FBC Freeze dried or dehydrated?

[Gypsyphoenix]

I'm going to do freezer bag cooking on my up coming trip. I was wondering what experience people have had in using freeze dried vs dehydrated fruits or veggies?

[Farr Away]

Freeze dried will re-hydrate a little easier and will be closer to fresh once re-hydrated. I use 2 to 3 tablespoons for a dinner. Freeze dried is more expensive typically. I'm unaware of any way to home freeze-dry something - the equipment needed is too expensive.

After veggies are dried, I powder them in a blender. Then I use a tablespoon or so in my dinners. Powdered, the veggies re-hydrate better. Dried fruit is good without re-hydrating.

[Grinder]

I agree. Freeze dried is closer to fresh, it also rehydrates better.

AND it cost an arm and a leg compared to dried. It's the reason Mountain House dinners cost so much. They are better.

But, you and I can't freeze dry (as far as I know). We can dehydrate. With a little practice, we can make our own tasty trail food.

[Just Bill]

Gypsy- I strongly recommend anyone getting into this to order this- http://www.amazon.com/Harmony-House-.../dp/B00ABW9BUC Freeze dried food is available, but often double or more in price. (you can see some of them in the "also bought items". This kit will give you a nice assortment of basics to work with. Go to the grocery store and pickup- Quinoa, Millet, Quick cook rice, quick cook barley, and even Ramen. IF you are good with seasonings handle that from your kitchen, if not, then pick up some bullion cubes in a few flavors (or use the ramen packets). A basic mix- 1/2 cup grain, 1/4 cup veggies, 1/4 cup beans, seasoning or bullion. You can get chicken, tuna, spam, and other meats if you like in foil packages to add to the meal. Sunflower seeds, pine nuts, sundried tomatoes all make excellent "seasonings" too. Those portions are thru-hiker sized, so will feed two for a weekender (or just half them to experiment with flavors or portion. While you're at it, Quick cook rolled oats, Nido (powdered milk), and some diced fruit of your choice can be played with to make a few different breakfasts. Cinnamon, nutmeg, raisin and sunflower seeds are good breakfast items too. Bob's red mill makes a good Museli cereal if you prefer cold breakfast. As your skill grows (and you find you actually like taking the time and energy to prepare your own food) then invest in dehydrator and make your own. ONE CAVEAT- Pure freezer bag cooking can be tough with dehydrated foods. I find presoaking in a Ziploc Twist-loc, then cooking, then dumping it back to the container to finish a good technique. http://www.antigravitygear.com/cozy-collection.html If you want pure "water in bag" cooking with no crunchies then you will likely have to go freeze dried and limit your grain choices, but you may find having good whole grains, variety, and lower cost outweigh the hassle.

[Rasty]

Some ingredients are only commercially feasible for hiking if Freeze Dried, such as cooked beans, broccoli or green onions. Freeze dried fruits are very different from dehydrated and both have separate ways to he used.

[Just Bill]

Beans- from dried- put in crock pot with double the required water to soak. Soak overnight on warm or low setting. Finish cooking on stove or in crock pot until beans are "al dente" so they don't get too mushy. Dump them right on the dehydrator tray and spread with a bit of extra room. They dry (mostly) intact and rehydrate well. Broccoli- buy frozen and already cut up- dump it right on the trays without thawing. Both come back with an hour or two soak in water, "cooking" bringing the whole mix to a boil then transferring to a cozy for 5-10 to finish.

[Gypsy"04"]

What I don't understand is why people think that FBC is so difficult. Other than what I pick up fresh, most of my meals are foods that I dehydrate myself. I use a lot of hamburger or tuna helper as a starter, just cook the noodles the way you want them and then dry them. I carry baggies of dried broccoli, dried shaved carrots, dried scallions, and dried tomato. I also have all kinds of dried beans, which I make by simply opening a can of beans and dehydrating them. I also carry extra noodles and instant potatoes. Having said that, I can make a gourmet meal simply by adding what I want in a bag, add boiling water, put it in a cozy for 10 minutes, and I have a great meal every day. As for the tuna helper, used non-dairy creamer for the milk, and mix it in a separate snack baggy with the flavorings. I can have a nutritious meal every day for about a $1.50. Experiment! I use a wood stove all winter, so I'm always drying something, like apple slices or beans, noodles, etc. During the summer and fall, I dry what comes from my garden with a home-built solar dehydrator. Believe me , it's not that hard.

