Most testing cooking environment

[Duck59]

What has been the most trying situation you've faced in terms of cooking? In my case, there's no doubt. I spent two years as a VSO volunteer in Eritrea with distinctly limited resources.

For one thing, money was tight. For another, there was a fairly basic range of vegetables. The most difficult part, though, was the cooking equipment. I began with a kerosene stove that belched out noxious fumes and threatened to remove my eyebrows every time I used it. I decided to ditch that and use a little electric stove. This was marginally better, although it is doubtful that it would have passed any health and safety requirements. It was wise to ensure that you were earthed before using it, as it had a propensity to give you a vigorous shock.

Needs must, however, and one thing that I can be sure of is that the experience left me a far better cook than when I'd started. It certainly made me a more imaginative and inventive one.

 

[Berties]

I've cooked all over the world
The desserts ,the snow plains of Norway the jungles of Belize, mud Of north Europe on all types of fuels petrol , gas ,solid fuel , I am trained to do health and safety on field kitchens, I have always had support of good logistics , and the cheeky chappy way of getting hold of stuff , I've even had pilots go and pick supplies up
And I have lost my eye brows a few times !

 

[Pat]

My biggest challenge in cooking has been a stove that did not want to keep a constant temperture to ensure the food was cooked thru and thru. I have been challenged a few times when the person I was helping did not have the spices or gadgets I like to use in the kitchen.

 

[sidevalve]

It was wise to ensure that you were earthed before using it, as it had a propensity to give you a vigorous shock.

Not too sure that being earthed would be a good idea - if you give the current a path to take it will take it - straight through you. Maybe better to earth the cooker.
As for the OP I always find camp coking the most difficult [especially lightweight cooking]. Only one stove and no such thing as an oven or a grill but you still need decent food, and here in Britain it rains a lot too - rainwater stew is pretty depressing.

 

[DancingLady]

When the kitchen was full of guests who were chatting and I had difficulty moving around because it was too crowded. That was really hard because I felt like I had to yell at people in order to get through with a hot pan. I hate yelling, makes me feel like I'm being rude even if no one would think that. It was a very stressful dinner because I was having difficulty keeping track of everything at the same time because so many people were there and people would try to talk to me and then I would forget what I was doing.

 

[Duck59]

I should also mention that I did not possess a fridge. Allowing for the fact that temperatures where I lived on the Red Sea coast rarely dropped below 30 Celsius, this also necessitated a little ingenuity.

 

[kana_marie]

My husband and I spent a short time living in a tent and cooking over an open fire. Believe me, it's nothing like cooking in a kitchen. 2 very different experiences!

 

[Duck59]

One thing I always had to remember was to put my weekly purchased eggs into a bucket of water to see if any were rotten. I made the mistake of forgetting once and nearly gassed myself. Something else I should have considered was that spinach was never going to last into a second day; it did, though, give me an interesting insight into how many cockroaches can fit onto a kitchen worktop...

 

[kana_marie]

One thing I always had to remember was to put my weekly purchased eggs into a bucket of water to see if any were rotten. I made the mistake of forgetting once and nearly gassed myself. Something else I should have considered was that spinach was never going to last into a second day; it did, though, give me an interesting insight into how many cockroaches can fit onto a kitchen worktop...

How does the water test work? I know its about which ones do and don't float. But cold water? And the floating are good or bad?

 

[Duck59]

How does the water test work? I know its about which ones do and don't float. But cold water? And the floating are good or bad?

We called it the 'sink or stink' test. Only the rotten ones come to the surface and should be hurled in the far distance immediately. Cold water will do the trick, though we never had cold water as such - the temperatures were too hot for that.

 

[kana_marie]

Oh wow, thank you! I have 8 laying hens, and when they free range they like to play a game where they see how many eggs they can lay in one secret spot, before I can find it. They're obviously doing it now. The weather has been nice and they have their favorite food... But I've only gotten one egg over the past week

 

[missbishi]

I think my most testing cooking experiences have been in bedsitters with nothing but a kettle and a Baby Belling miniature cooker. For those who've never come across one, it's basically half an oven with two boiling rings on top. You can't do a great deal with them at all other than heat up soup and beans.

 

[Duck59]

I think my most testing cooking experiences have been in bedsitters with nothing but a kettle and a Baby Belling miniature cooker. For those who've never come across one, it's basically half an oven with two boiling rings on top. You can't do a great deal with them at all other than heat up soup and beans.

Ah, the dreaded Baby Belling. I had one of those in a bedsit when I was about 19. You're right, the scope is extremely limited. It is, though, tempting to go into 'Four Yorkshiremen' mode: Baby Belling? Luxury!