Commercial 'Just Add Boiling Water' Meals - Field Test

[Nuts]

Nuts, sliced lamb and peas -you were lucky getting gristle And fat never ever experienced that !! my roast lamb was allways easy to eat .
Also if memory serves me right the 5 serve was one of Eric's standards for his OLT tour group meals .

Perhaps it was lamb and Beans thinking back (have eaten so many peas and beans carrots and corn ) but yes, it was a part of the old menu. We would nor on it like rabid dogs

Anyhow, Corvus.

This roast lamb of yours, and the details for preparing ??? My mouth is watering, and I wont pass on your secrets to anyone

BTW: I forgot about the time taken to rehydrate. I put the mince, some vegies in a container with warm water, lid on. After about half an hour I cooked it (heated, let it sit, heated again)- It was OK, perhaps a little chewy but not crunchy at all.

[Natt]

Leggos (i think) has a tinned pasta sauce with mince that dehydrates really well

not much to rehydrate either since the mince is so fine already - its not just pour over boiling water - but its not in the same range as carrying all day in a container with water.

Pretty sure we boil some water, leave it for 15 mins or so - and then cooked it up with pasta. Not the nicest of course being tinned - but quite tasty & enough to make other walkers very jealous

[corvus]

Is the reason that home dried meals take longer to re-hydreate than commercial meals because commercial meals are 'Freeze dried' rather than air dried? Approx. how much longer for same size? I have heard before that home dried tastes better than commercial stuff- but obviously more effort. I suppose do we eat for pleasure or fuel?

geoskid thanks for that but I must have dehydrated hundreds of serves of various meals over the 17 years I have owned my appliance so I can speak with some confidence on this topic the end result will always depend on the quality of the ingredients and how it is cooked in the first place but I suppose that is a given.
I steered away from doing it when I discovered 10 min eat out of the bag meals ,low fuel use lightweight and no washing up at camp or at home nor preparation cooking drying bagging et al and frankly the quality if chosen wisely is better than what I have seen being consumed by others.

[corvus]

sthughes, depends on how much you paid for your puny bendy aluminium substandard version ,doubt if it would be strong enough to double as a tent peg like the Titan one will

[corvus]

Nuts, my roast lamb recipe is in the dim recesses of my mind but was based on backstraps (lamb fillets)some fresh mint and garlic from my garden, dry sherry,gravy made from the roast pan juices ,stock cube and thickener but I don't remember what else could have added frozen peas which I did a lot .
Secret was to roast the backstraps to just med rare and when done and really cool slice lengthwise in half then across the grain very thin b4 drying , gravy was done separately .
My suggestion is to experiment on a small scale and I will be happy to assist you if required since you are sans chef now.

[sthughes]

sthughes, depends on how much you paid for your puny bendy aluminium substandard version ,doubt if it would be strong enough to double as a tent peg like the Titan one will

Lol - I was keenly awaiting the rebuttal! How am I supposed to eat when my spoon is burried as a tent peg!

(I'm sure the insane die hard ultra-lightweight hippy gang is with me on this one - a whole 4 grams would mean I walk faster, don't get tired, don't need to stop for the night and hence don't need a tent, sleeping bag or thermarest and hence don't need a strong heavy pack - so my "puny bendy aluminium substandard version" could save me 3 or 4kg and perhaps a couple of thousand dollars! )

Anyway back on track: Where on the NW coast has the best range of these overpriced, undersized, untasty but still IMO fabulous, convienient meals? I'm after some deserts and Allgoods only had one apple pie (i think) that was 2 years out of date last time I was there!

[Nuts]

Never actually thought of that I must admit. Using cutlery for tent pegs. Could carry the full 'picnic set' and leave the pegs at home. Just need to hope it doesn't rain till dinners over

Corvus, I'll give lamb a try and you can point the error of my ways. I have a 'casual' chef (who actually is a chef), so no doubt she can have it looking good before I have a go at it...

STH, Is that dessert still there at Allgoods?
The answer is ....Coleses- they have some hidden gems. The no bake cheesecake is a winner, most likely cancer forming but hey who cares about that hippy nonsense It's tasty..

[sthughes]

STH, Is that dessert still there at Allgoods?
The answer is ....Coleses- they have some hidden gems. The no bake cheesecake is a winner, most likely cancer forming but hey who cares about that hippy nonsense It's tasty..

I guess so - can't imagine anyone would buy it at full price.
MMM cheese cake - yum! All the best things in life cause cancer don't they (i.e. the Sun) Is is zero mess, zero prep like Backcountry? If I need more than boiled water and my "puny bendy aluminium substandard" spoon then it's no good!

[Nuts]

No, sadly does take some preparation to look like a cheesecake.
I was trying to stay with the topic but strayed once again.
The vac sealed pudding is 'cook in bag', no mess etc. You do need a vac sealer though I have seen them sold in little plastic cups which perhaps they could be heated as is. Custard takes a bit more prep. though they are as good with UHT cream (so long as you can use up/carry the excess cream.

