Mountain/Ski Food

[randoskier]

Your favorite Mountain food, anyone?

We are spoiled for choice here in northern Italy where the Austrian Tirolian cuisine crashes into northern Italian cuisine. The semi-autonomous region of Sud Tirol (not very Italian at all, snatched in ww1) has great speck which keeps really well for multi day (or multi month) touring. If you are eating in a lodge- Austro-Hungarian Goulash is a favorite. Kaminwurst (fireplace sausage) is super light and the greatest backpacking food ever- summer or winter. Italian food like polenta with a topping of melted Asiago cheese and Porcini mushrooms is very mountain. As they say in the Sud Tirol- Berg heil!

[mca80]

I've had speck before but likely not as good as what you get over there. What I had was delicious so can only imagine the quality you can access. Around these parts there's landjagr sausages (pork and fat and brandy, dried snack sausage) and pasties, which is basically a semi bland meat, potato and rutabega pie, rib-sticking food. When I lived in mountains it was New Mexico, so mostly enchiladas and micheladas, tequila or mezcal to drink apres ski. As a snack food while out touring in the cold, landjagr suits me. For my overnight rustic cabin ski trip coming up I'll probably bring some frozen venison goulash and either potatoes for frying or egg noodles for boiling, and vodka. Will have to look into kaminwurst, never heard of it.

[randoskier]

I've had speck before but likely not as good as what you get over there. What I had was delicious so can only imagine the quality you can access. Around these parts there's landjagr sausages (pork and fat and brandy, dried snack sausage) and pasties, which is basically a semi bland meat, potato and rutabega pie, rib-sticking food. When I lived in mountains it was New Mexico, so mostly enchiladas and micheladas, tequila or mezcal to drink apres ski. As a snack food while out touring in the cold, landjagr suits me. For my overnight rustic cabin ski trip coming up I'll probably bring some frozen venison goulash and either potatoes for frying or egg noodles for boiling, and vodka. Will have to look into kaminwurst, never heard of it.

Did you live in the Taos area? New Mexico is a part of the American mountains that I have not experienced. I think what most Americans call goulash is different from the Eastern European dish? If you can find kaminwurst you will have a lifetime hiking/skiing companion, it is so light to carry! Landjaeger is good too! We buy Braastad Cognac which is available in a plastic bottle at the Duty Free in Oslo Airport, not bad quality, perfect for tours! (Saint Bernard not included)

[mca80]

Did you live in the Taos area? New Mexico is a part of the American mountains that I have not experienced. I think what most Americans call goulash is different from the Eastern European dish? If you can find kaminwurst you will have a lifetime hiking/skiing companion, it is so light to carry! Landjaeger is good too! We buy Braastad Cognac which is available in a plastic bottle at the Duty Free in Oslo Airport, not bad quality, perfect for tours! (Saint Bernard not included)

I was further south in the Sacramento/White Mountains, but have skied Taos before and done lots of backpacking around Santa Fe. It's definitely a distinct location within the western US mtns with a long Spanish history and worth exploring.

I don't know what most Americans call goulash, the only time I had it at restaurants was at German, Czech or Polish places in Chicago. I know what most Americans call beef stroganoff is not actual stroganoff. I guess per this recipe what I make regularly is porkolt and not goulash, but a pretty good recipe with some minor tweeks:

https://honest-food.net/hungarian-venis ... lt-recipe/

I will ask a friend who lives in Chicagoland area if he has ever seen kaminwurst at eastern eurpean butchers.

I usually drink cheap brandy, Korbel or, even worse, Christian Brothers. 40% of Korbel's brandy exports from California go to Wisconsin. Back when I had more money than I do now and lived in a city I tried a bunch of delicious cognacs and armagnacs, but living off in the middle of nowhere my best option for a decent brandy is the German Asbach, aged 3 years.

[randoskier]

I don't know what most Americans call goulash, the only time I had it at restaurants was at German, Czech or Polish places in Chicago. I know what most Americans call beef stroganoff is not actual stroganoff. I guess per this recipe what I make regularly is porkolt and not goulash, but a pretty good recipe with some minor tweeks:

https://honest-food.net/hungarian-venis ... lt-recipe/

I will ask a friend who lives in Chicagoland area if he has ever seen kaminwurst at eastern eurpean butchers.

This is a good recipe for Austrian goulash from the Tourist Board of Austria (they have several excellent recipes!).
https://www.austria.info/en/things-to-d ... ns-goulash

[CwmRaider]

High carb/fat/protein food only. Apologies to any vegans in advance:

In Norway I like "Rømmegrøt". It is a thick porridge of sour cream and flour, and you eat it with sugar, butter, cinnamon and dried mutton called "fenalår". @randoskier if you haven't had this yet it is a must have.

