Other Goody-Goodies Involving Nuts

You could write an entire book on the various names for what we call scroggin. Admittedly it would make for a boring read, but it would have one clear theme: this stuff has been around for ages, eaten in umpton different places with just as many different names. For the Americans it’s trail mix or gorp, for the Germans it’s Studentenfutter. Bwyd Dewey is the Welsh.

The term scroggin is antipodean and dates back to at least the 40s says the Oxford Dictionary of New Zealand English. One theory is that it stands for Sultanas, Carob, Raisins, Orange peel, Grains, Glucose, Imagination, Nuts or Sultanas, Chocolate, Raisins and Other Goody-Goodies Including Nuts, but there’s no proof of this, and it does rather sound like those words have been bent to fit the acronym.

Just as there’s dozens of names, there are a multitude of recipes for scroggin, all combinations of nuts, dried fruit and chocolate. And imagination – Graeme Dingle suggested that ‘A little brandy or your favourite liqueur poured all over it is very nice’ in his 1983 ‘Outdoor World of Graeme Dingle.’ Always taking things to new culinary heights, Alison Holst has even devised a scroggin biscuit. Here’s a more standard combination:

1 cup roasted peanuts
¾ cup dried apricots
½ cup dried mixed fruit
¼ cup sunflower seeds
½ cup coconut
1 135 gram block of energy chocolate

Coarsely chop the apricots and chocolate and combine with all other ingredients in a plastic bag. Give it a good shake to mix together.

But scroggin is made to be tinkered with, tailored to your tastes. Other variations include using M&Ms in place of chocolate chips, and some early recipes refer to boiled lollies as a possible ingredient.The perfect recipe is the one that works for you, that gives you the extra boost you need on a long trail, making the sky momentarily brighter, the mountains shorter and the hut not so far away after all.