View Full Version : Dehydrating pasta?
LastHonestFool
12-15-2006, 21:37
so it's been awhile since I've dehydrated stuff for a backpacking trip, and I'd like to dehydrate some pasta for my trip....I think it was in the oven w/ the door open at 125 degrees?
like to know before I do it so I do it righ tthe first time
thanks in advance :)
Save yourself some trouble...
LastHonestFool
12-15-2006, 23:22
lol
yeah I'm takin them too, but I got some spatini, planning on doing spaghetti n sauce for the first night's dinner as a bit of a treat, and it would reduce cooking time a bit, which would just be a convenience facotr...if I'm not confident in dehydrating it, I'll just have to spend the extra time to cook it normally...which is why I ask here, to boost my confidence in dehydrating it :sun
I wouldn't know spatini from linguni. Never made my own pasta. But if it's cooking time you're concerned about, get some "Angel Hair" pasta.
Hey, any pasta experts in the house? Young man needs some HELP over here!
fiddlehead
12-15-2006, 23:33
Isn't pasta already dehydrated when you buy it?
I know the rice noodles we use in thailand just need to be put in hot water for a few seconds and they are ready.
So, are you thinking of cooking the pasta, and then redehyrating it again? I guess that's what you're talking about. seems strange to me but go for it. I wouldn't think it would taste as good the second time.
Jim Adams
12-16-2006, 01:04
i dehydrate alot of foods for wilderness trips but i have never attempted plain pasta like spaghetti or rotini. i have learned to dehydrate pirroghis though and they are made basically from pasta. you must cook them first and then dehydrate them. if they are not cooked first, they fall apart when you rehydrate them. don't know if spag. etc. is the same.
I found this thread about dehydrating pasta
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=19665&highlight=dehydrating+pasta
Here is 2 post from that thread
Actually if you want to just add boiling water and let it rehydrate, cooking spaghetti and then dehydrating it works better than trying to do that with store-bought dry spaghetti. I've tried it both ways. If it isn't cooked and then dehydrated, it gets gooey and starchy when just adding boiling water into it in a zip-lock.
Temperature wise on setting the dehydrator, I think I used about 135 degrees.
Exactly :) By precooking and drying pasta, it basically becomes 'instant' pasta. Undercook it by about 1-2 minutes, as sitting in boiling water finishes it up. Dry it at 135-140* or so till dry. You want to make sure the pasta is really dry (hard hard). Then store in sealed bags till trip time.
To bring back, just pour boiling water to cover (if using small pasta pieces do a 1:1 ratio of water/pasta), make sure pasta is covered, and put in a cozy for 10-15 minutes, and it is ready!
a
Amigi'sLastStand
12-16-2006, 11:33
Dehydrating pasta? Hmm, right up there with dehydrating raisins...
bigcranky
12-16-2006, 16:47
Isn't pasta already dehydrated when you buy it?
Sure, it's dry, but it's not cooked.
Dehydrating cooked pasta is da bomb. Cook some pasta -- little stuff is good, like penne -- then put it in the dehydrator (or the oven at 150F with door cracked) and dry until it's completely dry, not soft at all.
To use, combine equal parts pasta and boiling water in a ziploc freezer bag and put in a cozy for 10 minutes or so. Add some powdered tomatos or some Knorr sauce mix, stir, and enjoy. One cup of pasta is a good starting point.
I think Sarbar has more info on her website (www.freezerbagcooking.com). Finally, get yourself a dehydrator at Wallymart and it opens up a whole world of great homemade backpacking food.
Sure, it's dry, but it's not cooked.
Dehydrating cooked pasta is da bomb. Cook some pasta -- little stuff is good, like penne -- then put it in the dehydrator (or the oven at 150F with door cracked) and dry until it's completely dry, not soft at all.
To use, combine equal parts pasta and boiling water in a ziploc freezer bag and put in a cozy for 10 minutes or so. Add some powdered tomatos or some Knorr sauce mix, stir, and enjoy. One cup of pasta is a good starting point.
I must be dumb... I still don't get it. :-? First you cook it and then you dehydrate it. Then in camp you cook it again ??
Wouldn't plain old store-bought pasta cook just as well, in camp, using the method you describe above?
