JULY 1997
Vol.6, NO. 3

Ely, Minn. -- Backcountry campers often try to bring the tastes of home out on the trail. But for Boy Scouts and their families, it's turned the other way around. Hudson's Bay Bread, a staple of Boy Scout wilderness canoe trips for three decades, can now be quickly mixed up at home.

The high-energy food, similar to a granola bar, was so popular with campers that the Northern Tier National High Adventure Program decided to package a mix Scouts and their families could take home, says program director Joseph Mattson. The Ely-based adventure program is one of three in the nation, and families from around the country had been requesting a make-at-home version, Mattson says.

To formulate a dry mix from the original recipe, packaging contractor Homestead Mills of Cook, Minn., turned to AURI food scientist Charan Wadhawan. Donating her time in AURI's Crookston lab, Wadhawan developed a two-part mix that requires adding only water and butter. Having the consumer add the butter lengthens the product's shelf life, Wadhawan says, and reduces the amount of equipment Homestead Mills needs to produce the mix. "Butter is something everyone has at home. [The mix] also works with oil or margarine," she says.

The nutritious snack, eaten as a complete lunch on many backcountry canoe trips, includes oatmeal, crushed walnuts, sugar, powdered honey and maple, and almond flavor. On the trail, Scouts often add peanut butter and jelly.

The nonprofit program also asked Wadhawan to develop a fish breading and hush puppy mix. "They gave me the specifications, and I developed the procedure and scaled it up," she says. She developed nutrition labels and the packaging recommendations, ingredient amounts and preparation instructions for both products.

The Hudson Bay Bread mix, packaged in a cloth sack, has been selling at the Northern Tier trading post in Ely. "People are intrigued with it," Mattson says.

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JULY 1997 * AURI AG INNOVATION NEWS