You are camping in a canyon when a flash flood occurs and you are only able to grab some food before everything else washes away. Hiking out of the canyon is your best chance for survival, so you need to pack light. You have waffle mix, maple syrup, cooking oil, candy, and a dehydrated sausage. In terms of caloric yield, which should you take to maximize your chance of reaching civilization before dying of starvation?

dehydrated sausage

Explanation:

If the concept is to pack light then the way to go in order is

Waffle mix/candy Sausage Maple syrup/cooking oil

However this is not calorie efficient. If we were to pack in order of calories then we would have to consider the following

Waffle mix/candy: Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram Sausage: Protein provides 4 calories per gram; fats provides 9 calories per gram Maple syrup: Carbohydrates provide 4 calories per gram Cooking oil: Fat provides 9 calories per gram

The most calorie dense is the oil and the sausage. Now we can eliminate the waffle mix and candy and maple syrup. Finally we are left with the dehydrated sausage and oil. While oil is more calorie dense it is heavier than the sausage. The dehydrated sausage also has more protein that will be needed to support muscle and tissue maintenance during the hike. Best choice under the circumstance is the dehydrated sausage.