Hot food on rides...

[Sweep]

Wouldn't bother to make or carry hot food on a day ride but i quite often carry a small stove and double espresso pot. It's got me through some spots when i've started to flag.

[simonineaston]

I think it's the milk that makes it taste odd. Have you tried making tea without milk and putting that in a flask and then carrying a tiny bottle of milk?

Back when Thermos flasks were made of glass - indeed, two layers with a vacuum in between - they came & went 'cos a hard knock would do for them, my favourite flask (which went) had a screw cap on the bottom, covering a small space into which fitted just such a tiny bottle for milk!

[TrevA]

I think it's the milk that makes it taste odd. Have you tried making tea without milk and putting that in a flask and then carrying a tiny bottle of milk?

Back when Thermos flasks were made of glass - indeed, two layers with a vacuum in between - they came & went 'cos a hard knock would do for them, my favourite flask (which went) had a screw cap on the bottom, covering a small space into which fitted just such a tiny bottle for milk!

After a couple of incidents with broken glass Thermos flasks, I bought my first Stainless Steel Thermos in 1980. I no longer have it but it lasted over 30 years. It was quite expensive as I recall, but I more than got my money’s worth out of it.

I agree that tea does taste slightly odd out of a Thermos, but I find that coffee is not so affected, so it’s Nescafé instant for me on rides.

[whoof]

I think it's the milk that makes it taste odd. Have you tried making tea without milk and putting that in a flask and then carrying a tiny bottle of milk?

Back when Thermos flasks were made of glass - indeed, two layers with a vacuum in between - they came & went 'cos a hard knock would do for them, my favourite flask (which went) had a screw cap on the bottom, covering a small space into which fitted just such a tiny bottle for milk!

My parents used to have a huge flask with the same arrangement. When we went to the beach they would remove the milk bottle and bury it in the sand to keep it cool. On rides I've got a small plastic bottle which was part of a travel set from the Poundshop. I wrap it in foil and then bubble wrap. In the summer I put it in the freezer about an hour before I set off.

[mjr]

[...] I find that coffee is not so affected, so it’s Nescafé instant for me on rides.

Instant coffee probably will taste just as average as when it was made (and Nescafe will have the added bitter taste of baby tears). Fresh coffee will age slowly, but is better after 2h in a flask than in a conference carafe or on a hot plate.

[LollyKat]

...my favourite flask (which went) had a screw cap on the bottom, covering a small space into which fitted just such a tiny bottle for milk!

Yes, I remember those!

[rmurphy195]

On the bike, a small flask of hot coffee or soup - coffee is easier to clean out afterwards so its usually that! Plus flapjacks/friut cake etc. to eat.

If I'm travelling to/fro my destination (eg Tissington from brum) I keep a much bigger flask in the car with a big insulated mug, amd cup-a-soup or instant coffee sachets to warm up with before driving home. Plus sarnies!. I do have a camping stove but a making up hot flasks before I leave is much more convenient. You can get instane coffee sachets with mil/mil+sugar/cappuccino etc.

If I had a camping wagon though, esp. with a built-in loo ... (I wish!)

[Galloper]

Came across an interesting solution a few months ago when I shared a socially distanced bench with some walkers. A flask full of hot water, poured into a pot noodle. Seemed to do the job and the guy clearly enjoyed it. Not my cup of tea but, functional.

[andrew_s]

I like a hot drink on a cold day but hate the taste of coffee or tea from a flask.
I get around this by taking hot water and a tea bag or coffee stick. Perfect and it's easier to keep the flask spotless.

I think it's the milk that makes it taste odd. Have you tried making tea without milk and putting that in a flask and then carrying a tiny bottle of milk?

That's what I've been doing (tea, perfectly fine).
Just recently with un-iced ice it yourself christmas cake that I found in the larder. Only 8 1/2 years past its best before date

[Brucey]

using powdered milk is easier than using liquid milk and almost as good, when added to black tea or black coffee from a flask.

cheers

[The utility cyclist]

Not mega fussed about having hot food on longer rides, however I've only done this a couple of times.
A hand made pasty straight out the oven (usually with 3 'friends' ), double foil wrapped then placed two offcut bits of thick metal that have also been in the oven and place the lot inside a small stainless steel thermo box. You could take a firelighter cube and set it under one of the metal plates with the pasty on top but never thought it was necessary.
If I know I have something hot to look forward to I'm more likely to eat it earlier than I would cold, anything under 40 miles/2.5 hrs and I generally won't eat much if anything.

[st599_uk]

Last Sunday I did a loop on my single speed winter bike, and extended it due to the sunny weather, there was a slight tailwind going out. Buoyed up by the first 'stage' of the ride, I then headed for the best chip shop in the market town I was going through, my plan was some lovely chips to be eaten in the nearby Memorial garden ..... lovely - Only one problem the chip shop was shut! no take-away on a Sunday. Other 2 chip shops in town were also shut, so clearly no holidaymakers expected at the moment! Into the (albeit slight) wind home I struggled more than I have in the last few years Ouch. 54 miles on single speed without a snack break is not something I usually do at this time of year.

Has the law banning the frying of fish on Sunday been repealed? It used to be classed as a noxious trade.

[Vorpal]

Has the law banning the frying of fish on Sunday been repealed? It used to be classed as a noxious trade.

It's not consistently enforced, and there are lots of misunderstandings about it. It's Sunday trading law, though. As far as I know, it's not about frying fish, but the type of establishment.

I think it's the milk that makes it taste odd. Have you tried making tea without milk and putting that in a flask and then carrying a tiny bottle of milk?

Back when Thermos flasks were made of glass - indeed, two layers with a vacuum in between - they came & went 'cos a hard knock would do for them, my favourite flask (which went) had a screw cap on the bottom, covering a small space into which fitted just such a tiny bottle for milk!

After a couple of incidents with broken glass Thermos flasks, I bought my first Stainless Steel Thermos in 1980. I no longer have it but it lasted over 30 years. It was quite expensive as I recall, but I more than got my money’s worth out of it.

I agree that tea does taste slightly odd out of a Thermos, but I find that coffee is not so affected, so it’s Nescafé instant for me on rides.

I seldom take anything hot. I do sometimes use cake & coffee as a goal. But restaurants and cafes are still open in Norway with strict guidelines about space, masks, cleanliness, etc. Some places have had to convert to take-away only because they did not have the physical space to comply with disease prevention guidelines.

Sometimes, walking or skiing, I carry a flask. Then, it is usually a small flask with tea & milk in. I kind of like the slightly different taste that tea & milk from a flask have. Touring, I usually just have hot food at the beginning & end of the day, though I have been known to stop for a coffee now and again, when I spot a likely cafe.

My stainless steel Thermos is probably 1980s, though I also have a newer, lighter one that is more likely to be the choice for days out.

I have on a rare occasion been desperate enough for a coffee en route to stop, get out the camping stove, and make some coffee.

[st599_uk]

It definitely used to be about the type of premises, there was a specific ban on fish and chip shops frying fish on Sunday, from Hansard:

"The Bill would allow a fish and chip shop to sell fish and chips on a Sunday. You will know, Mr. Speaker, that at the moment a Chinese take-away can sell fish and chips while a fish and chip shop cannot. The fish and chip shop, on the other hand, may sell Chinese take-away goods on a Sunday."

[whoof]

using powdered milk is easier than using liquid milk and almost as good, when added to black tea or black coffee from a flask.

cheers

I known these things are down to personal taste but to me powdered milk is like white water and would rather have black tea. I used to have to make a huge pot of porridge every morning using powdered milk. I would make a 40 litre pot with powdered milk and then another small one for me with fresh milk.