What am I missing here?
NO! dry pasta that you buy is not cooked. Once you cook the pasta, and then dehydrate, all you will need to bring be back to life its hot or boiling water.leave in cozy to cook thru then eat! does that help clarify things??
Save yourself all the trouble and get the pasta bits. Add hot water and its ready in a few minutes. I think its called cous cous.:) Saves a lot of unnecessary time chewing too!:D
NO! dry pasta that you buy is not cooked. Once you cook the pasta, and then dehydrate, all you will need to bring be back to life its hot or boiling water.leave in cozy to cook thru then eat! does that help clarify things??
OK, I just tried this experiment:
1. Boiled 1 cup of water in an Open Country 2.5 cup pot on my canister stove.
2. Added 1 cup of supermarket Rotini to the water.
3. Waited another 15-20 seconds for the water to resume boiling.
4. Turned off the stove, put the pot in its TinMan cozy.
5. Waited 12 minutes.
Result: the Rotini is fully "cooked" and edible.
So, please tell me what dehydrating the Rotini, in advance, accomplishes?
Amigi'sLastStand
12-16-2006, 18:16
I agree terrapin, this is da dumb.
I agree terrapin, this is da dumb.
Well, I am trying to understand. To my feeble male mind, the verb "to cook" is a bit strong when applied to pasta. You dump it in hot or boiling water, and some time later, you eat it. If that's cooking, then I'm Chez Panisse. :D
Amigi'sLastStand
12-16-2006, 18:53
I guess it just seems a little anal to me to need to save ... six minutes. In the grand scheme of things, how much total fossil fuel is being used in this double cooking process. Some dinosaur died for you buddy. Use him efficiently!!!!:D
Amigi'sLastStand
12-16-2006, 18:55
Note from my last post...
Sorry to the Frolicking Dinos. Didnt mean to bring up Uncle Herb's passing again.
I guess it just seems a little anal to me to need to save ... six minutes.
I'm not even sure it did even that. I cooked my store-bought, fresh-out-of-the-box pasta exactly the way "peanuts" said to cook the dehydrated stuff. So what's the point?
To be honest, I've never cooked pasta that way before, and I'd hardly ever used the pot cozy before... so I welcomed the chance to put it to the test.
Barrilla Plus has much more protien in it than regular pasta and the angel hair only takes 10 minutes soaking in boiled water.
Amigi'sLastStand
12-16-2006, 22:33
Barrilla Plus has much more protien in it than regular pasta and the angel hair only takes 10 minutes soaking in boiled water.
That stuff is da bomb. Anything Barilla makes, if I buy it, I buy it from them. Their garlic, olive oil, pasta, and spices are best of class, and always reasonably priced.
bigcranky
12-16-2006, 22:49
TT,
If your method worked for you, then more power, man. When I've tried that with uncooked pasta, I got gluey uncooked pasta after 12 minutes in the cozy. Dehydrating cooked pasta works a lot better for me.
Yeah, the bigger the pasta is in diameter, the more you need to cook it first and dehydrate it. It'll save fuel. When on the trail, put your water and pasta in the pot and boil it together. Don't waste fuel just to boil water, and then your food. This will help out those poor dead dinosaurs knowing you are saving their little precious fossil fuels for the next drive to the trailhead! Check out Sarbar's site or grab her book for some awesome recipies on dehydrating/cooking.
When I've tried that with uncooked pasta, I got gluey uncooked pasta...
Sorry to hear that. Odd that I should be succesful on my first try; that's so very not like me. ;)
We at Chez Panisse refer to (slightly) uncooked pasta as al dente, but the stuff I ended up with was not. And I'm not sure what you mean by "gluey" pasta, honest. I ate it liberally sprinkled with Kraft Parmesan, and it was fine. By trail-food standards, anyway. Next time, I'll try this technique with angel hair spaghetti, which I prefer to the regular kind in any case.
I'm only interested in a food strategy that doesn't rely on pre-prepared meals, or stuff that only comes from specialty food stores or outfitter's stores. Ultimately that (probably) means a lotta Liptons, summer sausage, Pepper Jack cheese, salmon steak in foil packages, etc. Catch-as-catch-can, from whatever stores I find along the trail.
