Field kitchen KP-125. Field kitchen recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

What is a field kitchen is best known to professional military and those who honestly "blew off" military service. However, people who are far from the army have a good idea of \u200b\u200bit - at least from films about the Great Patriotic War. And even in peacetime, outside the framework of the army, the field kitchen continues to be useful: it is used in "wild" (scout, forest - whatever you want to call it) children's camps, on hiking trips, geological and archaeological expeditions and at public events. At the same time, such a useful invention was born not so long ago.

How soldiers used to eat

Even in the 18th century, service people fed themselves. That is, the state was not at all worried about the problem of food for the army. The soldiers had to buy food with their own money from the residents at the place of service. The situation changed only during the reign of Peter I, who within five years managed to establishsupplying his army with food, having calculated the food rations necessary for the soldier. The most interesting thing is that the servicemen were still obliged to pay for food, but it was delivered to them directly to the unit, and quite sufficient (even in excess) money was allocated for it in excess of the salary. Not only that, suppliers were forbidden to “raise” prices; they were strictly controlled, a ceiling was set above which it was forbidden to take.

The military field kitchen of that time consisted of boilers transported by convoy. They were delivered to the place of deployment in the first place, and by the time the troops approached, lunch (or dinner) was already waiting for the hikers. However, there was no way to cook in advance or store food - the cauldrons were made of copper, and the food in them quickly disappeared.

The prototype of modern field kitchens

Colonel Turchanovich made a kind of revolution in the soldier's diet during the Russo-Japanese War. The first army field kitchen of his authorship was called in those days a universal portable hearth and really made life easier for employees. Four hours - and a quarter of a thousand people are provided with a three-course dinner (if tea is considered a separate dish). By the First World War, almost all European armies had acquired such a useful invention. The field kitchen of Turchanovich's idea consisted of two boilers mounted on a wagon equipped with the ability to turn back, and a separately movable box transporting related kitchen utensils and food. The furnaces of the boilers were autonomous; one was intended for cooking the first, the second - porridge and the like,in addition, it was supplied with a special coating ("oil jacket"), thanks to which the second dishes never burned.

Most Wanted Camp Kitchen

Undoubtedly, time and subsequent craftsmen made their own adjustments to the original design. One of the most popular at this stage is the KP 125 field kitchen. In it, you can not only cook, as in the invention of Turchanovich, but also transport ready-made food - the boilers are made of stainless steel, and there are already three of them. The volume is enough to feed more than a hundred people (however, this is indicated by the numbers in the title: the field kitchen KP 125 means that there is enough food for so many). It is also convenient in transportation, since it clings in the form of a trailer to any sufficiently powerful transport.

If you want more

Field kitchen 130 can be a worthy alternative to this device. Although it does not greatly exceed the previous one in terms of the number of “feeding”, there are already 4 boilers. Of these, 2 are for the first, and one is for boiling water used to make tea, coffee and compotes (well, for domestic needs too). At the same time, it also includes an oven, and it can work on wood, diesel fuel, kerosene, gas, and coal. When choosing a fuel (if you have the opportunity to choose), it is better to give preference to liquid options - they significantly speed up the cooking process.

Technical additions

Note that the field kitchen KP 125 can be perfectly combined with the same field stove, which significantlyexpands the range of its application and the list of dishes available for cooking. Moreover, the stove is relatively light and can be delivered to the right place even by a passenger car (some extreme sportsmen also used small cars). At the same time, the number of those fed may well reach almost two hundred.

Most popular recipes: first

Still, the main advantages that any field kitchen has are its mobility and ease of use. So, it is not intended to serve some pickles that are difficult to prepare and require special cooking modes. However, with certain skills, tasty dishes can also be offered by the field kitchen. Her recipes are simple, but the dishes are very satisfying, and those who passed the "urgent" often remember her with tenderness and nostalgia. Take, for example, hodgepodge with cabbage. Sauerkraut and chopped potatoes are put into the boiler (equally). The water should just cover the vegetables. They are stewed - the time depends on the volume of the boiler, but readiness is not difficult to determine. Shortly before the end, onions are added, overcooked in vegetable oil (if any, carrots), bay leaves and peppers (again, if any), and after five minutes the boiler is turned off from the power supply, covered with a lid. The dish is left in it for half an hour to languish.

Not bad and pea soup, which can provide a field kitchen. Just make sure you soak the peas overnight. If you want it to be more satisfying, soak barley with them. In the morning it's all cooked, in the endcooking throws potatoes, onions and carrots. The latter would be nice to fry (the most delicious - in lard), but you can put them raw. And before removing put the stew. Simple, quick, satisfying and very edible.

Second frontline - delicious

Kulesh, like the one made at the front, is still loved by fishermen, hunters, and geologists - everyone who eats, albeit infrequently, in field conditions. For aesthetics, the basis will be brisket, but the original should be stew. If a brisket is selected, then the bones are cut off from it and boiled in water for a quarter of an hour (a couple of liters of liquid per pound of meat). For the same amount of brisket, 300 g of millet will go, which is boiled until tender, after which the meat fried with onions is added to the boiler, and the kulesh is cooked for another ten minutes. This dish sometimes causes theoretical disputes: someone is considered his thick soup, someone - watery porridge. But both sides like it.

The so-called makalovka is very peculiar both in taste and in the way of eating. For her, the stew is first frozen, finely cut, and then added to the fried carrots and onions. It must be put out for several minutes, after which the bread is dipped in gravy, and the thick is superimposed on top of it.

Even ordinary buckwheat porridge can be turned into an extraordinary dish, even if it consists of very primitive ingredients. For 300 g of buckwheat, you need to take a can of stew, a few onions and, ideally, a piece of lard. Chopped onion is fried in lard, after which it is mixed withcereals and stew. All this mixture is poured with water and boiled. Believe me, even people who are indifferent to cereals eat this with pleasure!

Fish variant

Another dish that has been preserved in the memory from the war times. True, he needs a roach, and preferably of the same quality as it was in those difficult years (that is, very dry and wildly s alty). But, in principle, you can take any dried fish. It is placed in a cauldron with boiling water, which is closed with a lid until it cools completely. If a field kitchen 130 is used, it is better to use a dish intended for first courses, otherwise the boiling water will smell like fish for a couple of days. And in the place where the second is usually done, potatoes are boiled. As a result, already soft, juicy and with an unusual taste, vobla and a favorite root crop are combined. Delicious, cheap and unusual.

You can also bake "bread"

Of course, it will not be a full-fledged flour pastry, but it looks like bread, and without it, people do not feel full enough. During the war, such a dish was called "Rzhevsky bread." For him, potatoes are boiled, which are turned in a meat grinder. Bran is poured onto a baking sheet or frying pan, potato mass is laid out on top for cooling. When it cools down, all the same bran is added to it, the mass is s alted, the “dough” is kneaded and baked in the oven (if you have access to the field kitchen 130) or in a frying pan under the lid.

Ordinary citizens, if they are not fans of hiking and are not "field" workers, in everyday life are unlikely to encounter a military field kitchen. Nevertheless, this useful invention is necessary only in field conditions. Although recently the field kitchen in St. Petersburg, for example, is becoming more and more popular: it is actively used in organizing country and country holidays and corporate parties. So, both in peacetime and for non-special hikers, the “portable hearth” is by no means useless!