Rehydrating dehydrated food?

[DannyS]

I'm looking to purchase a dehydrator shortly and had a few questions related to the food?
Once the food is dehydrated, foods like mince, dahl and vegetable type foods, how long will it store for in a freezer? And how long will it store for out of the freezer?

When rehydrating the food does it need to be simmered or can I add boiling water and let it sit for a period of time? This question is related to the kind of cooking system that will be most appropriate. I have my eye on something that is light, very economical, boils very well but won't simmer!

I"m also looking for some tips on lunch foods, something that can be prepared and eaten with a minimal fuss, as lunch is always in the middle of the hike and I don't want to fuss too much!

Cheers!

[Graham51]

I have kept well-dried meals for a few weeks in the cupboard and longer in the fridge. In the freezer they should keep for months - longer than frozen non-dried food I think.

When rehydrating I put the meal in the pot it's going to be cooked in and cover it with cold water for as long as possible. A couple of hours is best but not always possible. Then I boil it and let it sit while I prepare rice or whatever then bring it back to the boil. That normally works pretty well.

I'll be interested to see what other people do.

[KANANGRABOYD]

Oh Danny Boy!........
Get one of the square "excalibur" like dehydrators as they offer a better and more even drying as opposed to the cheaper cylindrical ones.
All you need to do is go on YouTube for dehy lessons et al- there are hundreds of good videos
You do not need to store stuff in freezers if you have vacuum sealed them , and I am assuming if you have gone to the length of buying a dehydrator you will also get a vacuum sealer?!. unless it is oysters and marron or balmain bugs etc
Most food will store for at least 6-12 months out of the freezer - IF VACUUM SEALED!.
you can either rehydrate foods out bush 2 ways -
1: place in a pot of cold water and cover and leave the whole day or atleast a few hours, then obviously heat in fry pan etc,
or 2: put in boiling water and simmer until rehydrated and warm - it is not rocket science.
What I usually take for lunch is:
- Salami/ham - keeps well at most temps, easy to use, high in protein, low fuss
- cowbell/laughing cow cheese or similar - again simple, low fuss, tasty, and keeps well
- ryvita, vitawheet, mountain bread etc - needs to be light, tasty, keep at most temps etc.
-Aldi little salami sticks ( Hans) brand
-cup-a-soups are also great.
but also you seriously cannot go wrong with homemade GORP/Scroggin for lunch on trail - the mix is up to you.
Lunch depends on if you are walking the whole day or if you are in camp and basically static.
Work on making food that is:
- low fuss
- doesn't require fuel
- lightweight
- TASTY!
- high in calories - Protein and Carbs.
PM me if you need more advice!

[DannyS]

Great thanks for that!
Yes, Excalibur is the dehydrator I'll be buying.
I'll be walking most of, or all day so fast and light is good. I'm surprised you use Ham? I wouldn't have imagined that keeping too long?
Salami is a good idea, something I hadn't thought of. Ryvita and Vitawheat also hadn't thought of them?
I know I walk past a lot of these foods when I'm shopping for a hike but they didn't strike me as suitable I guess?
Glad I asked!
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to PM you Kanangraboyd, I'll take you up on that offer.
Cheers,
Danny boy!

[J M]

When I'm walking with dehydrated food, I tend to bring along a small screw top container to rehydrate food in. It's really handy - I just put my dinner in with some water at lunch time (or later) and by the time I'm ready for dinner, the meal is already fully rehydrated and only takes a few minutes to heat up. Works well for me!

[DannyS]

When I'm walking with dehydrated food, I tend to bring along a small screw top container to rehydrate food in. It's really handy - I just put my dinner in with some water at lunch time (or later) and by the time I'm ready for dinner, the meal is already fully rehydrated and only takes a few minutes to heat up. Works well for me!

Yeah that's a good idea!
Cheers

[corvus]

Over the years I have found that adding hot water at your camp stop( which if well planned) will be before you need to eat is normally adequate to start rehydration of most meals especially if you are gramme counting
corvus

[DannyS]

Over the years I have found that adding hot water at your camp stop( which if well planned) will be before you need to eat is normally adequate to start rehydration of most meals especially if you are gramme counting
corvus

Yeah counting I am corvus Once you've added hot water how much time is needed for rehydration to take place? I know that would depend on what food, but lets say a minced beef type sauce?