I've got a dehydrator in the basement somewhere. Ages ago, I made some half-decent beef jerky with it, but that was about the extent of it. (It was way too much work, IMO.) Now it's just another of many forgotten bits of "hiking gear" cluttering my basement, along with the crampons, camp pillow, Nalgene bottle cozy and one very sooty Sierra Zip stove.
PS, please just call me terrapin. Forget the too. Thanks.
LastHonestFool
12-17-2006, 00:40
question answered, thanks again fellas
I think I'm just gonna cook it regularly at camp, I bought some angel hair spaghetti, today, and I'll just use the rigatoni I planned to use on my trip, at home :)
Sorry to come in late. We had major power outages and no internet service till tonight.
Anyhoo, precooking and drying pasta does a couple things:
One, it shortens cooking time.
Less fuel in camp.
Frees up a pot, and allows you to use one pan.
The pasta is not starchy, from being boiled in too little water.
Less water needed in camp.
I boil my pasta at home, but cut it back a minute or two on tim. It will finish "cooking" in camp. I dry it till brittle dry. I weigh it out and usually use 4 ounces dried per serving.
When ready to eat, I park said pasta in a quart freezer bag and cover with boiling water. That I leave in a cozy for about 10 minutes. If any water is left, you can drain it off by opening a corner of the bag carefully.
So basically what it does is make it so you don't have to boil water for 8-10 minutes, and not have to carry a large pan. It also makes it so if you are a one pan cooker (and who isn't?) you can use the pan to make a sauce, etc.
And your pasta isn't all starchy. Yick.
Anyhoo, you can dry in an oven. Just set your oven to the lowest setting, and crack the door with a wooden spoon. Stir every hour till dry (4-8 hours or less usually).
This method also lets you take high fiber/protien pasta of whole wheat without the 15 minute boiling time.
question answered, thanks again fellas
I think I'm just gonna cook it regularly at camp, I bought some angel hair spaghetti, today, and I'll just use the rigatoni I planned to use on my trip, at home :)
By all means, please -- test out your cooking methods at home before you head up the mountain, OK? Don't take anybody's word for anything, especially around here. ;). Make sure it works in your back yard before you depend on it working in the woods. I described what works for me, but you have to make it work for yourself. Good luck and bon apetit.
And your pasta isn't all starchy. Yick.
What is pasta if not starch? Accusing pasta of being starchy is like accusing wine of being alcoholic. I guess my taste buds aren't sufficiently developed to appreciate a fine noodle. :rolleyes:
What is pasta if not starch? Accusing pasta of being starchy is like accusing wine of being alcoholic. I guess my taste buds aren't sufficiently developed to appreciate a fine noodle. :rolleyes:
Well, what I was trying to say was that when you cook pasta in too little water (ie. 4 ounces of pasta in 3 cups water on the trail), all that extra starch that turns the water milky white has nowhere to go but all over your pasta. That makes the pasta have a gluey texture. Yumm! :rolleyes: Hehheh.
Precooked and dried pasta is boiled though in a lot of water, and that starch goes goodbye, down the old drain.
Skidsteer
12-17-2006, 08:01
My favorite reason to cook pasta first and then dehydrate it doesn't seem to have been mentioned.
I cook and dehydrate the complete meal. IOW make spaghetti at home, add your sauce, parmesan, and whatever else you normally would if you were sitting down to eat it immediately; But dehydrate it instead. Put it in a ziploc in the freezer and it's ready for your next trip.
Lone Wolf
12-17-2006, 08:06
question answered, thanks again fellas
I think I'm just gonna cook it regularly at camp, I bought some angel hair spaghetti, today, and I'll just use the rigatoni I planned to use on my trip, at home :)
That's what I do. I carry 2 pots. 1 for sauce. 1 for angel hair. I make a sauce of Knorr tomato/basil and add pepper/onions and foil pack chicken breast.
The glory of dehydrating pasta (and most everything else) is that instead of using 10 minutes of fuel to cook your pasta you need only to boil the water. I like the idea of just adding the boiled water in the freezer bag, no dirty kettles, no burnt food, and no dish washing. Less time doing chores; more time enjoying the great out of doors. Less chance of getting sick due to inadequate cleaning of utensils.
