Trail mix

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Trail mix is a combination of dried fruit, grains, nuts, and sometimes chocolate, developed as a snack food to be taken along on outdoor hikes.

Trail mix is considered an ideal snack food for hikes, because it is tasty, lightweight, easy to store, and nutritious, providing a quick boost from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit and/or granola, and sustained energy from fats in nuts.

Both Hadley Fruit Orchards and Harmony Foods (two California growers) claim that trail mix was first invented in 1968 by two California surfers who blended peanuts and raisins together for an energy snack.^[1] However, trail mix is also mentioned in Jack Kerouac's 1958 novel The Dharma Bums as the two main characters describe their planned meals in their preparation for a hiking trip.

Other names

In Denmark the mix is known as "Studenterhavre" or student oats. It is mentioned in the book Dramatiske scener (dramatic scenes) from the year 1833 were the story teller buys Studenterhavre for a skilling (Danish coin like a pence). Studenterhavre consist of mainly raisins and almonds but at Christmas candy in the form of chocolate pieces were added. The word "studenterhavre" is probably related to the Dutch word Studentenhaver. In New Zealand, trail mix is known as scroggin or "schmogle".^[2] The term is also used in some places in Australia but usage has only been traced back to the 1980s.^[3][4][5] Some claim that the name stands for Sultanas, Carob, Raisins, Orange peel, Grains, Glucose, Imagination, Nuts or Sultanas, Chocolate, Raisins and Other Goody-Goodies Including Nuts; but this may be a false etymology.^[6]

The word gorp, a term for trail mix often used by hikers and Girl Scouts, may stand for "good old raisins and peanuts",^[7] "granola, oats, raisins, and peanuts", or "gobs of raw protein". These are all probably backronyms or false etymology. The Oxford English Dictionary cites a 1913 reference to the verb gorp, meaning "to eat greedily". A gorp picker can be a term used for a person who will only eat certain things out of any mixed food.

Trail mix, apart from being a food for hikers, is served as a cheap snack to accompany drinks. It bears sometimes humorous names in certain countries, however, e.g., in Denmark, The Netherlands, Poland and Germany it can actually be purchased under these names:

• Studentenfutter ("student feed") in Germany
• Studenterhavre ("student oats", in analogy of horse oats) in Denmark
• Studentenhaver (id.) in the Netherlands and Flanders
• Mieszanka studencka ("students' mix") in Poland
• Studentų maistas ("students' food") in Lithuania
• Diákcsemege ("students' delicacy") in Hungary
• Študentska hrana ("students' food") in Slovenia
• Bwyd Dewey ("beloved food") in Wales

Ingredients

Common ingredients may include:

Nuts, such as almonds Legumes, such as peanuts or baked soybeans. Dried fruits such as cranberries, raisins, apricots, apples, or candied orange peel       Chocolate: chips, chunks, or M&M's Breakfast cereals, such as Granola Pretzels   The entire wiki article can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_mix

Seeds, such as pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, cashews, or sunflower seeds Carob chips Banana chips Shredded coconut Ginger (crystallised) Marshmallows