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I am going on a long hiking trip soon and would like to take one container of spice mixes for outdoor cooking. I have the following spices at my disposal, all ground:

  1. Black pepper,
  2. Turmeric,
  3. Red (sweet) paprika,
  4. Cumin,
  5. Salt.

What ratios would you suggest I mix them to create a good "general purpose" spice mixture?

Yair Daon
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    How long of a 'hiking trip'? What are expecting to season? That said, any one combination is likely to be unsatisfactory for 'all purposes'. You might consider this trick to make [custom 'ziplock bags'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0_AiIH-JfA) and just take it all separately. – Cos Callis Sep 20 '17 at 18:30
  • @CosCallis order of weeks to months. Season: spring-summer. – Yair Daon Sep 20 '17 at 18:45
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    Welcome to the site @YairDaon. Unfortunately this is completely opinion based, and I am voting to close it as it can't really be answered. – GdD Sep 20 '17 at 19:13
  • What types of food do you prefer to eat or what foods will be available in the area you're going. Without context a meaningful answer is difficult.. –  Sep 20 '17 at 20:08
  • It's easy enough to get small heavy-duty zip-top bags ... and you're only dealing with 4 spices and salt ... so just carry them individually. And besides, if you're going hiking for weeks or months at a time, you'd resupply (if you take multiple weeks to get through the [100 mile wilderness](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred-Mile_Wilderness), you probably shouldn't hike it). – Joe Sep 20 '17 at 21:30
  • Turmeric doesn't really have much flavor, it's more of a coloring, so you can leave it to save weight. – GdD Sep 20 '17 at 22:15
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    Sounds very opinion based indeed. Will you be cooking locally sourced/gathered in the wild natural meals? How about not spicing them at all and enjoying the new unique and natural flavors, instead of spicing them the usual "everyday seasoning" you can get regularly on every other occasion? – Duarte Farrajota Ramos Sep 21 '17 at 01:35
  • @DuarteFarrajotaRamos : I'd still bring salt. And maybe pepper, for band foods. (but I'd more likely bring crushed red instead of black pepper) – Joe Sep 21 '17 at 01:44
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    @Joe Yep, i'd agree with salt, it does tend to enhance natural flavors after all. – Duarte Farrajota Ramos Sep 21 '17 at 01:47
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    @DuarteFarrajotaRamos : and if you're hiking and sweating, you're going to need to replentish your salt. Even if you're not exerting yourself heavily, it's summer, so it'll be hot .. and can be oppressively muggy if you're under trees. You need to drink water so you don't dehydrate, but if you drink too much without salt, you can pass out and possibly die : https://fitness.stackexchange.com/q/10116 – Joe Sep 21 '17 at 12:53
  • @GdD - See my answer. I think I was able to respond without injecting any opinion I have about the question. – PoloHoleSet Sep 21 '17 at 14:23

1 Answers1

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Here are a couple of sites where they discuss "homemade spice mixes."

My suggestion is to look at these, and google a few more, to find different mixes that incorporate what you have.

You probably won't find any that match exactly, so use them, instead, to figure out the ratios you want. Use salt, which is going to be in all of them, as your base unit of measurement. See what the ratios of your other ingredients are compared to salt as a basis for figuring out your own ratios.

Wellness Mama: Homemade Herb & Spice Blends Recipes

Chefworks Blog: Making Your Own Seasoning Mixes

PoloHoleSet
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  • No matter what mix is made, you're going to need to keep extra salt separate, as it's going to be needed for replenishing sodium lost from sweating while hiking. (It's said that this is the reason why people who worked in certain industries (eg, metal foundries) would salt their beer ... because they lost so much while they were working. See https://cooking.stackexchange.com/a/25632/67 ) – Joe Sep 21 '17 at 14:47
  • @Joe - Good point. My assumption was not that this was the only thing they are bringing, just that they wanted a single, all-purpose rub/mix that adds something beyond salt and pepper, instead of carrying all those individual spices. – PoloHoleSet Sep 21 '17 at 16:07