Amongst other things, I'm an extended trip backpacker, and this post couldn't help but remind me of "backpacker's Jello". Because you can't count on having cold enough water around to make real Jello as a dessert, the product sold by backpacking food companies used sodium alginate and calcium chloride to do the job. You had to be pretty adroit at the mixing to avoid lumps.
While those products are no longer on the market that I know of, the alginate/calcium gelling mixture is still used in smaller quantities in some backpacker puddings, which pretty much guarentees that they'll set, no matter what the weather, though the texture can be a bit unfamilar.
Our backpacking pudding recipe, by the way, uses 1/3 cup non-dairy creamer, 2/3 cup instant non-fat dry milk, and a four-serving package of instant pudding, all pre-mixed prior to the trip. Works well and tastes better than the backpacking products, offers more flavor choices, and is cheaper. |