Origin of Scroggin

[whynotwalk]

Who coined the word "scroggin"? Could this be the pavlova dispute of the hiking world According to Shaun Barnett and Chris Maclean's "Tramping: A New Zealand History", it was made up in NZ in the 1940s. But we Aussies also lay claim to it, and began using it around the same time. So who's right?

The Oxford Dictionary hedges its bets on origins, saying it's "Australian/New Zealand". Their definition is: "a mixture of dried fruit, nuts, and other food eaten as a snack by hikers." I believe the word may also be used in the UK, and (I read somewhere) even in Iraq! As for its derivation, some say scroggin is an acronym for its ingredients.( S=Sultanas; C=Chocolate; R=Raisins; O=Orange peel; G=Ginger; G=Glucose; I=Imagination (which must mean chocolate!); N=Nuts.)

Need I ask for any opinions here

cheers

Peter

[Moondog55]

Just what we need LOL Another long winded open ended discussion
"Spondonicles" all over again ROLF
It's always been called that here to my knowledge but I have never heard of an explanation of the name. Perhaps it just sounds better and more poetic than "Mixed bits and pieces of unknown origin"
The origins while partly hidden in the mist of time actually derive from a famous old bushwalker called "Scrogs" who used to live on scraps kept in an old hessian bag hung over his shoulder. At the end of a long weeks walk when you were down to your last ounce of salt and rolled oats and contemplating stewing up your boots for a feed you were then desperate enough to go and ask the old bloke if you could have a handful of his "Sroggins" to stave off starvation for a few hours.

[vicrev]

Coles call it "'Trail Mix'......surprised one of the big supermarkets haven't grabbed the name Scroggin & put a copyright on it.......or does the name already have a copyright ?....

[walk2wineries]

Some of the Taswegians call it Gorp which sounds even weirder.
I've never been able to understand why people want to mix up things like salted nuts, jellybeans and raisins, or worse, buy the floor sweepings sold as "trailmix" so that its more or less the same every day.
Here's the thing. If I'm Walking, I have an excuse to eat snacks. I'm not into extreme sports, I'm a hedonist and the only reason for watching calories at all is that I don't want to carry too much more weight on my person when I'm walking. So my snacks, scroggin, gorp, is never going to be survival food, its going to be something I like. And probably little packets of different things - indeed I split up packets and take a mix of PACKETS not a packet of mixes with me.
Roasted almonds and crystallised ginger. Macadamias with dried cranberries. Gourmet jellybeans NOT mixed with anything else - sheesh. Chocolate if its winter - if its summer and you want choc, consider M&M or those liquorice logs with the chocolate on the inside. Dried mango. Dried watermelon. Dried pawpaw spears. Magical fruit leather from Fruitwise. The GOOD nutbars and that probably excludes anything with cheap chocolate or yoghurt icing. (Oddly the weightwatchers bars - not that I'm counting -with chocolate and macadamia are good.) If we're making coffee, brownies.
Oh, and yes, I thought it was an acronym of Sultanas Chocolate Raisins Other Good things.
Enjoy!

[Moondog55]

GORP is Californian I first saw that in Colin Fletchers book "The Winds of Mara"

[whynotwalk]

Good Old Raisins & Peanuts = GORP

[stry]

Simply expunge the term "Trail Mix" in Australia. It means nothing except that the label writer/marketing dork/bean counter is either from the USA or is heavily influenced by the USA.

Not trying to re-ignite track vs. trail BTW.

[aNomaly]

Sultanas
Chocolates
Raisins
Other
Good
Grub
Including
Nuts