effort to try and keep my rations easy but historically accurate, I searched and found a recipe for a modern equivalent of the Union issued Essence of Coffee. I have also found a butcher shop that carries cured and smoked bacon so it needs no refrigeration. www.butchershoppe.com/main.html I also make my own hardtack. I had the bacon for breakfast today and it fries up rather well. It is a tad salty, but what bacon isn't. The hardtack recipe is easy to find and there are a few different ones, so I won't bore you with the particulars of the ubiquitous tooth breaker, but Essence of Coffee may not be all that familiar to everyone.
I won't bore you with the story of it, but you can find a recipe and information about it here. www.fugawee.com/coffee.htm.
The recipe at the bottom is rather easy and yes, when it says add water by drops, do so. It takes surprisingly little water to get the instant coffee to break down. I used a dark roast instant coffee.
Now, the taste test. Living in a household that relishes its tea far more than coffee makes it hard for me as I love a pot of hot coffee on at anytime. But when it is just me who will drink it, it's usually a waste to make a whole pot.
Modern instant coffee is OK, but it's never as good. So off to the kitchen I go to mash together what was a Civil War staple of any good fighting man.
I won't get into the details of making it, if you follow the recipe as I did it will turn out. When I was done, I put the kettle back on, filled up my camp mug and added about 3 tablespoons of the thick dark paste and waited for it to cool a little.
Now, much to my girlfriends chagrin, I like my coffee rather sweet. Sugar doesn't stand a snowballs chance in Hades in our house when I am around. Using the condensed milk sweetens it rather close to my tastes. I am a triple triple man myself at the evil empire known as Timmy's ;D.
This was as close to how I would make my coffee as it gets and all I did was use the paste and water. For those of you without a massive sweet tooth, maybe try a lower sugar condensed milk.
All in all, a pleasurable cup of coffee. Nothing like a freshly brewed dark roast from fresh beans, but more than passable as a morning kick in the pants and easy enough for even the most kitchen illiterate of us to do.
So try it out. Let those with more muscle than brains roast and crush their coffee beans. With a little time and effort at home, you can have a cup of steaming coffee in the time it takes to boil water out on the field.
I will bring some to the next drill and you can all wonder in amazement at my culinary skill, and if someone brings a mucket or kettle, maybe we can all have a cup and discuss the finer points of pencil sharpening in the Mesopotamian Age ;D
Safe soldiering to all.
With Greatest Respect,
Pvt. Alexander
