[Ronnie]

Feed me a big bowl of chili and have me stand around while you are cooking the good stuff.


Best would probably be to use the cook in pouch or boil in pouch items so there would not be a lot of food odors.

[Omegaman]

you bring up a good point, I wondered about how to hide the yummy smells from our smoker. The only thing I could think of that would make a good and easy cover sent and I have tried it, burnning leaves, trash or cardboard at the same time you are cooking just not in the same place.

[crazydave]

you'ld have to vent it high up, if you were hiding then go simple non spicy and cook in the roofspace. keep all the windows shut, cooking at night is also an option then either eat cold or reheat the next day.

outside then you'ld be reliant on slower methods, boiling, ground ovens etc... smokers you'ld have to make sure there was plenty of draw and a high chimney which could be a duct up into the treeline.

the stealthy techniques employed by guerilla armies are good to look up like using charcoal or very dry timber to produce a smokeless fire or the dakota fire hole.

[George]

As desperate alternative to hide would be to eat raw, foods that can be eaten raw

[KYwildsurvive]

Just eat some of that pemmican you've been stockpiling and wait for a less windy day.

[girlfromstelle]

Originally Posted by George

As desperate alternative to hide would be to eat raw, foods that can be eaten raw

That'll guarantee there won't be any smells, but it'll also get dull after awhile.

And remember: variation! Nuts for protien, dried/raw fruit for fiber/vitamins, etc. Canned fruits & vegetables would be great too, either out of a store-bought can, or canned at home.

[Celticwarrior]

Cold meals or boiling all of your foods, using non-aromatic herbs, using dry hardwoods that are not pitchy/sappy or a fruitwood, and using a stove (esp. a hobo stove that burns highly efficiently) that doesn't blow off a lot of smoke are all good suggestions to keep smells from giving away your position. In times of greatest danger of detection, only eat cold meals. It's boring, but better some power bars and jerky than getting shot and robbed, right?

Fat dripping into an open fire is the first thing any animal including people will smell at a distance. Next would be a highly aromatic boil, like herbed chicken soup or chili. Humans have a pretty limited sensory range, but if you can smell it within 10 feet of your cook area, you can bet most people will be able to do it to some degree within a quarter-mile range. It doesn't take much to set off the olfactory sensors if they are tied to a pleasant memory. Bread baking, chili or soup cooking, barbeque scents, etc. are the ones most people will know well. Boiling up some spinich or brussels sprouts will likely attract attention too, but I doubt they will be pleasant memories. More along the lines of "God, I remember that horrible stench in my mom's kitchen!" and they come to find the source, not for the meal but for whatever ELSE you might have.

Keep the fires small, cook things as quickly as is safe to do, and don't allow food to spill into the open fire, as the smell will travel with the smoke then.

[crazydave]

mre style pouch cooking or boilng the tins up would eliminate cooking smells while you boil pasta or rice for carbohydrates. you also need to watch what you cook on as fuel smells travel as well.

if you're in the wilderness in a bunker then let the smell circulate to attract bears which will eat the potential raiders

[NorthWet]

If you are talking about cooking within the home ... I hafta wonder if charcoal filters would be a reasonable help?

The only other thought that pops to mind is we installed a Jenair downdraft stovetop at one place. We also installed a stove hood which we exhausted down as well (cathedral kitchen ceiling) in the same place. Never did get a chance to cook some fish there and ensure it worked as well in life as it did on paper ... I have a suspicion that if you were able to pass the exhaust thru water you could bake anything you'd like and never worry ... but won't have a chance to play with the theory until a long list of other rabbit trails have been followed ...