[Gypsy"04"]

Oh, one more thing. You can buy hamburger as it's about to go out of date, take it home, cook it to where it's small crumbles, rinse all the fat off of it, and dehydrate it. I have some I dehydrated 5 years ago and it's still good.

[Another Kevin]

Yeah. Nothing easier than FBC.

I think the issue is that a lot of us FBC people like to eat well, so we pack a greater variety of food - not just ramen, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and Mountain House. (In fact, you likely won't catch me eating any of the above!) Which makes people think you have to know how to cook.

Dried vs freeze-dried - both good, but you handle them a little differently. If I have sun-dried tomato along, I'll toss it with hot pasta, reconstituted dried vegetables (throw them in the freezer bag with a little bit of the water you're about to boil the pasta in), garlic, herbs, olive oil, grated cheese and most likely soppressata or pepperoni. If I have freeze-dried tomato powder, I'll FBC a real tomato sauce (dried onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic, herbs) and serve that up over pasta hybrid-cooked in the pot.

Similarly, dried fruit always is like raisins, or if you reconstituted it, it's like stewed prunes. (Consider the difference between stewed prunes and fresh plums, and you'll understand the idea.) Dried fruit, reconstituted, works nicely for dried-fruit muffins (reconstituted with cold water in a freezer bag), or served warm (the same, pour off the cold water and pour on hot - or even better, throw in a spot of something alcoholic - rum, brandy, bourbon all work well). If it comes out sloppy, serve it on graham cracker crumbs. From freeze-dried fruit, lemonade mix, and the same biscuit mix that makes the muffins, on the other hand, I can steam-bake a pretty convincing cobbler. Or just let freeze-dried fruit sit in cold water in a freezer bag overnight and it's a fruit cup to go with breakfast. Or of course, both dried and freeze-dried fruits are good for eating out of hand. (So are a fair number of dehydrated vegetables: peas, kale, and such.)

Reconstitute dried cabbage, carrots, onions, and peppers in just enough cold water to cover, starting a couple of hours before dinner. Just before dinner, pour off excess water, and add vinegar, oil and hot sauce - it's a passable kimchi.

Reconstitute a mixture of instant rice and dehydrated lentils in a freezer bag. Make a quick curry with dried mango and dehydrated veggies (pack spices and a thickening agent in a snack-sized bag at home) and pour it over the reconstituted rice and lentils - dal bhaat tarkari - it's what keeps the Sherpas going! Make it a chicken (from a pouch) or fish curry if you're so inclined.

[rocketsocks]

Yeah. Nothing easier than FBC.

I think the issue is that a lot of us FBC people like to eat well, so we pack a greater variety of food - not just ramen, Kraft macaroni and cheese, and Mountain House. (In fact, you likely won't catch me eating any of the above!) Which makes people think you have to know how to cook.

Dried vs freeze-dried - both good, but you handle them a little differently. If I have sun-dried tomato along, I'll toss it with hot pasta, reconstituted dried vegetables (throw them in the freezer bag with a little bit of the water you're about to boil the pasta in), garlic, herbs, olive oil, grated cheese and most likely soppressata or pepperoni. If I have freeze-dried tomato powder, I'll FBC a real tomato sauce (dried onion, celery, mushrooms, garlic, herbs) and serve that up over pasta hybrid-cooked in the pot.

Similarly, dried fruit always is like raisins, or if you reconstituted it, it's like stewed prunes. (Consider the difference between stewed prunes and fresh plums, and you'll understand the idea.) Dried fruit, reconstituted, works nicely for dried-fruit muffins (reconstituted with cold water in a freezer bag), or served warm (the same, pour off the cold water and pour on hot - or even better, throw in a spot of something alcoholic - rum, brandy, bourbon all work well). If it comes out sloppy, serve it on graham cracker crumbs. From freeze-dried fruit, lemonade mix, and the same biscuit mix that makes the muffins, on the other hand, I can steam-bake a pretty convincing cobbler. Or just let freeze-dried fruit sit in cold water in a freezer bag overnight and it's a fruit cup to go with breakfast. Or of course, both dried and freeze-dried fruits are good for eating out of hand. (So are a fair number of dehydrated vegetables: peas, kale, and such.)

