Hi capsu,

I should have clarified the point about cooking with a bbq pit a little better.

During the first 72 hours I totally understood the cooking over an open flame to utilize what had been under refrigeration. That seemed logical. Why let the food in the fridge go to waste? But after 5+ days and beyond it just seemed a HUGE waste of resourses ( fuel, money, and time ) to me.

Why?

Basically after 24 to 48 hours small shops (convienence stores, etc )were beginning to do cash only business even though there was no electricity. Charcoal and lighter fluid were going for top dollar. There were amazingly LOADS of canned goods still on the shelf! And the baffling part was that almost no one was buying any of them at all!! They were snatching up 5 day old bread and unrefrigerated cheese, eggs, and milk ( yes, milk! )like it was mana from heaven. I did see quite a few people buying pasta which was definately better than unrefrigerated dairy products but not by much at all.

Why? well it takes alot of water to boil pasta, and there were warnings not to drink the tap water without treating it with bleach. so essentially these folks were using up their DRINKING water! <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> Also consider the amount of fuel needed to boil a gallon of water, its immense..

Now, another thing to consider is that it was pretty warm, and VERY humid outside. Mosquitos were quite active as well. The last thing that seemed like fun was cooking over a fire, slathered with DEET..

As I mentioned above It also seemed to be a waste of resourses. Fires need fuel (wood, charcoal , propane, etc)

One of my Personal Survival Commandments (PSC) is : "Conserve Thy Resources, and squander them not Foolishly, or DOOM ON YOU!!!"

I mean, if that method of cooking is your only option then you have no choice. But these people were using their heads for nothing more than hat racks.

I also consider shelf stable food to be more hygenic by far... I can eat out of a can, tin, or MRE pouch not worrying if its thoroughly cooked and when I'm done I dispose of the package without having to further expend my drinking water for washing dishes, mess kits, or pots and pans. Not to mention that if you aren't thourough in cleaning your mess kit and all utensils you run the very serious risk of Cramping Gut or Runny Butt... Neither of which is very fun under the best of circumstances, let alone in a survival situation..