[Tortoise]

Edit - i took so long writing this that you've already said the first bit, corvus

When I'm walking with dehydrated food, I tend to bring along a small screw top container to rehydrate food in. It's really handy - I just put my dinner in with some water at lunch time (or later) and by the time I'm ready for dinner, the meal is already fully rehydrated and only takes a few minutes to heat up. Works well for me!

The only problem is that you're carrying some unnecessary water in the afternoon - no worries if weight is not an issue. Since i changed to only dehydrating minced meat or chicken, it rehydrates very quickly. I often don't pre-soak, just bring it to the boil, turn off and let sit for 10 mins, insulated with my CCF pad in cold weather. Mine rehydrated better than the posh freeze-dried meals. If some bits are still too chewy, I bring it back to the boil and let it sit again. Saves lots of fuel i used to think i needed to use.

I have a dehydrating fest now and then, and freeze in small lots (bags in airtight containers). My personal experience is that they were still fine over a year later. Not recommending it, just that it worked for me. There's a great bulk health food shop near me, so sometimes I just cook the mince, and add dried yummy things (tomato flakes, capsicum, mushrooms, spring onions etc, and different herbs & spices to different lots. That's if i'm feeling slack. But it still works.

Lunches have changed and got much lighter over the years. I now have Woollies homebrand rice crackers, with little pots of veg, peanut butter and jam, and Laughing Cow cheese triangles or similar. They all fit nicely into a chinese food container, with enough crackers for about 3 days. Sometimes i lash out with a baby salami stick, some pate (sorry, can't find accent for the e) or similar. I haven't tried drying homos yet, but that sounds excellent as a light weight protein rich addition.

We used to use the big Italian salami sticks that weren't in the fridge when we bought them. With care, stored inside the pack, these were ok for 2 weeks in Vic/NSW high country in summer. No responsibility taken for others trying this, though. I don't think we pushed it to the third week, but i really can't remember.

[corvus]

I have found that a 20 min minimum hot water soak was adequate for most of my "minced meat meals" however you do need to be able to simmer them for a good result.
corvus

[DannyS]

Yeah that's cool, I particularly like your ideas for lunch! I've been looking for something new and that sounds great!
I'm just in the middle of downloading a heap of instructional videos on dehydrating from you tube, hopefully I'll be the full dollar soon.

Cheers,
Danny

Last edited by DannyS on Sun 18 Aug, 2013 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Tortoise]

I have found that a 20 min minimum hot water soak was adequate for most of my "minced meat meals" however you do need to be able to simmer them for a good result.
corvus

I think it depends a bit on what size the bits and pieces in it are. I've gone smaller than i used to.
Yes, simmering for a bit would be ideal, but i've decided i'm usually quite happy with the using less fuel version. Probably because I'm trying to get my pack weight down, and food/fuel has been the easiest part for me so far!

[DannyS]

I have found that a 20 min minimum hot water soak was adequate for most of my "minced meat meals" however you do need to be able to simmer them for a good result.
corvus

I'm considering buying a TiTri cooking system, very economical but I'm pretty sure simmering isn't it's strong suit That's why I really like the idea of adding hot water and leaving it maybe I can just bring it back to the boil?

[DannyS]

I have found that a 20 min minimum hot water soak was adequate for most of my "minced meat meals" however you do need to be able to simmer them for a good result.
corvus

I think it depends a bit on what size the bits and pieces in it are. I've gone smaller than i used to.
Yes, simmering for a bit would be ideal, but i've decided i'm usually quite happy with the using less fuel version. Probably because I'm trying to get my pack weight down, and food/fuel has been the easiest part for me so far!

I'm also trying to be minimal in food and fuel, as long as it's edible and nutritious I'm happy I'm not looking for a la carte.

[Tortoise]

Oh, and I now use whipped peanut butter for lunch - lighter weight, spreads easier. I like the combos - PB and jam, veg and cheese, cheese and jam etc. Not keen on veg and PB myself, though.

