View Full Version : Dehydrating Pasta
Tuckahoe
08-31-2009, 11:07
Been reading the various posts and threads as well as watching You Tube videos regarding backpacking food. I have a few questions regarding pasta and what works best.
First, does it work to cook up pasta, sause and meat together, and then dehydrate? Or is it better to dehydrate them separately and put them together when cooking on the trail?
Which pasta types work the best? Particularly elbows, rotelle, rotini and the like. Also has anyone tried anything like ravioli or tortellini? Or is it best to just use the dried tortellini?
Thanks
Farr Away
08-31-2009, 11:33
The best pasta to dehydrate are small shapes. The one I like the best is the 7 oz bags of shells I found in the Mexican food section at WalMart. They're smaller than the shells I found in the regular pasta section.
I dehydrate pasta separate from sauce or meats. I usually end up using tuna or chicken pouches rather than dried, although I do use some dried canned chicken. It's a little chewy when it's rehydrated; I may have dried it too much.
Re: your first question. I don't know if it is "better" as that depends. If you want the pasta to be more versatile for use in many recipes, then cook/dry separate. If you want a meal with sauce etc... then cook/dry it together. One note: some meats rehydrate better than others.
re: your second question, elbows and rotini work great. I have had success with angel hair and spaghetti but the drawback of those "shapes" is packaging them. They end up getting broken into tiny bits in order to not have a mass that will puncture the baggie. YMMV.
As an aside there are some who have been experimenting, apparently successfully, with cooking raw dried pasta in the field without the need for draining. Here is one such article: http://www.paddling.net/sameboat/archives/sameboat507.html
Dicentra
08-31-2009, 12:45
I do it seperately, but I do my pasta in big batches, then add stuff to it...
It works both ways.
One thing to add. The benefit of cooking/drying pasta and sauce together is that the process allows for the flavor of the sauce to enter into the pasta. This can also be accomplished in other ways during the rehydration process, but the longer the ingredients are cooking together the better. The same concept shows up with cooking/drying a whole dish vs just separate ingredients. The process allows flavors to "meld". If you have ever had lasagna, or chili, etc... the next day and commented how it tasted better as leftovers you can relate. That doesn't mean that just rehydrating ingredients that were cooked separately won't make a good dish, it is just a bit better when the flavors get the chance to cook together. Thus, if you know you want something specific and the time/process fits your schedule you will benefit. The easiest way to accomplish this is to just dry your leftovers from dinner! I do both.
Jonnycat
08-31-2009, 16:02
I use a shape called "Ditalini", which is a short straight section of a tubular pasta (L=3/8", ID=1/8", OD=1/4"). I cook this to just before al dente, cool, rinse, and dehydrate it until it is well past bone dry.
As for sauce, it gets made in the freezer bag when I add the boiling water (Freezer Bag Cooking technique). I find it easier to dehydrate the component parts in bulk (beef, chicken, pasta, veggies) seperately, then scoop them out by volume into each individual freezer bag, and it tastes fine to me.
Sauce (tomato-based type) consists of dehydrated tomato paste, cooked and dehydrated hamburger (I start with the 4% fat type), cooked and dehydrated veggies, parmesan, olive oil, and a little bit of the spaghetti flavoring that comes in the pouch.
Non-tomato based sauce, is dehydrated canned chicken, cooked and dehydrated veggies, olive oil, Knorr four cheese mix (comes in a pouch, like the alfredo mix), and parmesan.
I keep the shapes small - faster rehydration time that way.
As for which way, it depends, I like both ways. Presauced you have an instant meal. OTOH, having a massive bag of ready to go plain pasta is nice, I love pasta with just olive oil, herbs and Parmesan for dinner. Quite tasty!
PS: Undercook your pasta by 2 to 3 minutes before dehydrating. It finishes cooking when rehydrating.
Jonnycat
08-31-2009, 16:34
*clarification on the olive oil I mentioned*
I don't add the olive oil until just before I eat (after everything is "cooked"; otherwise I find it can impair the ability of the dried ingredients to properly rehydrate.
Tuckahoe
08-31-2009, 19:36
re: your second question, elbows and rotini work great. I have had success with angel hair and spaghetti but the drawback of those "shapes" is packaging them. They end up getting broken into tiny bits in order to not have a mass that will puncture the baggie. YMMV.
That is exactly what I was thinking. From what I have seen, spaghetti basically gets broken up into small pieces. Still tastes the same, but for some reason, little bits of spaghetti has little appeal. I also like three color rotini. I guess I am going to have to experiment with some rotini, sause and beef.
For dehydrated pasta, what generally is the ratio of pasta to water when rehydrating?
Finally anyone try a variation on spaghetti carbonara?
That is exactly what I was thinking. From what I have seen, spaghetti basically gets broken up into small pieces. Still tastes the same, but for some reason, little bits of spaghetti has little appeal. I also like three color rotini. I guess I am going to have to experiment with some rotini, sause and beef.
For dehydrated pasta, what generally is the ratio of pasta to water when rehydrating?
Finally anyone try a variation on spaghetti carbonara?
The best part of experimenting is the testing of the results! I got some southwestern flavored orzo shaped pasta from a local pasta maker I can hardly wait to try.
Ratio? I don't measure it. I just cover the pasta with water and heat. Sometimes I need to add more water, but you get used to just how much after a while.
I did try a carbonara variation at one time using powdered eggs. It was ok. If I tried it out in the woods it might have tasted great. Everything tastes better out there.
warraghiyagey
08-31-2009, 19:50
As long as we score more points than the other team we have a good chance of winning. . .
If I am just rehydrating pasta (not with sauce on it) I cover it. Think 2 parts water to 1 part pasta. I can then use the leftover water to mix in a dry sauce if I want or just drain it off. If it has sauce on the dry pasta I tend to do 1:1 ratio with a little extra (and I save a bit more water behind in my kettle so I can add more for the sauce if needed.)
Blissful
08-31-2009, 22:04
I've just carried pasta like angel hair seperately that cooks up very fast and dried the sauce to reconstitute.
Dicentra
09-01-2009, 02:20
If I am just rehydrating pasta (not with sauce on it) I cover it. Think 2 parts water to 1 part pasta. I can then use the leftover water to mix in a dry sauce if I want or just drain it off. If it has sauce on the dry pasta I tend to do 1:1 ratio with a little extra (and I save a bit more water behind in my kettle so I can add more for the sauce if needed.)
Ditto that.
I usually am making tea or something to go along with dinner, so I always end up with extra water anyway. "water to cover" is usually how I go with my meals, which works out to about 1:1 (sauce/pasta combined in freezer bag)
Smaller shapes also tend to work better. Here's one from my last trip. The sauce is vegetable bullion-artichokes-lemon and chicken. After rehydrating I stirred in olive oil and parmesan cheese. YUM!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2523/3843060132_ee3187d754.jpg
JaxHiker
09-02-2009, 08:34
Just packaged some vermicelli this morning. Smaller pasta would be nice as this tends to poke the bag.