Great video! This tip isn't for everyone beccause some will find it's too much fuss or time but I often bring 1-2 pasta meals with me in the back country and use them on a night I have a bit more time or patience.. You can use any pasta for this (this trick will also help with your rice being hard) but I cook it at home, aadd sauce and then dehydrate it. Macaroni works best as it doesn't break. I weigh my food before and after dehydrating to know how mucch water to add (and sometimes eyeball it) but only ass half the water you need to, put it in the pouch and wait 10 minutes or so. I jostle the bag a bit to mix it and you'll find almost all the water is rehydrated. I then add the second half (after boiling again) and wait 15 minutes. The second round of water won't cool as fast (the bag, pasta and pouch are already warm) and it gives a second round of rehydrating. As a ridiculous example of this I dehydrated 2 pouches of ccooked maccaroni in chhese that had ketchup and cheeze wiz added to increase calories and it tasted/ felt like it came from the pot). Again, this might be too fussy for many but I wrote a book on preserving food 'cus I'm that kind of geek. Ha! Loved your video and have been subscribing for some time.
True about rehydrating dehydrated cooked pasta. You're better off rehydrating dehydrated marinara sauce and ground beef. Cook your pasta fresh. 7 minutes.
Missed this one when you first posted. Great overview. If you don’t want to carry the bag cozy, I had good results with a pot cozy, then putting the freezer bag in the pot to soak. Fold the top of the bag over the lip of the pot. Very satisfying to finish the meal, then pull the bag “liner” out of the clean pot! For ramen and other pokey foods, I got some cook-in bags from packit gourmet that are thicker plastic. Looking forward to trying your recipe!
Great vid. I used this method for 4 days hiking the Cleveland Way in the UK last year. Saved so much room in my pack and saved time cooking, and had the pro’s you mentioned. But I personally didn’t take to it. Definitely a great idea and lots of people will take to it. Though I might give it another go after watching this 😁.
Thank You great video I’ve been thinking a lot about what I plan to eat on my first thru hike AT next year . I eat mainly fruits and veggies and I’ll definitely be adding this . New subscriber
Really well done video, thank you. Good food is one of the key luxuries for me while backpacking and this presentation gives one more solid tool for the toolbox. Side question: I’m in the PNW as well (SW WA) and we don’t have bugs here yet; was this filmed recently?
I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the kinds words. Yeah, I filmed it last week. I'm up in NW WA and I was essentially on the coast in this video, so it may have something to do with the added moisture. Just a guess on my part, though.
Hi! I haven't but it sounds worth testing out - I believe that's what normal freeze dried meals are packaged in. Depending on the length of your trip, you could try silicone as well.
About eating out of a plastic freezer bag and the chemicals. You probably get more harmful chemicals eating processed foods & canned ( what about the lining in the cans ) goods. The short time & amount of meals out hiking is minor to the time of everyday normal life. I like the idea of knowing what is in my meals and since I made them , they are exactly what I want , all natural. Plus washing the dishes is as simple as licking the spoon and the 1st freezer bag becomes the trash bag. Contrary to popular belief you only need near boiling water not the rolling boil to reconstitute a meal. I get my dehydrated or freeze dried fruits and vegetables from Harmony House Foods. The meats I can do at home with a frying pan and dehydrator or when lazy purchase from the web. If you are so inclined , you would be surprised to see whats available from the local grocery store.
