Virtually anything that you are served can be made edible with enough salt, peeper, or tabasco. But the real gourmet always travels with a variety of spices, flavorings, and condiments. Imagine the envy as one of your trail pals laments "Gee wouldn't it be nice to have a bit of nutmeg or cinnamon, to put in our coffee?" and you confidently reach into that special bag, and produce "the stuff".
One should always carry an ample and diversified selection of your favorite spices and condiments. Start by looking in the kitchen. Most of us have all we need, right at home. Start with the basics: salt, pepper(black), white pepper (good for stir fry or chinese), cayenne, chili powder, mustard powder, garlic powder, curry powder, oregano, basil, parsley, celery seed, dill, bullion cubes, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves (good for tea), paprika, tabasco or texas pete, and build from there.
Many of these spices are available at grocery stores, or good outdoor stores, in the form of a "wheel" with four or five spices in about a 3" diameter container. This is great to get started, but usually will go bad (by drying or caking or getting wet) unless you are taking a long trip. Film cannisters work ok, but remember to label them, and take care when packing them to prevent them from being crushed, they will open very easily. You can store them in a pot for transporting, or better yet get a small plastic box, like a first aid kit size, it will concisely store what you need. I have found that some medicine bottles (be sure to clean thourghly) work well, particularly the type that they dispense dry antibiotics for infants in. The best way to carry items like tabasco is in the original bottle. Wrap them up well in your dirty socks, to prevent inadvertent breakage (and Hey, if they do break, the socks will help neutralize the smell!)
Real die hard weight watchers (pack weight, that is) shudder at the thought of carrying anything that adds comfort to the trip, or makes the food more edible, but I say what the heck. Besides, that is why we take along a slew of young, healthy, strong, teenage men. One can easily shift a portion of your load to one of them. I have yet to be declined, particularly when they are allowed to ocassionally use some of the spices.
Happy Trail Eating
Ed Mussler
ASM Troop 357, Raleigh, NC
Eagle Class of 1974
mussleref@wastenot.ehnr.state.nc.us