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Trail Food When your party of adventurers set off for that long trek across the wilderness or delves deep into the labyrinth of caves, they must continue to eat. There are three basic methods of providing food in situations where the local inn is not available. 1- Hunting 2- Foraging 3- Trail Rations The prudent adventurer will use a combination of all three. Trail Rations: Food, usually preserved in some method, used while traveling.  There are five basic methods of food preservation, each are in some form used today. However each of these methods have evidence of use dating back to before medieval times, and usually dating back to prehistoric times. Desiccation: Drying or dehydrating prevents the rotting of meat, germination of stored grains, sprouting of certain vegetables, and can inhibit the growth of microorganisms. Heating: Heat can increase shelf life by temporarily sterilizing food. This however does not create long-term preservation in itself. Freezing: This has been used as a method of preservation dating back to prehistoric times. Those living in cold climates or with cold winters would place food outside to freeze. Fermentation: Enzymes of some bacteria, molds, and yeasts cause gradual chemical changes. Many fermented foods can be stored indefinitely. Chemical Preservation: Thought of as a modern innovation, in fact humans have used chemicals to preserve food for thousands of years. Salt, smoking, honey, and some spices can used to chemically preserve food. For best preservation, often combinations of two or more of the five basic methods are used. Simply preserving food does not make it useable as a trail ration. Although preservation is an important part of making trail rations. The food must remain preserved for long periods, able to be easily transported, and be able to stand up to harsh conditions such as moisture, crushing, etc…  Preserved meat Note, this information is for entertainment only, although based on actual methods of preservation the author recommends further investigation or the addition of modern techniques if actually used for consumption. Dried meat: Lean meat is soaked in a salt brine or rub with dry salt, the meat is then dried in open air or drying ovens. Dried meat needs to be rehydrated before eating, this is usually done along with cooking by boiling the dried meat. Stews and soups can be made with dried meat or jerky while at camp. Jerky: Although I am unsure of the historical origin of the word, for purposes of this discussion we will refer to partially dried meat as jerky. Jerky is eaten raw or can be used in cooking. There are many methods and recipes for making jerky. Sausages: Sausages are a common way of preserving meat. There are many recipes and methods of sausage making but basically meat was ground and mixed with spices then placed in a casing, usually made from the animal’s intestines. Steaming and then smoking were a good way to preserve this food. Bread: Bread in itself is a stable food and is high in nutritional value. Many types of bread could be used as is for short trips. Additional methods were used to increase the life of breads for trail rations such as twice-baked bread and hardtack. Additionally, Roman soldiers often carried flour and olive oil in order to make unleavened bread, similar to hardtack, in the field. Trail breads: Some races have developed types of bread specifically for trail rations. These include the elves lembas and the dwarves stone bread. Note there are actually two types of stone bread loaves, one is the large loaf served on tables, and the other is a small flatter loaf used on the trail. Cheese Hard cheeses Cured cheeses More Soon |
