101 - Cooking Basics

Learning Objectives

As a result of this experience, each participant should be able to:

• Substantially complete or fully complete advancement requirements T1bd, T2ab,
• F2abcde and S2d.
• Plan a menu for the season.
• Cook a simple meal.

Materials Required

• Bread or muffin mixes of different flavors. Approximately one per participant.
• Other ingredients as called for in the bread mixes.
• A heat source.
• A pan of water.
• Zip Lock sandwich bags.

Discovery

Give each scout a sandwich bag and the ingredients for his muffin mix. Have each one put the ingredients into the bag. Get as much air out of the bag as you can and then seal it. Next, the scout should mix up the ingredients by ‘swishing’ the bag. When the muffins are mixed, put them in boiling water to cook them. They should be ready by the end of a meeting if you do this as an early pre-opening activity. This would also be an excellent camp out activity.

Teaching-Learning

1. What are we going to eat? To answer this question you need to ask a few more.
   1. How long will we be out? For short outings, fresh foods are fines. For trips of more than a day or two, carry supplies that won’t spoil.
   2. How many people are going? Then you can decide how much food to take for each meal.
   3. What are you going to do? Estimate how much time you want to spend cooking. For days packed with action, choose recipes that won’t take long to prepare. However, cooking may be you major camp activity. Take the ingredients and gear and you’ll cook up a real feast!
   4. How will you reach camp? Are you traveling by car? Then you can take griddles, Dutch ovens, and plenty of utensils. If you’ll be packing everything on your back, keep your menus and your load basic and light.
   5. What kind of weather do you expect? Winter menus should contain more of the fats your body burns for heat. Include soup mixes and hot drinks. Summer meals by be lighter and include more cold fluids.
2. Planning a menu: Have the group actually plan the menu for their next campout.
3. Shopping list:
   1. Make a list of all the ingredients you will need for the menu.
   2. Use the charts on pages 295 and 298 of the Boy Scout Handbook to help plan quantities.
   3. Go through this process using one meal as an example for the group. Have the group do the rest in their patrol meeting.

Application

Scouts should begin to cook meals on their own at the campouts after this presentation. The ultimate application will be in the completion of T2ab, S2e and F2e.