And I often use rice vermicelli for the carb bit of my meal - just toss it in with everything else when the water boils, and it's done by the time it's sat a while. Light, cheap, very easy.

Last edited by Tortoise on Sun 18 Aug, 2013 10:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[corvus]

As an alternate to simmer if your stove cannot ,bring to the boil ,turn off rest and do it again may need practice but should work
corvus

[DannyS]

Oh, and I now use whipped peanut butter for lunch - lighter weight, spreads easier. I like the combos - PB and jam, veg and cheese, cheese and jam etc. Not keen on veg and PB myself, though.

And I often use rice vermicelli for the carb bit of my meal - just toss it in with everything else when the water boils, and it's done by the time it's sat a while. Light, cheap, very easy.

Great! Thanks

[Drew]

There are numerous ways of rehydrating.
It's preferable (if you get to camp early enough) to put your meal in the pot and add cold water and leave to sit for an hour or two. Just check on it occasionally as it might need more water than you think. Then you just heat it up and it's done.
If you don't have time for this then you can just add water and heat, simmering for a while. You might end up with more dry chewy bits this way depending on the meal.
If you can't simmer well then make a pot cosy (just google it, plenty of pages out there with instructions I think - a windscreen sunshade is good to use if you can't find other materials). Bring your meal to the boil, turn off the stove and put the pot in the cosy. It will stay warm a long time. You can then just give it a bit more heat if needed before eating.
If you want to save weight (and washing up) you can use the freezer bag/zip-lock bag approach. Have your meals divided into portions in sturdy zip-lock bags. Add almost boiling water, seal bag and put it in a cosy (or a sock, beanie or whatever else). You might need to give it a massage to break up any chunks. After a while it will be rehydrated and warm. Just eat it out of the bag. (Yes, sometimes bags leak.)
It all just takes a bit of practice to get right.

Meals that I've found dehydrate and rehydrate well are bolognese sauce (I use roo mince, but any lean mince should work), risotto, ratatouille, dahl, putanesca sauce. General rules are to cut things smaller than you normally would, don't use too much oil, don't use fatty meats or chunky meats. I often do the ratatouille with brown rice. I cook the brown rice at home and dehydrate it. It rehydrates well. I normally cook pasta at camp as you get a better texture, but if you need to save fuel/weight/time then it can be pre-cooked and rehydrated too.

I haven't invested in a vacuum sealer but I normally cook not long before a walk and keep things in the freezer until the hike. Once a friend made beef bourgignon with big chunks in it. It was also quite oily and didn't dehydrate well. If I'd been keeping it for a few days in warm weather I would have been worried about eating it - I never got all of the moisture out and it could have turned rancid. However we just ate it on the first night of the hike and it was great.

For no fuss lunches I often fry up some veggies (onion, garlic, carrot, capsicum, corn, mushroom) in a little oil, some spices (curry powder, chill, turmeric etc) and some water. I dehydrate this and put it in a zip-lock bag with cous cous. Before leaving camp in the morning add some water (can be hot or cold, doesn't matter) to the bag and by lunch time you have a nice cous cous veggie curry salad thing.

[DannyS]

There are numerous ways of rehydrating.
It's preferable (if you get to camp early enough) to put your meal in the pot and add cold water and leave to sit for an hour or two. Just check on it occasionally as it might need more water than you think. Then you just heat it up and it's done.
If you don't have time for this then you can just add water and heat, simmering for a while. You might end up with more dry chewy bits this way depending on the meal.
If you can't simmer well then make a pot cosy (just google it, plenty of pages out there with instructions I think - a windscreen sunshade is good to use if you can't find other materials). Bring your meal to the boil, turn off the stove and put the pot in the cosy. It will stay warm a long time. You can then just give it a bit more heat if needed before eating.
If you want to save weight (and washing up) you can use the freezer bag/zip-lock bag approach. Have your meals divided into portions in sturdy zip-lock bags. Add almost boiling water, seal bag and put it in a cosy (or a sock, beanie or whatever else). You might need to give it a massage to break up any chunks. After a while it will be rehydrated and warm. Just eat it out of the bag. (Yes, sometimes bags leak.)
It all just takes a bit of practice to get right.