[corvus]

sthughes MD Devonport have had a good selection each time I replenished my stock at 25 % off members price

[corvus]

Nuts , Mrs corvus confirmed that I rated my roast lamb dehy meal as one of the best ever I had done and it did contain peas (good quality Edgell's Tassie frozen ones cooked in the microwave) dried separately and added to the dried meat and gravy mix at the packaging stage .
Looks like you might have a Vacuum sealer which will be excellent when you do multi packs, I also used to store mine in the fridge to extend the life for what that is worth.
Gees Nuts I am tempted to have another go but for my style of eating now "just add boiling water and YUM" I think my appliance will be restricted to the Jerky factory with the seasonal Zucchini drying

[Tony]

No doubt this will amuse some members of BW-T.

I recently purchased this Sea to Summit short handled Alpha light spoon, its claimed weight was 7.5 grams but when measured on some accurate scientific scales its actual weight was 7.8 grams, so I put it in my milling vice and attacked it with a milling cutter, its weight now is 7.3 grams.

I have used this spoon for three trips now and I am very happy with it. I normally eat out of a shallow Ti cooking pot.

As for commercial freeze dried foods I am with SOAB, YUK, and the servings are far too small for me.

I sometimes make my own dehydrate my own meals (Spaghetti Bolognese and Chilli Concarne) but I usually have a slightly bitter taste when I re-hydrate them.

If someone on BW-T can give me some advice as to get rid of his bitter taste it would be appreciated.

Tony


7.3 gram Aluminium short handle spoon

[Son of a Beach]

the only time I've ever tried to dehydrate anything with mince in it (spag bog) I also had a terrible bitter taste (plus it never rehydrated properly). I still don't know what the problem was as others say it works fine. My only guess is that the meat was too fatty (fat doesn't dehydrate well, and prevents rehydrating of the rest of the meat, I think). I still can't account for the burnt/bitter taste.

[corvus]

Hey !! did you ever think that you are just not "cooks" in my hundreds of Dehy meals I made never experienced bitterness and how come you are all so down on commercial freeze dried is it perhaps that you cannot even cook? that

[Tony]

Hi Corvus,

Hey !! did you ever think that you are just not "cooks" in my hundreds of Dehy meals I made never experienced bitterness and how come you are all so down on commercial freeze dried is it perhaps that you cannot even cook? that

OK master chef Corvus, then you might be able to answer my question, while the meals taste very nice before the dehydration proccess how do you cook beef mince meals and then dehydrate them with no bitterness.

Tony

[Nuts]

I cooked/dried my half kg with 2 cans on tomato bits...weren't bitter at all...they were, however, very tomatoey

The mince draws in the flavours (as master corvus mentioned) so- perhaps a tad o sweeeet chileye id be the go?....

I used fine beef mince with no real visible fat, weren't dry...a bit sorta chewy/meally but nothing that took much away from it being very similar to home cooked..?

[corvus]

No master Chef just experienced , the only reason I can think of for bitterness is over flavouring and or too long in the drying process .
Or you are just a naff cook

[Tony]

Hi Nuts and Corvus,

I cooked/dried my half kg with 2 cans on tomato bits...weren't bitter at all...they were, however, very tomatoey

The mince draws in the flavours (as master corvus mentioned) so- perhaps a tad o sweeeet chileye id be the go?....

I used fine beef mince with no real visible fat, weren't dry...a bit sorta chewy/meally but nothing that took much away from it being very similar to home cooked..?

Thanks Nuts for the hints, I used the best low fat mince that I can find, I was thinking that it might have been the tomatoes as they have some acid in them.

No master Chef just experienced , the only reason I can think of for bitterness is over flavouring and or too long in the drying process .
Or you are just a naff cook

Corvus, You might be right, I can't cook but the meals taste very nice before dehydrating.

How do you tell that the drying proccess is right.

Tony

[Son of a Beach]

No master Chef just experienced , the only reason I can think of for bitterness is over flavouring and or too long in the drying process .
Or you are just a naff cook

Drying too long may have been my problem, in that case. Being the first time I'd dried meat (other than jerky), I was keen to make sure it was well and truly dry, so it's quite likely I'd overdone it, if that's possible.

[corvus]

I really suspect that over drying may be the culprit because as stated in my prior posts in the hundreds of meals I have put together ,including curries ,spag bol, chilie con carne I have never never experienced bitterness (crap results a few times) but never bitterness .

[corvus]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that I used a very old hand mincer and removed all visible fat to make my own various minced meats because some Butchers put preservatives in their mince!

[Son of a Beach]

One other thing I forgot to mention is that I used a very old hand mincer and removed all visible fat to make my own various minced meats because some Butchers put preservatives in their mince!

