Cooking gear clean-up question

OK, Getting back into this and I'll NOT be carrying the 4 pound Peak 1 like I did in the early 80's. I've got a Primus Micron, a tall narrow cookset, and fuel of course. What do you carry to clean up your cook gear? A related question is how do you keep the inside of the cookset clean when your putting that fuel canister into it after each meal?

The stuff that's packed inside the pot should be in a plastic bag. It's liable to be damp in there after you dry the inside of the pot with a damp dish towel on a rainy morning. The plastic bag also keeps the inside of the pot from being scratched.

I only boil water, pour half of it into freezer bags to rehydrate food, use the rest to brew tea which I drink out of the pot. Cleanup consists of licking the spoon and a quick cold water rinse for spoon and pot.

Check Sarbar's website, trailcooking.com for more ideas.

I second the plastic liner. It prevents a lot of problems. I don't use soap, just boiling water.

I do what OM said. No clean up needed fromboiling water!

Are these just regular plastic freezer bags? I'd think that boiling water would melt or damage a plastic bag. I definately like the idea. There wouldn't be any cleaning that way except for the spoon.

Yep, just regular freezer bags work fine. Some, myself included, don't bring the water to a full boil so I'll be able to eat it within the 10-15 minutes of "cozy time".

I use a beer can for my pot so I don't need to worry about scratching the inside.

1) Yes, regular freezer bags (ziploc) work fine, and boiling water works good in them.. second on trailcooking.com and look for "FBC" or "freezer bag cooking" recepies.

2) really really.. you don't need soap.

When not freezer bag cooking, usually I just scrub out my pot with sand and/or rocks and rinse, and lick my spoon clean.

I'll add a minority report here--because we sometimes cook in the pot itself, and we eat out of separate bowls. So we do have some dishes to wash. we use a tiny bottle ( think one of those hotel shampoo bottles) of Dawn detergent. This is the stuff they use to get oil off birds during a toxic cleanup.

About one drop of Dawn will clean your dishes. WE toss that "soapy" water way up into the bushes away from water sources....and then rinse again to remove any soap odor.

And I have been known to wash my hair with Dawn as well...and afterwards, I look RADIANT! grin.

Thanks all ! I appreciate the info. Please don't cringe too much when you read this but, when we were in scouts, we always used brillo pads. I realize that's not very eco-friendly and i won't be doing that now. I promise !

Back in the days of steel pots and burnt on food Brillo pads worked wonders

Cubleader,

Second Sarbar's observation. I used them for years, and didn't want to go without. We didn't have the disposable plastic bags, so mine lived in a horribly wet, dirty, stinky military waterproof bag. I can't really account for my good health after that.

But today, though unlike others, I pour the food out of the Ziplock and into the boiling water in my pan, instead of the other way around, I very rarely have anything sticking to the inside that I cannot wipe out with my tea bag. And for sanitation, I depend on the fact that the next time I use the pot, I'm going to boil water, killing whatever remains.

On the rare occasion that I need to scrub, I have a cut-down square of the green plastic scrubbing sheets (weigh's virtually nothing). I carry this for the outside of the pan (I use Esbit) but it spends a whole lot more time in it's other use; insulation under the pot while the pot is in it's cozy (my fleece cap).

Best, jcp

Cleaning: I use an 8 inch square of plastic mesh that I cut from an onion bag. Makes a great scrubbie, dries with a shake, and doesn't register on my scale. A drop of dish soap in warm water is fine. Wash the pot, lid, and spoons, rinse completely, and please don't do this in the creek.

My fuel canister goes in the pot upside down, and the little plastic protective cover prevents scratches (and keeps tiny debris out of the valve.) My stove is wrapped in a bandana and resting on top of the canister with my lighter and cleaning kit.

One word, "sand". Actually glacial sand is the best.
Jim

Just as a reminder though - only use sand/rocks/gravel/evergreen branches/etc to scrub pots if you use plain pots. If your pots are HAA or have a non-stick lining do NOT do any of this. Or you will be posting "Hey, I need a new pot! Any idea?"

This is why I think nonstick pans are heavier.. With my plain old pots I don't have to carry something to baby them - I'm a sand and gravel man myself

I always liked the way Eva Gabor cleaned the dishes on Green Acres...she tossed them out the kitchen window. Since I CAN'T do that, its sand and gravel for me also. My aluminum pots have been getting lighter every year that way.