The glory of dehydrating pasta (and most everything else) is that instead of using 10 minutes of fuel to cook your pasta you need only to boil the water.
Did you read through the "experiment" I described, earlier in the thread?
The only advantage I can see is that my method (supposedly) produces a "starchy" tasting pasta. But I must have poorly developed taste, 'cuz somehow I didn't notice. ;)
My favorite reason to cook pasta first and then dehydrate it doesn't seem to have been mentioned.
I cook and dehydrate the complete meal. IOW make spaghetti at home, add your sauce, parmesan, and whatever else you normally would if you were sitting down to eat it immediately; But dehydrate it instead. Put it in a ziploc in the freezer and it's ready for your next trip.
that is a good idea. I never think about dehydrating leftovers.
How much water do you use to rehydrate?
that is a good idea. I never think about dehydrating leftovers.
How much water do you use to rehydrate?
Ewker, when I dry leftovers of pasta dishes, I usually do a 1:1 ratio of water to product. Or you can "just cover" it with water.
I must be dumb... I still don't get it. :-? First you cook it and then you dehydrate it. Then in camp you cook it again ??
Wouldn't plain old store-bought pasta cook just as well, in camp, using the method you describe above?
What am I missing here?
Have no idea if this will explain anything but:
This site (http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/dinnerpastaetc.htm)on freezer bag cooking gives ideas on cooking with couscous and pre-cooked, re-dried pasta. Scroll down about 7 pages to ‘Pasta/Ramen/Oriental Noodles to see cooking instructions etc. dealing with complete dinner rehydration.. These homemade dinners are probably like Lipton’s, freeze-dried pasta dishes and lasagna noodles that you do not have to precook; the noodles are problably redried after cooking.
Your pasta might do, but there probably isn’t enough heat left to reconstitute the sauce, vegetables and meat. This might have to be done by reheating, using more fuel.. I just cooked some pasta with your method. It is pasty, but edible, and maybe I let it go too long.. You might be able to add dried , cooked vegs and meat, and extra boiling water with the uncooked pasta, and add sauce and butter at the end. I’ve done this myself.
I just cooked some pasta with your method. It is pasty, but edible, and maybe I let it go too long.. You might be able to add dried , cooked vegs and meat, and extra boiling water with the uncooked pasta, and add sauce and butter at the end. I’ve done this myself.
I really wasn't considering anything beyond "just plain pasta." If it's got other ingredients in it (ie., involves any real "cooking") then obviously there's a stronger rationale for cooking in advance and dehydrating. As I explained in another post, I'm not really interested in doing that for long hikes, since I've given up on mail drops entirely. YMMV and all that.
that is a good idea. I never think about dehydrating leftovers.
How much water do you use to rehydrate?
This is all I do for my trail meals. I currently have homemade Mac & Cheese, a thick hamburger soup, chili, Beef Strogi, and Pasta Fagioli in the freezer already dehydrated. Just did some sgetti sauce with chunks of pork and pepperoni in it. MMmmm
Skidsteer
12-18-2006, 18:54
that is a good idea. I never think about dehydrating leftovers.
How much water do you use to rehydrate?
About 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups of water.
Regular spaghetti and sauce would be at the low end because I don't like it watery. Stews and such I usually use a bit more.
It's easy to get the portion right, too. When you finish your dinner at home, just fix another plate the same size and put it in the dehydrator; In the morning, put it in a freezer bag and store it in the deep freeze for a future hike.
Depending on the type of food, it usually ends up weighing 5 1/2 to 7 ounces in the bag(for me, anyway). A bit of chocolate for dessert, a nightcap, and all's well with the world. ;)
LastHonestFool
12-18-2006, 23:50
tried it out on my stove tonight, made a big 'ole pot of size 8 spaghetti (the regular stuff, nto angel hair...I usually end up over cookin them thin buggers!) it took 20 minutes max to make the meal...including makin some fast pasta sauce, so I won't be dehydrating for this particular outing, but I'll refer back to the information in this thread for dehydrating!
thanks again guys n gals!
That stuff is da bomb. Anything Barilla makes, if I buy it, I buy it from them. Their garlic, olive oil, pasta, and spices are best of class, and always reasonably priced.
