Hardtack

[Mark F. Jenkins]

For the baking-impaired, where's the best place to buy something that's close to the real stuff?

 

[yellowthornoftexas]

Soldiers often said the best time to eat hardtack was at night.

That way they couldn't see all the maggot worms that had been laid by flies in the holes of the crackers they had to eat.

Yech!

Unionblue

Oh c'mon now, it's jist a lil extra protien!!!! Tastes jist like chik'n!

 

[unionblue]

Oh c'mon now, it's jist a lil extra protien!!!! Tastes jist like chik'n!

yellowthornoftexas,

Your memory of "extra protein" is far different from mine.

But after all, I was in the Army eating C-Rations while you were a Marine who had to eat God knows what.

"And the caissons keep rollin' along..."

Sincerely,
Unionblue

 

[huskerblitz]

I make some for my history classes. I'm sure its not quit near what they ate, but they get the idea.

Do you require them to sign a waiver beforehand.... so as not be liable for dental repairs...

And that's why I stopped making some for my class. Since I've dropped down to middle school level, we have so many kids in braces or still getting their teeth I thought better of it than having a dozen angry mothers waiving their dental bills in my face.

 

[yellowthornoftexas]

yellowthornoftexas,

Your memory of "extra protein" is far different from mine.

But after all, I was in the Army eating C-Rations while you were a Marine who had to eat God knows what.

"And the caissons keep rollin' along..."

Sincerely,
Unionblue

LOL!!!!! JEST, JOST, SERE......where ya think the term "grub" for chow came from.....grub worm! Lol

Semper Fi UB, Semper Fi!!! Lol

 

[redbob]

yellowthornoftexas,

Your memory of "extra protein" is far different from mine.

But after all, I was in the Army eating C-Rations while you were a Marine who had to eat God knows what.

"And the caissons keep rollin' along..."

Sincerely,
Unionblue

An old Gunny (are there any other kind?) once told me this ditty:
In the Marine Corps,
Every day's a holiday,
Every meal's a feast,
Every formation's a parade
And
Every paycheck's a fortune...

BTW, I married a career Army Officer; who still thinks that all Marines are crazy.

 

[yellowthornoftexas]

The wisdom of Gunnys!!!!! Lol
Lol, a quote from a co-worker, "Al should be in a glass case with a sign that reads Break Only In Case of National Threat" lol, yes we're crazy, but needed! Kudo's to her...at least she understands! Lol
When my son in law re-upped they said he could get Sgt if he went MARSOC or Force Recon "no thanks, I'm not as crazy as the old man"! Lol
I miss the old C rats. They were good, heavy but good!

 

[ami]

back to the topic of hardtack

 

[yellowthornoftexas]

Yes. I did find a recipe online and some Sutlers that sell them also for us non baking types. Johnny cakes....had one....once.....

 

[28thNewYork]

It would appear that the crackers that were in the little green C Ration cans and Hardtack had a great deal in common, except that I doubt that the hardtack came with cheese spread or peanut butter.

Having "sampled" both the hardtack in the "bread unit" of an MCI and "real" hardtack, I can state unequivocally that both needed a lot of "help" to be edible. Fortunately, LRP (pronounced "Lurp" for the uninitiated) rations eliminated the possibility of drawing hardtack, although the fruitcake bars could also be used for doorstops or paperweights (chocolate at least melted).

 

[yellowthornoftexas]

Having "sampled" both the hardtack in the "bread unit" of an MCI and "real" hardtack, I can state unequivocally that both needed a lot of "help" to be edible. Fortunately, LRP (pronounced "Lurp" for the uninitiated) rations eliminated the possibility of drawing hardtack, although the fruitcake bars could also be used for doorstops or paperweights (chocolate at least melted).

oh how true!!! those and the 'oatmeal' bars of the early MRE's!!! At least with hardtack, you could soak in coffee...oatmeal bars i think would cause a chemical explosion!! LOL

 

[Mark F. Jenkins]

I liked the oatmeal bars... though I understand why people said it reminded them of compressed sawdust or particleboard. (It was handy trading-wise to like a few of the less-popular items, anyway.)

 

[OldBrainsHalleck]

Anyone know where you can purchase "hardtack" or something similar in this day and age?

 

[John Hartwell]

Commercial hardtack bakers used special equipment, like the illustrated biscuit-roller (worked rather like a pasta machine), from an advertisement in the 1866 Appleton's Railway Guide. It would roll out the dough into sheets, ready for the oven.

​

 

[Norm53]

There must be many recipes that include hardtack (w/o the maggots). Please post some with measures for all the ingredients so that I can include it in my experiment.

Thanks, Norm

 

[frankconrad]

When I got out of the Army I was on a shoestring, mixed up some pancakes and found some little bugs in it and decided it wouldn' t kill me and fried them up, really couldn't taste any difference.

 

[matthew mckeon]

I make some for my history classes. I'm sure its not quit near what they ate, but they get the idea.

Me too!

 

[USS ALASKA]

In the Museum: How hardtack won the Civil War
BRUCE GARDOW
Jun 15, 2019

What is hardtack? Hardtack is a simple biscuit or cracker made from water, flour and sometimes salt. The purpose of hardtack was as a food on lengthy military campaigns such as the Civil War. With insect infestation common in improperly stored provisions, soldiers would break up the hardtack and drop it in their morning coffee. This would not only soften the hardtack but the insects, mostly weevil larvae, would float to the top, allowing the soldiers to skim off the insects and continue to consume the beverage. Some men also turned hardtack into a mush by breaking it up with blows from their rifle butts, then adding water. If the men had a frying pan they could fry the mush into a lumpy pancake; otherwise they dropped the mush directly on the coals of their campfire. They also mixed hardtack with brown sugar, hot water, and sometimes whiskey to create what they called a pudding to serve as dessert.

Full article can be found here - https://chippewa.com/community/dunn...cle_ec4c1687-b907-58e7-8591-1c42f181ef45.html
3873

Cheers,
USS ALASKA

 

[jackt62]

Here is a story about a more modern version of hardtack. From the NY Times March 21, 2006:

"For decades it waited in secret inside the masonry foundations of the Brooklyn Bridge, in a damp, dirty and darkened vault near the East River shoreline of Lower Manhattan: a stockpile of provisions that would allow for basic survival if New York City were devastated by a nuclear attack.

City workers were conducting a regular structural inspection of the bridge last Wednesday when they came across the cold-war-era hoard of water drums, medical supplies, paper blankets, drugs and calorie-packed crackers -- an estimated 352,000 of them, sealed in dozens of watertight metal canisters and, it seems, still edible.

The most numerous items are the boxes of Civil Defense All-Purpose Survival Crackers. Printed in block letters, on each canister, was information about the number of pounds (6.75), the number of crackers per pound (62) and the minimum number of crackers per can (419)."

 

[donna]

Proves hardtack can last forever.