View Full Version : Boiled Water Food?
So.. I notice a lot of questions about dehydrating food, and freezer food... and what not. i'm new to backpacking so hold the laughs, but i was at Dicks sports yesterday and noticed these aluminum packages with chicken, and beef, and etc... all you do is add boiling water to them in the package and start eating... anyone use these? if not what is most common... also whats the best stove to cook on and carry for extended trips... thanks much :o
terrapin_too
02-15-2007, 01:00
So.. I notice a lot of questions about dehydrating food, and freezer food... and what not. i'm new to backpacking so hold the laughs, but i was at Dicks sports yesterday and noticed these aluminum packages with chicken, and beef, and etc... all you do is add boiling water to them in the package and start eating... anyone use these? if not what is most common... also whats the best stove to cook on and carry for extended trips... thanks much :o
They're fine, but they're very expensive. OK for weekend hikes; far too expensive for daily meals on a long distance hike. I often carry one of these in my pack for times where the weather really sucks and I just want a quick hot meal before diving into my tent for the night.
Stoves are a another whole topic -- no better reference than PMags' excellent article (http://www.pmags.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=33) on the topic.
Wait... Then What Do you Use to eat normally?
Wait... Then What Do you Use to eat normally?
Freeze dried meals: you will either love them or hate them. Most taste ok, but if you start backpacking a lot, you may get sick of them. They have their place though! They are fast and convient. But are really one serving, no matter how they claim they are "two" servings. There are a number of brands, with Mountain House being the biggest and most well known.
But ah, food on the trail" there are a million choices out there! From gourmet meals that require a couple pans to ramen noodles, to Lipton and Knorr side dishes with tuna and chicken foil pouches added, to making your own light food, to learning how to do basic dehydrating.....you have the world in front of you!
Wait... Then What Do you Use to eat normally?
The biggest problem with crickets is picking the little bits of exo-skeleton out of your teeth after dinner, bring toothpicks, lots of toothpicks.
There are a ton of threads on the various foods hikers eat, the truthful answer at least for thrus is "anything that doesn't put up too much of a fight or is light enough to carry easily". You will see about anything light weight that you can imagine and alot of things you just can't imagine until you've been out a few weeks on a weight limited diet.
I ate alot of tuna straight out of the pouch flavored with some lemon pepper stuff I picked up at Kroger, sometimes with crackers crumbled in. Ramen noodles with mashed potato flakes mixed in to thicken the broth and a little olive oil for raw calories is a good "warm me up" meal. Tortillas with about anything you can possibly imagine
Frolicking Dinosaurs
02-15-2007, 07:03
Welcome to WB, ATNoob. Check out this thread (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19133)for a sample of what people eat
I'm a devotee of FD foods. But I order mine online for a considerable savings over the retail price. Ordering food for the thru-hike got me into the 22% off category.
http://ldpcampingfoods.com/
I stick with the MH Pro-Pack meals, which occupy less pack space than the others. Or I order the big cans and repackage into quart freezer bags, which is even more compact.
Marta/Five-Leaf
terrapin_too
02-15-2007, 07:50
Wait... Then What Do you Use to eat normally?
By "normally" you mean, on the trail, right?
Below is a list I threw together about 17 years ago. The truth/fact of the matter is, I eat whatever I can buy near the trail that meets my fancy (I don't do mail drops these days.) The only criteria is that it not be terribly perishable or heavy. Here's that old list, for what it's worth...
Instant Coffee
Cream of Rice
Dried Pineapple
Instant Milk
Oatmeal
Dried Apricots
Instant Hot Chocolate
Cold Cereal
Raisins
Instant Lemonade Mix
Sugar
Fruit Leather
Instant Soups
Salt
Halvah
Freeze-Dried Entrees
Pepper
Cheese
Canned Meats
Hard Salami
Beef Jerky
Pasta
Dehydrated Potatoes
Pop-Tarts
Quick Rice
Bread / Rolls
Candy bars
Margarine
Peanut Butter
Cookies
GORP
Jelly
Instant Pudding
Popcorn
hopefulhiker
02-15-2007, 10:12
You can dehydrate your own food before the hike.. You can dehydrate anything.. There is a book called backpacker gourmet...
Also alcohol stoves are very popular among thru hikers with cannister stoves coming in a close second I think..