Amigi, that was one great tip. Thanks! :) Do you happen to know how long this stuff will hold, once the package is opened? It is da bomb, for sure... but probably more than I can eat at one sitting.
Dingus Khan
01-03-2007, 17:20
how would i go about dehydrating chili or sauce? the reason i ask is because my dehydrator only has the typical racks that do not hold anything smaller than say a dime.
I had dehydrated using ovens before, but am not sure about how to do it using a liquid based product. obviously you cannot cook a pot of sauce, stick it in the oven and dehydrate it that way.
I really need some hints and tricks please!! i also plan on buying the FBC.com book too, looks great and useful for more than just trail food (i do a lot of winter surfing at locations where you are essentially camp cooking if you plan on having anything other than cold food...
links to sites/threads which may be of help are much appreciated. ;)
and as always, you guys and gals rock, i am spending hours learning from you all just by "listening in"...
thanks
Skidsteer
01-03-2007, 18:15
how would i go about dehydrating chili or sauce? the reason i ask is because my dehydrator only has the typical racks that do not hold anything smaller than say a dime.
I had dehydrated using ovens before, but am not sure about how to do it using a liquid based product. obviously you cannot cook a pot of sauce, stick it in the oven and dehydrate it that way.
I really need some hints and tricks please!! i also plan on buying the FBC.com book too, looks great and useful for more than just trail food (i do a lot of winter surfing at locations where you are essentially camp cooking if you plan on having anything other than cold food...
links to sites/threads which may be of help are much appreciated. ;)
and as always, you guys and gals rock, i am spending hours learning from you all just by "listening in"...
thanks
You can use the fruit leather trays that come with most dehydrators, or use oven parchment paper to line your trays. It works fine.
fiddlehead
01-03-2007, 19:55
My dehydrator (I built it myseld) uses 7 - 2 foot square racks. When i'm doing pastes or beansoup or something like that, I put saran wrap (clear clingwrap stuff) on opposite halves of each shelf. It still gets the airflow it needs at all levels and works fine. Cook it a little thick.
Dingus Khan
01-04-2007, 10:15
hmmm, thanks, i'll have to try that. the alternating pattern makes sense, i was worried that by using paper/wrap you would be defeating the whole purpose of having a fan.
cool thanks.
Rocketman
03-01-2007, 23:06
I must be dumb... I still don't get it. :-? First you cook it and then you dehydrate it. Then in camp you cook it again ??
Wouldn't plain old store-bought pasta cook just as well, in camp, using the method you describe above?
What am I missing here?
Cooking pasta is one thing. Cooking requires 5 to 10 minutes of boiling water for whatever chemistry happens during cooking pasta all the way through. Dehydrating cooked pasta doesn't put it back to being the raw pasta it was in the original box. Repeat that thought.
The dehydrated pasta can be mixed with COLD water and in 15 minutes to 30 minutes it will be COLD COOKED rehydrated pasta, soft, and ready to eat, cold. Rehydrating isn't cooking, it is restoring water. Repeat that thought over and over.
Hot water will speed up the rehydration and it will be HOT and rehydrated in just a few minutes. The hot water isn't actually cooking it for the second time. Repeat that thought.
You can also cook vegetables and dehydrate them. Store them for a couple of months before you go hiking. Different vegetables rehydrate at different rates (no suprize there?). Some will rehydrate in a half an hour in cold water, but others require sitting time in warm or hot water because rehydration of those vegetables is so slow.
Rehydrating dehydrated potato powder is almost instant. That is one reason they call them INSTANT POTATOES.
Powdered or flaked vegetables rehydrate rapidly because of the high surface to volume ratio of powdered or flaked vegetables, versus the lower surface to volume ratio of, say, a whole solid potato.
harriey von alkier
03-01-2007, 23:35
I always eat cold,cook macaroni's at home dry them and put as much as I like to eat with dried beans or chili in a little container covert with water at lunch and it is ready to eat at supper. Hope it helps
I've been messing with trying to cook pasta in bag for awhile - I can get it cooked but its always this sticky gummy type consistency, seriously not al dente. I tried different times but that just leaves it crunchy. Very frustrating. Finally came to WB for help (I always read directions only as a last resort) and found this thread. Thanks guys.