Somebody dropped off a whole deer at my back door yesterday. If I can find a mincer, I might give this a try with the butchering that I butchered (I did most of it OK, but there's about 400g of what I call 'bits'. Ie, cuts that are not particularly identifiable).

[Tony]

Hi Corvus,

One other thing I forgot to mention is that I used a very old hand mincer and removed all visible fat to make my own various minced meats because some Butchers put preservatives in their mince!

Thanks for that hint, my parents still use a very old hand mincer to mince their meat when they make Cornish pasties and they have done so for as long as I can remember, I will make my own mice next time.

I really suspect that over drying may be the culprit because as stated in my prior posts in the hundreds of meals I have put together ,including curries ,spag bol, chilie con carne I have never never experienced bitterness (crap results a few times) but never bitterness .

How do you tell when the mince based meal is dried enough.

The bitterness that I have experienced is only slight but enough to notice so I am thinking that I am only just getting it wrong.

Tony

[tasadam]

Somebody dropped off a whole deer at my back door yesterday.

Oh deer......

[Lynda Moir]

geoskid, if you have the disposable income to do so purchase one even if you only make Jerky you will save over the years and despite some of my earlier posts I may be putting mine to greater use in the future
Just be aware that home dried meals take much longer to rehydrate and the "tip" of putting water in them in the morning to reconstitute during the day defeats the lightweight concept

We dehydrate our own meals. When we arrive in camp we boil enough water to hydrate our evening meal - less is more as a sloppy meal is not a happy experience. When it is time to eat, we just bring to boil again and use only a samll amount of fuel.

[Lynda Moir]

Corvus,
Is the reason that home dried meals take longer to re-hydreate than commercial meals because commercial meals are 'Freeze dried' rather than air dried? Approx. how much longer for same size? I have heard before that home dried tastes better than commercial stuff- but obviously more effort. I suppose do we eat for pleasure or fuel?

Home dried are definitely much nicer but you just need to plan ahead. It was many years before I tried to do my own dehydrated meals - only doing so when my favourite commercial meals were no longer available. Now would not go back! Also find that you that your energy levels stay much higher than compared with some quick foods particularly on extended walks.

[Kainas]

IMG_2770.JPG (80.53 KiB) Viewed 26855 times

I win.

oh wait...no...you meant the lightest....

[Taurë-rana]

I had the Back Country Babotje last weekend and absolutely loved it. No cooking, no washing up, light weight and tasted delicious, what more could you want. The only thing that bothered me was that I wasn't all that full afterwards and I'm not very big. I would take something to add to it next time. It was a huge improvement on the Vesta meals that we used to take.

[corvus]

DA you have a couple of choices to help fill you up, have a Cup a Soup while you are waiting for the meal to re-hydrate or add a couple of spoonfuls of either BCC Freeze Dri Rice or Instant Mixed Veggies or both just remember to add extra water

[johnw]

I'll respond to Corvus' post from 7 Days through WOJ - Planning and Water here as it fits better in this topic.

Taste test report on Back Country meals will be good because some are Yum and some Um ? (light as tho)

For our recent 7 day/6 night trip in the Walls of Jerusalem area, we took almost exclusively the single serve packs of Back Country freeze-dried meals as each evening's main course. Two of us each took 7 packets to cover the 6 nights, including a spare/emergency packet. I have used these previously a number of times with mixed reaction concerning taste and quantity. In general I've found them OK but the main criticism is that the serves are quite small. I was a bit more objective this trip and have ranked each meal with a score out of ten for taste. I did find that using a little less water than recommended gave a better result regarding consistency (I dislike runny meals). I still found the serves small but can survive on them, supplemented with soup as an entree and snack bars, and/or biscuits, nuts etc afterwards. My standout favourite was the Spaghetti Bolognaise. Don't expect the same spag bol that you'd make at home but I found the taste reminiscent of that. I was a little disappointed with the Nasi Goreng though. I'd tried it before and found it OK the first time, but not on this occasion.

In short the meals are light to carry, convenient, easy to prepare and will do the job if you supplement them with something else. Don't expect gourmet cooking, but I found the taste of most of them acceptable.

Eaten=

Night 1: Chicken Tikka Masala = 7/10

Night 2: Pasta Vegetariano = 8/10

Night 3: Spaghetti Bolognaise = 9/10

Night 4: Sweet & Sour Lamb = 7/10

Night 5: Nasi Goreng = 6/10

Night 6: On the final night it was snowing and I couldn't be bothered cooking. So it was beef jerky, snacks and biscuits instead.

Unused =

Mexican Chicken
Beef Teriyaki

These will be tested on some future trip.

I needed to find an internet cafe in Launceston after the trip, and the one I found was across the road from Paddy Pallin (I'm drawn to gear shops like a magnet ). So I called in. They had a far bigger selection of these meals than I've seen anywhere in Sydney. What grabbed my attention though was a quite large pack of beef mince in the same brand, which I'd never seen before. Looks interesting.