Meals that I've found dehydrate and rehydrate well are bolognese sauce (I use roo mince, but any lean mince should work), risotto, ratatouille, dahl, putanesca sauce. General rules are to cut things smaller than you normally would, don't use too much oil, don't use fatty meats or chunky meats. I often do the ratatouille with brown rice. I cook the brown rice at home and dehydrate it. It rehydrates well. I normally cook pasta at camp as you get a better texture, but if you need to save fuel/weight/time then it can be pre-cooked and rehydrated too.

I haven't invested in a vacuum sealer but I normally cook not long before a walk and keep things in the freezer until the hike. Once a friend made beef bourgignon with big chunks in it. It was also quite oily and didn't dehydrate well. If I'd been keeping it for a few days in warm weather I would have been worried about eating it - I never got all of the moisture out and it could have turned rancid. However we just ate it on the first night of the hike and it was great.

For no fuss lunches I often fry up some veggies (onion, garlic, carrot, capsicum, corn, mushroom) in a little oil, some spices (curry powder, chill, turmeric etc) and some water. I dehydrate this and put it in a zip-lock bag with cous cous. Before leaving camp in the morning add some water (can be hot or cold, doesn't matter) to the bag and by lunch time you have a nice cous cous veggie curry salad thing.

Drew thats great information, cheers! I was wondering if pasta cooked quicker if it had been pre cooked and dehydrated, I could't see how it would make any difference? Is that the same for rice? Brown rice of course it would be!
Good tips with the oil, ingredients chopped finer and low fat, I tend to like add extra olive oil when I cook pasta sauces so I'm glad you told me that!

[Drew]

No worries Danny.

I'm not sure if the pasta cooks quicker when it's been rehydrated. But it does make your meal preparation a lot easier if you have dehydrated pasta and sauce all together and you can just whack them in the pot. Brown rice is definitely quicker.

If you like a bit of extra oil best just to bring some in a little nalgene bottle to drizzle on top.

[DannyS]

No worries Danny.

I'm not sure if the pasta cooks quicker when it's been rehydrated. But it does make your meal preparation a lot easier if you have dehydrated pasta and sauce all together and you can just whack them in the pot. Brown rice is definitely quicker.

If you like a bit of extra oil best just to bring some in a little nalgene bottle to drizzle on top.

Drew my dehydrator should arrive early next week, I will start dehydrating meals for a 4 week hike that will start 13th of September. I'll place the meals in ziplock bags and freeze them until a couple of days before departure at which time I'll box the food and post it on ahead to various places, will the meals be ok for up to 3.5 to 4 weeks out of any refrigeration?

Cheers!

[Drew]

I would expect that, provided the meals are well dehydrated, they should be fine. BUT, I don't want to give you any guarantees! I've never left food for that long out of the fridge or freezer. You might want to ask around a bit more. It might be worth investing in a vacuum sealer.

If there's any moisture left in your food and the weather gets warm then it could spoil. I would advise you to really dry the hell out of your food.

Drew

[DannyS]

I would expect that, provided the meals are well dehydrated, they should be fine. BUT, I don't want to give you any guarantees! I've never left food for that long out of the fridge or freezer. You might want to ask around a bit more. It might be worth investing in a vacuum sealer.

If there's any moisture left in your food and the weather gets warm then it could spoil. I would advise you to really dry the hell out of your food.

Drew

I know I'm being lazy here and should do my own research, but how long roughly does it take to dehydrate a Bolognese sauce? Say an average serving size, god knows what that is small I guess? I'll be using an Excalibur, if that helps?

[Drew]

I normally do a large batch of bolognese, probably enough serves for at least 4 people. It usually takes over 12 hours using my dehydrator (Fowlers Vacola). Not sure if the Excalibur would be any faster. I usually put it on before going to bed and it's never finished when I get up in the morning.

[DannyS]

Thanks Drew, I wouldn't think the Excalibur would be that much faster so I'll leave it overnight also.
Thanks for all the info, much appreciated!

Danny