Evidently its the amount of water (or lack of it thats) causing the problem - hadn't thought of that till I read it in this thread. Tried cooking it in the pot (like at home only in miniature). Works great, only its a small sized portion since I have a small solo titanium pot. At least I understand it now and know my options - cook it on the trail in small portion size, cook and dehydrate it at home, or buy freeze-dried stuff (or just eat the sticky gluey stuff, but for me thats not an option).
You can't buy dehydrated cooked pasta can you? (I mean outside of the freezed dried meals with sauce and everything already added).
You can't buy dehydrated cooked pasta can you? (I mean outside of the freezed dried meals with sauce and everything already added).
Not that I know of.
When it comes to home dehydrating, pasta (and rice) are by far the easiest. Have you ever cooked pasta and when you drained it, one noodle was left in the pot? Two hours later it is solid again and stuck to the pot. Shows just how quickly and easily pasta will dehydrate, even if just left out in the open air.
My problem is long noodle pasta. When dehydrated, it doesn't package well. The individual noodles are no longer nice and straight so they are very bulky. Any solutions or should I just resign myself to non-long-thin-noodles?
Jim Adams
09-28-2008, 12:41
I've used tortellini stuffed with spinich and cheese lately. I stopped dehydrating pasta ever since.
geek
Tell me more Geek, how do you cook it?
Hi guys I've playing with this idea in my kitchen and it does work
I know enough about the whys and the ways of food to pretty sure that with a modification or two it will work on Trail
These aren't exact numbers but they're close
For experimenation purposes take 1C of decent commercially made dried pasta like Ronzoni or Barrilla . I like shapes like Bow Ties and Penne and the Zitis rather than things like angel hair
Dump the pasta into bowl with about 4C of water in it
Alllow to soak for about 45 minutes to an hour
When the pasta starts to smell really "wheaty" ,when bitten it feels like it's about 2-3minutes before al dente and has that pasty consistancy that everybody is complaining about
Drain it and place it in a saute pan that has 2-3 " of gently boiling salted water
FYI :the quality standard for salted water is the salinity of sea water
Cook for another 2-3 minutes until al dente
Drain add sauce mix & serve >do not rinse the pasta
gregpphoto
06-01-2011, 16:47
Did you read through the "experiment" I described, earlier in the thread?
The only advantage I can see is that my method (supposedly) produces a "starchy" tasting pasta. But I must have poorly developed taste, 'cuz somehow I didn't notice. ;)
Must have lucky taste buds. I thought I had done something wrong, but good to know its just the nature of pasta. I'm currently dehydrating velveeta shells to bring along. Whats the approximate dehydrating time for pasta?
Terraducky
06-02-2011, 00:21
I cook my pasta al dente. Mix some sauce into it....spread it in the dehydrator and let it go for about 8 hours...around 135. Voila. Bag it. Poar boiling water over it by an inch and let it sit for 10 minutes....dinner time! Too easy and like you have at home. I make my own meat sauce, with ground beef, deer or maybe sausage all crumbled up. OMG it is very good and way better than Spatini...I didnt know that stuff was still around!
gregpphoto
06-02-2011, 01:40
I cook my pasta al dente. Mix some sauce into it....spread it in the dehydrator and let it go for about 8 hours...around 135. Voila. Bag it. Poar boiling water over it by an inch and let it sit for 10 minutes....dinner time! Too easy and like you have at home. I make my own meat sauce, with ground beef, deer or maybe sausage all crumbled up. OMG it is very good and way better than Spatini...I didnt know that stuff was still around!
So you can mix the pasta with sauce before dehydrating and it comes out well? Gonna have to try that!
Andrew Patrick Brown
02-01-2013, 09:53
links to sites/threads which may be of help are much appreciated. ;)
I've used both of these site's recipes with great success. I have cooked over 100 meals from the hungry hammock hanger.
http://www.hungryhammockhanger.com/
http://www.backpackingchef.com/
Tipi Walter
02-01-2013, 10:14
Save yourself some trouble...
Ramen noodles have msg---just another junk chemical we don't need.
i dehydrate alot of foods for wilderness trips but i have never attempted plain pasta like spaghetti or rotini. i have learned to dehydrate pirroghis though and they are made basically from pasta. you must cook them first and then dehydrate them. if they are not cooked first, they fall apart when you rehydrate them. don't know if spag. etc. is the same.
