Backpacker Magazine – August 2000

Dessert Time: Use Nature's Fridge

Use streams, snow, rivers, and ponds as chilling grounds for enticing backcountry desserts.

by: Mike Youngblood

Tags:
• Food & nutrition
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• Skills
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• Technique
|

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The trail meal needn't be a ho-hum experience. In fact, I've started taking along my favorite desserts, like gelatin, pudding, and even flan. Backpackers normally overlook such goodies because refrigeration is a must. Fact is, most backcountry areas offer natural refrigeration in abundance.

• At high altitudes: snow or ice
• At low altitudes: mountain streams
• In the warm flatlands: a river or pond

Prepare your preferred dessert and place it in one zipper-lock bag inside another. Toss the bag into shallow, cold water or snow. If there's a risk your treat might float away or slide down an icy mountain, fill another bag with cold water or snow, then place your dessert bag inside that "mini-fridge." Pudding sets up in about 10 minutes, and it can take as long as 4 hours for gelatin to get wiggly.

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