Very small spices/seasonings kit for camping/hiking/foraging - what would you include?

[Mangetout]

I'm going to make a little kit of spices and seasonings to take with me on short camping trips and one-day foraging expeditions - the notion being that it will contain a versatile spice-survival-kit for either seasoning individual foraged foods (for example, a pan of wild mushrooms or mussels), or to fortify the creation of a one-pot meal that begins with little more than rice, water and vegetables.

The case for this kit will be a pair of empty cans from Chinese braised eel (like these - mostly because they're so pretty), hinged together in clamshell arrangement. Each can is about 4 by 3 by 1 inches - so the kit will be 4 by 3 by 2. I'll find various small vials and bottles to fit inside, to hold the contents.

I've got a fairly good idea what I'll begin stocking it with (given that space is strictly limited) - including, but not limited to:
Salt and pepper (obviously)
Paprika, cayenne pepper
Saffron
Dried mixed herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano)
A stock cube
Soy and Worcester sauces (I'll use those tiny bottles from snack packs of sushi)
Cider vinegar (or maybe white wine vinegar) - lemon juice would be better, but won't keep.
Curry (paste or powder)
Mustard or horseradish (if I can find a small, shelf-stable pack)

What would you include in a kit of this kind?

[Johnny Bravo]

Red pepper flakes.

Rooster chili sauce.

Sazon goya.

[Tara57]

tiny bottle of Tabasco

[Arkcon]

I would add a whole head of unpeeled garlic. It should be reasonably light, if not exactly the most space saving choice. It keeps well whole, you can mash a clove to get great flavor when you need it. Unless you dislike garlic. But I don't believe any dinner dish isn't improved by adding fresh minced garlic.

[Mister Owl]

Remember the KISS principle*. Salt, pepper, granulated onion and garlic, maybe a small bottle of Tabasco sauce. Better still pre-pack your individual meals and don't expect to be able to forage for anything. If you do find something; hey it's a bonus, but enjoy the natural flavors rather than trying to "augment" them too much.

*ETA Unless you are car camping, then the sky is the limit. Go gourmet to your hearts content.

[Raguleader]

Originally Posted by Tara57

tiny bottle of Tabasco

You beat me to this. But seriously, I'd include salt and pepper too.

[Implicit]

If you are carrying this on your back I'd skip all liquids, every extra ounce counts plus leakage or breakage will be a horrible mess. Salt, pepper, and dried Italian herbs will take you a long way. Add a small bulb of garlic, onion flakes, and red pepper flakes if you want some variety.

[silenus]

Saffron? Are you kidding? No way.

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, curry powder, pepper flakes, mixed Italian seasoning. Stay away from those multi-spice containers for camping. They suck.

No liquids. Period.

[Hockey Monkey]

Saffron? No. The only essential seasoning I'd need is salt. As long as I have salt, I'm good. That being said, if I had extra space, I'd also take pepper, garlic powder and onion powder (in that order). I'm an avid cook, but for a camping trip, I'd be hard pressed to feel like I needed any more than that.

[Raguleader]

I've been told that you can go from here to Judgement Day if you have enough Rosemary.

[wolfman]

lemon pepper is a good one too.

[Mangetout]

Originally Posted by silenus

Saffron? Are you kidding? No way.

It's not a bad choice - a fair proportion of my foraging days are coastal - if I'm carrying rice and half expecting to be cooking seafood, I might want saffron.

[Athena]

Citric Acid, aka "sour salt" instead of vinegar/lemon juice. Not quite as great of flavor, but not liquid, and a little bit goes a long way.

[Snerky Snerk]

Well it's a little hard to give advice without seeing your wine list first.

I didn't see juniper berries mentioned yet. You might get lucky and run over a deer. It'd be a shame to waste it just because you didn't have the right ingredients.

[Chronos]

Cheese powder is another good one.

And saffron makes plenty of sense, if only because you can pack a huge amount of flavor in a very small space.

[FeAudrey]

dried onion, ginger, something in the basil/fennel/anise family, some kind of oil or shortening if not elsewhere in your cook kit

[Mangetout]

Some great suggestions above - thanks folks!

[kambuckta]

I always, ALWAYS include some chicken-powder. Not your generally available stock-cubes (i.e. Maggi or Continental or whatever) but KNORR chicken-powder.

It has to be KNORR, nothing else comes close, and it can make a bowl of rice edible in itself. Add some other stuff and you have a gourmet meal in the boonies.

Oh, did I mention KNORR chicken-powder??

(And no, I don't have shares in the company....wish I did!)

[Mangetout]

Depending on space and packing efficiency, I might replace the stock cube(s) with a couple of sachets of stock powder from packs of ramen - quite similar to the Knorr stock powder in composition.