You should try dehydrating spaghetti with sauce, etc. It works great.
The glory of dehydrating pasta (and most everything else) is that instead of using 10 minutes of fuel to cook your pasta you need only to boil the water. I like the idea of just adding the boiled water in the freezer bag, no dirty kettles, no burnt food, and no dish washing. Less time doing chores; more time enjoying the great out of doors. Less chance of getting sick due to inadequate cleaning of utensils.
This is why I dry my pasta meals.
This is an old thread but it's current now so I'll add my thoughts. I'm getting ready for a trip and I'm busy dehydrating many pasta meals and as usual have cooked up a box of spaghetti and added two jars of spaghetti sauce and mixed them and immediately put the results on my 5 dehydrator trays. So, when I get out in the field I'll have a complete spaghetti dinner and only need to boil them up in my MSR pot and add butter and cheese let sit in my pot cozy for 30 minutes.
Mac and cheese is great dehydrated after preparing at home and then prepared in the backcountry. Highly recommended.
http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2012/TRIP-137/i-QcNcLzh/0/L/TRIP%20137%20014-L.jpg
Here's a fotog when out on a trip of my spaghetti pasta dried and ready to be cooked. A whole box and 2 jars of sauce makes enough dinners for a week.
dehydrating pasta (noodles and sauce) is ideal when making one pot meals. if cooking pasta and sauce separately no need to dehydrate pasta.
Tipi Walter
02-01-2013, 10:34
dehydrating pasta (noodles and sauce) is ideal when making one pot meals. if cooking pasta and sauce separately no need to dehydrate pasta.
There's no need weight-wise but there's a real need if you want to conserve your stove fuel. As people have mentioned, uncooked pasta takes a lot longer to cook in the field than cooked and dehydrated pasta---in fact there's no cooking needed, just add boiling water and wait.
lukabrazi
02-01-2013, 12:18
Must have lucky taste buds. I thought I had done something wrong, but good to know its just the nature of pasta. I'm currently dehydrating velveeta shells to bring along. Whats the approximate dehydrating time for pasta?
Please let me know how this goes.
from http://www.backpackingchef.com/ you can find Pasta Bark, easy to deal with both dehydrating and rehydrating. for those who like meat w/ dinner or extra flavor, add pepperoni slices to the pasta bark. pack some parmesean cheese too.
i dehydrate lots of soups & stews, usually running the mix thru a food processor for a few seconds to make sure contents are chopped to uniform size. i use fruit tray liners in my dehydrator. i also use a food saver vacuum sealer for my meals, ensures my food of staying safe, dry, etc.
MDSection12
02-01-2013, 15:16
OK, I just tried this experiment:
1. Boiled 1 cup of water in an Open Country 2.5 cup pot on my canister stove.
2. Added 1 cup of supermarket Rotini to the water.
3. Waited another 15-20 seconds for the water to resume boiling.
4. Turned off the stove, put the pot in its TinMan cozy.
5. Waited 12 minutes.
Result: the Rotini is fully "cooked" and edible.
So, please tell me what dehydrating the Rotini, in advance, accomplishes?
You 'cooked' the pasta... The TS wants to simply rehydrate it... Meaning just add boiling water to a ziploc freezer bag, let it sit for a couple minutes and be done. You used fuel, time and dirtied a pot. (Not that dirty I know but it would be if you added sauce directly into the pot, which the ziploc method eliminates.)
I've heard of people making full on spaghetti, sauce and all, and dehydrating on fruit roll up trays so that it just needs hot water and its done... Haven't tried yet though.
Here are a bunch of ideas: http://youtu.be/ZQXr5FYl7E4
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dehydrated+pasta&oq=dehydrated+pasta&gs_l=youtube.12...762.10487.0.12804.16.12.0.4.4.0. 333.2193.1j8j2j1.12.0...0.0...1ac.1.hBMHX3qGCzk
Home dehydrated meals are the BEST! Following the interest in pasta, here is interesting link for basics w/pics...http://dehydratingwaybeyondjerky.blogspot.com/2012/12/why-in-world-would-you-dehydrate-cooked.html