I've just returned from a three-day backcountry hut trip near Vail. The snow was great, the hut was cozy, the scenery was spectacular. Only one thing was unsettling really, the cheese.Ever since I was introduced to canned kipper snacks at 13, I've long seen it as a proud tradition to bring stinky, nasty food that you would never eat at home on backpacking trips. And I've long seen it as a badge of honor to eat the stuff.
I've always stepped up, whether it be canned oysters, brown bread, or even cuy. But this time I have to draw the line. Friend and Gazette TV writer Andy Wineke brought a block of Gjetost (pronounced yet-ost) cheese. I'd never heard of the stuff but apparently the hard, brown cheese is made from caramelizing a mix of cow and goat milk and whey. It's nutty, it's sweet, it's stinky. It's really, really weird.
At first I didn't like it. I only tried it to be nice. And even after I tried it I didn't like it. But now, I keep thinking about it. I want to taste it again. The orange cube calls to me.
Is this the strangest trail food ever? I'll take other nominations below.
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3 comments:
It wasn't stinky, whiner.
Try a Filipino balut ... basically a fertilized (read fetus in the shell) duck egg. Mmmmm ... sick and wrong.
I was going to say roasted caterpillars, but they're actually pretty good with chili powder - lightweight protein, too, good on the trail.
But I think the most wicked trail snack was palm grubs. Larvae. Locals swore by them, but they were nasty. I don't think I'd do much better with Zen's balut. Ugh.
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