Reconstitute dried cabbage, carrots, onions, and peppers in just enough cold water to cover, starting a couple of hours before dinner. Just before dinner, pour off excess water, and add vinegar, oil and hot sauce - it's a passable kimchi.

Reconstitute a mixture of instant rice and dehydrated lentils in a freezer bag. Make a quick curry with dried mango and dehydrated veggies (pack spices and a thickening agent in a snack-sized bag at home) and pour it over the reconstituted rice and lentils - dal bhaat tarkari - it's what keeps the Sherpas going! Make it a chicken (from a pouch) or fish curry if you're so inclined.

Didn't know if you saw this, it seems it's still free, but won't be for long...

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Drying-De...dp/B009OY4GDA/

[Two Speed]

What I don't understand is why people think that FBC is so difficult.

I suspect some people find FBC or cozy cooking difficult because it's different. For some people different is frightening.

Believe me , it's not that hard.

True that. In point of fact I find cozy cooking easier. Haven't scorched a pot since I started cozy cooking.

[Rocket Jones]

You're not limited to mains and sides either. Get an angel food cake, slice it up thin and throw it on the dehydrator. For my first day out I like to throw some cake crumbles into a small container with frozen strawberries. As the berries thaw the juice soaks into the cake and softens it up. A day or two later, make instant pudding and stir in more cake crumbles. Good for a sweet tooth.

[lilricky]

I like to cook cornbread, slice it into 1/2 inch slices, then cube each slice and throw it in the dehydrator. Goes great with dehydrated chili or soup mixes! Learned that one from packitgourmet.com.

[Another Kevin]

You're not limited to mains and sides either. Get an angel food cake, slice it up thin and throw it on the dehydrator. For my first day out I like to throw some cake crumbles into a small container with frozen strawberries. As the berries thaw the juice soaks into the cake and softens it up. A day or two later, make instant pudding and stir in more cake crumbles. Good for a sweet tooth.

That's an idea! I'd done freeze-dried berries with graham cracker or vanilla wafer crumbs, but hadn't thought of drying angel food cake. It would dry well - no oil to go rancid.

[HikerMom58]

I like Honeyville Farms freeze dried food. From experience I can tell you that the diced beef, chicken and yogurt bites are all good. It is a bit expensive.

[Farr Away]

I like to cook cornbread, slice it into 1/2 inch slices, then cube each slice and throw it in the dehydrator. Goes great with dehydrated chili or soup mixes! Learned that one from packitgourmet.com.

That sounds really good, and we usually don't finish a whole pan of cornbread before it starts to mold.

[Just Bill]

I made some zuchinni and Bell Pepper slices this weekend. Garlic salt, pepper, basil. Toss in a bowl and dry until crispy- great snack. Just as good as apple chips- like granny smith with cinnamon on them good- oh! You didn't try that- well you should. Soon.

[Wise Old Owl]

Here is my vote for FBC and practicing in the backyard... too cool.

[Grinder]

Just stopping by and caught Lilricky's cornbread trick. Good One !!!

A welcome addition to my chili con carne.

Thank You

[russb]

I do my own dehydrated like others. I have heard of the cake, and cornbread tricks before but have never done them. I hate eating out of bags even more than I hate carrying messy bags. Plus the clean dry ones which held my dried meals are somewhat reuseable for other things. Thus, when it comes to rehydrating my meals, I do like Just Bill except i don't soak in a twist loc. I put my meal in my pot and cover with some water. It pre-soaks while I do some other necessary chore (sometimes not). I then heat to a boil on a stove (or fire). Slower to a boil is actually better than superfast to reconstitute. When it comes to a boil, I remove it from the heat and let it sit. Doesn't need to sit for long if you bring to a boil slowly. Faster to boil means longer wait time. Then I eat. I clean by adding some water and swishing to get any bits left and drink the soup. A quick wipe and I am good to go. I sometimes make tea, coffee or cocoa afterwards too.