What you've got to do besides reading about all this stuff is get some experience. I would suggest reading all (yes, ALL) the articles first, a wealth of information there on almost any subject you can think of. Use the search button at the top of the page to find whatever else you want to read about. Then just do it. Go on weekend hikes, or if that's not possible prepare your meals, eat, and sleep in your back yard once or twice a week. At least this will give you some idea of the gear and how to use it.
What you've got to do besides reading about all this stuff is get some experience. I would suggest reading all (yes, ALL) the articles first, a wealth of information there on almost any subject you can think of. Use the search button at the top of the page to find whatever else you want to read about. Then just do it. Go on weekend hikes, or if that's not possible prepare your meals, eat, and sleep in your back yard once or twice a week. At least this will give you some idea of the gear and how to use it.
Great call Fiddler, best advice I've heard in a long time.
Or heck, just use your camp stove and your camp utensils and the foods you want to try out and prepare the meals right in your own kitchen.
Be careful, of course.....
terrapin_too
02-15-2007, 11:55
Stay away from redneck peanut butter (http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/02/14/salmonella.outbreak.ap/index.html) for a while...
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A salmonella outbreak that has slowly grown to nearly 300 cases in 39 states since August has been linked to tainted peanut butter, federal health officials said Wednesday.
The affected jars have a product code on the lid that begins with the number "2111." The affected jars are made by ConAgra in a single facility in Sylvester, Georgia, the FDA said.
I am a weekend warrior. I dehydrate chilie, red beans and rice, etc in a homemade dehydrator. I found the plans somewhere online. Take a cardboard box that a TV or computer comes in, line it with aluminum foil, stick a 150 watt light bulb in it. It takes about 8 hours to dry out. You can also dry out meat in your oven. Turn it on low, crack the door, and wait about 8 hours.
What I like about freezer bag cooking is its easy, and there is no clean up.
I just looked I have some Peter pan peanut butter with the 2111 code. I better go update my will.
ive been eating a jar of 2111 peter pan penut butter for like two weeks. i just now read its tainted and threw it out ha.
Stay away from redneck peanut butter (http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/02/14/salmonella.outbreak.ap/index.html) for a while...
Far from just a southern thing, seems to be nationwide and affects a boatload of product made since May 06.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17155561/
I am thinking about dehydrating my own food. Before I spend the money on a unit, I thought some of you could help me out a bit...
I understand that the food doesn't re-hydrate as fast as freeze dried food does. So, do I need to soak each ingredient separately or can I just pour hot water over the whole meal and let it all soak/cook together like freeze dried meals? I want to use my alcohol stove, and I know that I won’t have the fuel to simmer. I was hoping to just dry the ingrediants, place them in a bag then on the trail, add hot water, let sit, and then eat... Thanks in advance.
Skidsteer
02-22-2007, 17:58
I am thinking about dehydrating my own food. Before I spend the money on a unit, I thought some of you could help me out a bit...
I understand that the food doesn't re-hydrate as fast as freeze dried food does. So, do I need to soak each ingredient separately or can I just pour hot water over the whole meal and let it all soak/cook together like freeze dried meals? I want to use my alcohol stove, and I know that I won’t have the fuel to simmer. I was hoping to just dry the ingrediants, place them in a bag then on the trail, add hot water, let sit, and then eat... Thanks in advance.
I've found that dehydrated, cooked, whole meals come back to life much like freeze-dried. Not much time difference at all.
I've found that dehydrated, cooked, whole meals come back to life much like freeze-dried. Not much time difference at all.
That has been my experience also. A fully cooked and dried meal comes back with little effort. I just pour in the boiling water as needed, stir and park in a cozy for 10-15 minutes. Usually is perfect!
I precook and dry pasta, and dry sauces seperatly, and do the same thing, then drain off any water in the pasta, and toss. Really good!
superman
02-22-2007, 21:26
I am not a good trail cook. I hardly ever measure anything and I don't care too much how it tastes. Some times stuff comes out like soup and sometimes too thick. It all goes to the same place. I eat the same thing until I'm sick of it. I've maxed out on gorp, oatmeal, any Lipton dinner. I get sick of all of them. Ramen is barely a food to me but it's light. When I'm not sure how many days food I need I through a few more ramens in my food bag. When the weather is cold enough I take a big loaf of bread, a pound of ham and a small squeeze bottle of mustard. I over maxed on peanut butter when I was a kid. Now I hike with Pat from Maine and she does the cooking on the trail and I set up the tarp.