Back to my roots: anything with cheese, bacon/cured meat and potatoes or bread:
- Raclette
- Cheese fondue. I'm excessively particular about this, it has to have Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois in equal proportions. Fondue with emmental is a cause for divorce.
- Røsti with Cheese, egg and bacon
- Tartiflette
- Vacherin mont d'or au Four @Jurassien

But when I am on a tour, whatever is practical, and it is usually freeze dried food, spaghetti with some excessively rich sauce or similar.

[randoskier]

High carb/fat/protein food only. Apologies to any vegans in advance:

In Norway I like "Rømmegrøt". It is a thick porridge of sour cream and flour, and you eat it with sugar, butter, cinnamon and dried mutton called "fenalår". @randoskier if you haven't had this yet it is a must have.

Back to my roots: anything with cheese, bacon/cured meat and potatoes or bread:
- Raclette
- Cheese fondue. I'm excessively particular about this, it has to have Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois in equal proportions. Fondue with emmental is a cause for divorce.
- Røsti with Cheese, egg and bacon
- Tartiflette
- Vacherin mont d'or au Four @Jurassien

But when I am on a tour, whatever is practical, and it is usually freeze dried food, spaghetti with some excessively rich sauce or similar.

Great choices all!

In Norway I like Trondelag Sodd, and reindeer dans tous ses états! Also Bacalao in Sunmore & Romsdal. Also the DNT canned food hits the spot.

I used to live in Savoie (also further south in an Ecrins valley in Isere) so I second raclette, and I cook a mean tartiflette but now I can't get Reblochon here in Italy since Carrefor pulled out of our region, so I am f--ed. The Jura has great food, my buddy has a superb craft brewery there, in Lons le Saunier.

Tartiflette is absolute tops!!! So easy to make too!

For raclette or fondue you need a fruity Mondeuse or Gamay to wash it down (unless you are Swiss then it is white). Also nice to ski with a good artisanal saucisson and an Opinel knife in the pocket.

One must not forget Beaufort cheese! Beaufort is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Alpes.

Are you from the Jura?

[mca80]

You must have warm skiing weather to bring these sausages and cheeses with, or keep them close to your body. Despite this winter being warm last year we had two months straight that were never above blue extra and most days never got above green. Cheese and a hunk of bread aren't exactly good snacks in those temps--unless you have a method of packing to keep them warm?

Only time I have had fondue or rosti were in the "little Switzerland" town of New Glarus, Wisconsin, USA many years ago. I imagine midwestern US sensibilities are different from those in the Alps and, not surprisingly, I didn't think it was prepared very well. Would love to try the real thing someday but I don't ride on airplanes or boats (except canoe). Sounds like a good meal for in a lodge after skiing with friends. May just have to do my research and see if I can prepare it myself.

[Jurassien]

- Vacherin mont d'or au Four @Jurassien

I spent many years researching a long (270km) nordic tour along the Jura, starting at Balsthal, near Oensingen, and ending at Bellegarde-sur-Valserine. The most interesting and varied étape of this tour starts at L'Auberson, goes across the frontier to Jougne, then to Métabief and up with the chair-lift to Le Morond. From here you skin up to the summit of le Mont d'Or, then down across the frontier and back into Switzerland, before climbing up through the vast forest of Risoux and finally down to the tiny village of Les Charbonnières, where I stay in the Hôtel du Cygne. Directly across the street from the hotel is the fromagerie of Marcus Tschopp, one of the very few licenced producers of Vacherin Mont-d'Or:

https://www.vacherin-montdor.ch/les-affineurs/

Due to the paucity of snow in the Jura in recent years, I now go to Norway for my long tours, so I haven't been to Les Charbonnières for quite a while, and I think he has now ceased trading. As Vacherin Mont-d'Or is a winter cheese, he was always busy when I arrived there, but you could buy the cheese from his tiny shop - something I always looked forward to on my Jura tour.

EDIT: Monsieur Tschopp has not ceased trading - I found his product this afternoon in my local supermarket. Not the cheapest cheese in the house at the equivalent of US$ 40 per kilo in its country of manufacture. Can't imagine what it costs outside of Switzerland.

[Chisana]

Big fan of landjagers, but kind of spendy where I buy them. Smoked sockeye salmon is my usual trail snack, a little messy on the fingers but oh so good.( catch and smoke my own, so cheaper than the landjagers). Smoked salmon, pilot bread works well for me.