My first somewhat personal connection to hardtack occurred as I perused
some documents pertaining to my second-great-grandfather Samuel Jarvis
who lived to be nearly 80 years old. As a Union soldier in the Civil
War, he quickly consumed some hardtack during a forced march which had
some kind of negative effect on his body. This allegedly affected him
so much that he claimed, and was granted, a disability and received
compensation for it. I'm not too sure how disabled he was to have been
able to father 18 children.
Hardtack fed many a soldier up until the 20th century. Loads of
references to its consumption omit any mention of fondness for it. That
should be the first clue that it's not something you want to rely on in
a crisis. Accordingly, I've never had any interest in making
hardtack. It just seemed kinda pointless. I mean, if life has gotten
so bad that you're relegated to eating hardtack, it would mean you
hadn't prepared well, that you hadn't gathered a good supply of food in
advance of the crisis. It would be so embarrassing. I think I would
actually rather die.
But I thought I should read up on the subject. And I came across some
suggestions for eating it that didn't sound quite so sorry as "soak it
for 15 minutes in milk or coffee." I mean, that just sounds sad.
However, someone suggested soaking it in water or milk for 15 minutes
and then frying it in a buttered skillet. Personally, I think bacon
grease would be better. Maybe top it with a little cheese. Or break it
up and put it in soup. All of those ideas sound way more palatable
than plain hardtack.
Also, I conceded that hardtack may have its place in an emergency kit
(kinda like what those soldiers were carrying on their forced marches),
and it could do really nicely in some just-add-water soup mixes. So I
decided to give it a try.
Hardtack
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Mix the flour, water, and salt together, and make sure the mixture is fairly dry.
Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thick and shape it into a
rectangle.
Cut it into 2x2 inch squares, and poke holes in both sides. Place on
an ungreased baking sheet and bake 30 minutes per side at 375 degrees.
Let the hardtack cool for a few hours and then store it in an airtight container.
To prepare for eating, soak the hardtack in water or milk for about 15
minutes, and then fry in a skillet with butter or bacon grease. It
could also be crumbled and used to top soup.
Family reviews: It's ok. It doesn't taste bad, but it is really hard.
People would eat it if there was nothing else to eat. It's fine in an
instant soup. But there are hundreds of other, better ways to use
flour. I doubt I will ever make this again. But I'm glad to know what
it is, what it tastes like, and know that I don't want to make it again.
Chuckling, thank you Jennifer for bravely going into the gastronomical breech :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I made and eaten hardtack. Agree it's but a bit above starvation.
As bugs eat it (weevils anybody? Karl Swab says they are high protein and "delicious") I see little advantage to making it as opposed to keeping wheat berries stored well for making any other sort of bread or cooked simply as soup-stew extenders.
But I've also eaten in Escape and Evasion training a fair bit of wildcrafted foods. Most are as you said about hardtack a wee bit above starvation, MUCH better with some civilization foods like butter or bacon fat. While the inner bark of the Blah, Blah tree is edible it's natures version of hardtack.
That and wildcrafted foods tend to be low calorie, low density across many acres-miles and a lot of work for a half-filled belly. A great exercise-weight loss plan.
Prep for more than mere survival friends. Prepare to do well, your family will praise you later.
Proverbs 21: 20 The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
but fools gulp theirs down.
21 Whoever pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity[a] and honor.
Looking around at the Dutch situation, the Sri Lanka Situation and the reports of American farmers struggling to get animal feed shipped to feed those chickens (etc.) and plant-fertilize-weed-harvest and SHIP the harvest to you and I...
A pre-planned Holodomor is near. Got food? As in 2 years' worth along with safe water and such?
Tempus fugit.
I'm right there with you on foraging. While I thought sauteed tumbleweeds tasted worlds better than canned green beans, it took a heckuva long time to pick them. And they don't have a lot of calories. And you want to have the fats to cook them. Raw eating isn't much fun.
ReplyDeleteI just don't understand how people can't see what is coming and refuse to prepare to any degree.
And so, I must get going as well. There is a garden to tend and produce to preserve.
I have eaten Civil War-style hardtack and I would agree that it is better than starvation, if that were the only alternative. Civil War soldiers referred to the standard size crackers as "molar breakers" that posed the risk of dental damage if eaten in the same dimensions in which it was baked in.
ReplyDeleteTo eliminate this problem, Civil War soldiers took the open end of their bayonets and broke the cracker up inside their tin cup, and then soaked the crumbs in bacon grease over a fire. (Bacon was routinely issued to soldiers at that time.)
The result was called "cush." Every report I have seen was very positive about the tasty result. Of course, I think most people today would consider cush to be a "heart attack on a plate."
The mistake most people make is using directions for Civil War hardtack. These directions almost always include the original recommendations for size, particularly about the thickness of the dough. In my view, that is the primary mistake. No one reading this is going to be attacking Little Roundtop or defending The Bloody Lane.
I used dough that was no more than 1/4" thick, 1 1/2" wide, and 4 inches long. The result was that it produced very brittle crackers whose taste was reminiscent of bagel chips.
Sorry, but I forget the oven temperature setting and length of time baking I used, so if you are interested in trying this idea, you will have to experiment.
BTW, fresh hardtack out of the oven is tastier, pliant, and softer.
Drying the hardtack for two or three days before storing it is something that I HIGHLY recommend. Caution: If your spouse returns home after the weekend and complains about the numerous trays of drying hardtack scattered around the house and says that the hardtack needs to be cleaned up and removed, do your best to resist until you are absolutely certain you have removed as much moisture as possible from the crackers. Otherwise, you will have a moldy mess on your hands after the hardtack has been in storage for awhile. (Ask me how I know.)
Thank you for all your suggestions.
Deleteif you don't care to go the DIY bake route - Matzah bread is an eazy retail alternative - cheap during Passover and sells off even cheaper afterwards >>> repack in mylar & 02 absorbers and it should be a lifetime emergency stash ;;;;;;;;;;;
ReplyDelete