Whether you’re a freeze-dried meal aficionado or if you prefer to custom make each of your meals for the trail, most backpacking meals will rely on dried and pre-packaged ingredients, with little in the way of fresh ingredients to bring life to meals. The result? Many times meals are good, but need…a little something. Spices are a backpacker’s best friend in this regard as they’re already in dried form and weigh next to nothing while packing a punch in the flavor department. Packing your whole spice rack from home wouldn’t work well with the efficiency needed for backpacking however, so instead of packing in multiple exotic spices that perhaps would only work well with a meal or two on a long trip, I prefer to pack in choices that go with any type of meal.

Packing your favorite selection of spices can elevate backcountry meals and add variety on the trail.

Backpacking Spices

While fast food packets of salt and pepper are convenient and better than nothing, I find these to be lacking in taste, and pretty bland themselves. Some fresh(er) cracked black pepper and Himalayan sea salt offer quite the upgrade, with only a slight convenience downgrade. While salt and pepper are the obvious choices, for me the next thing that will both pair with any type of cuisine while adding interest is spice. The choice is up to you: as a guy that likes the heat I go with habanero flakes, which adds spice and will go with most meals while obviously being quite efficient in the heat to weight ratio. However, cayenne pepper for instance may work better for many and doesn’t require quite the level of caution to utilize.

While these are my 3 main stays, the possibilities are endless and will depend on meal choice as well as palate, and is only limited by the number of spice bottles you want to carry. Packing a few freeze-dried lasagna meals or spaghetti? Oregano or an Italian spice mix could serve you well. More focused on ramen and Asian inspired meals? Garlic and ginger always seem to take these meals to the next level. While I prefer to keep the spices to a minimum of generalist options, more dedicated trail chefs may trend towards a larger array of specialized options.

Spice Containers & Final Thoughts

You can pack spices in a variety of containments systems. Snack size Ziploc bags are easy to fill at home, but not as easy to use on the trail and you will probably have to double bag. Dedicated outdoor spice containers are also made, and you can even buy a pre-loaded option if needed. My choice for packing any spices however, are the mini Nalgene screw top bottles, in either the half ounce or the full 1 ounce size that are the near perfect size, are see through for identification in the food bag, and have a very secure closing mechanism. Simply pour out your measure on a sheet of wax paper at home and funnel into the bottles when preparing for a trip, and you have spices that will add flavor and depth to any trail cuisine you might bring along.

Either way, bringing some of your favorite spices on the trail adds little weight, but will pack a punch when it comes to taking standard meals to the next level and creating variety to mix up your meal-time routine on the trail.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in Issue 38 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here.