Posted: 10/10/2024 8:05:03 PM EDT
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Do you like them? I have had them from time to time. I keep some in the grub box in case I break down or get hopelessly stuck and I have to survive until someone finds me. I was up in the hills today and instead of opening a can of beans I had a chicken terriaki. Well I think I'll stick with pork and beans and canned peaches and the like. Even if I backpacked in I would have to carry so much water to rehydrate them that it really wouldn't save that much weight. Whats your thoughts on it? |
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This was Mountain House. I have had some before but the last couple times they just didn't taste right. I don't carry a measuring cup so maybe a little too much water but I just didn't care for it. The only ones I could find have 2 1/5 servings so I left some for the varmits. I have a lifesraw but the trick in these mountains is finding any water at all. |
WILL ROGERS NEVER MET JOE BIDEN
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Water is not in short supply where I normally backpack. I have around 500 freeze dried meals plus several dozen #10 cans. The majority is Mountain House but I also have 56 Turmat Real Meals - Norwegian freeze dried. Packit Gourmet Peak Refuel Alpine Aire Backpackers Pantry Good To Go Trailtopia Pinnacle Foods Some German and Dutch freeze dried meals from MREs. |
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Freeze dried meals are a crap shoot. I have found that experimentation is a must. And experimentation is expensive. I have tried maybe a couple dozen and have found that very few of them I would buy twice. This is expensive research, but necessary. If you're camped out and have been hiking and are exhausted, the last thing you want is a morale sink like a crappy meal. Another frustration is that some of the meals are not hard inventoried by the manufacturers. Sometimes a favorite, home run of a meal gets disappeared.  Most require more water than the instructions call for. Rule of thumb; add about 50% more water. Some meals that I like that you might try: Mountain House Chicken w/Mashed Potatoes Beef Stroganoff Italian Style Pepper Steak Chicken Fajita Bowl Lasagna w/Meat Sauce Spaghetti Chili Mac w/beef Pasta Primavera Alpine Aire Spicy Chicken Curry Spicy Sausage Bolognese Grilled Chicken w/Spinach Alfredo Pasta Peak Refuel Breakfast Skillet This is the only breakfast meal I would recommend. Generally speaking, in my experience, freeze dried eggs are a weak point in freeze dried meals. And unlike the above poster, I really, REALLY disliked Mountain House Biscuits and Gravy.  But your taste preferences are your own. Do your own research. And.......good luck!  ETA: Do what I do and write up a review for yourself after trying any FDM. It will be impossible to keep track of what you like if you don't write it down! |
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You'll have to try a few brands and different meals to find ones that you like. They aren't cheap. I personally like the Peak product line. Unless you're in the desert you should be filtering your water as you hike. There's no way to carry all of the water you need over multiple days. |
*post contains personal opinion only and should not be considered information released in an official capacity*
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| I bought a few new Mt. House meals. Fettuccine alfredo w/ chicken last week. Thought it was great. Gonna try buffalo mac & chz. w/ chicken next. I find Mt. House is one of the better freeze dried brands. Costco has Omeals on sale a lot. Wouldn't pay full price for them. They come with a heater, just add water. the portions are small. But they are good & enough for a lunch. good for a cold day in the deer blind. |
| I have found Thrive freeze dried foods to be the ultimate in quality, taste and selection. |
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| I haven't logged in in a while, thanks for all the replies. I will try out your suggestions. When I'm living out of the truck Is when I have enough water. No streams to speak of and the spings, if you know where they are, aren't the freshest you could imagine. I don't know why anyone would want to live here but I love it. |
WILL ROGERS NEVER MET JOE BIDEN
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I have found they taste a lot better when you have worked up a really good apetite. If i am hungry they are great. If i am just a bit peckish they arent very good. |
The mountains are calling, and I must go. -John Muir
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Originally Posted By tveddy: I have found they taste a lot better when you have worked up a really good apetite. If i am hungry they are great. If i am just a bit peckish they arent very good. If you have a choice between a sizzling steak and a Mt house meal, the Mt house is going to taste like shit. If the choice is between your friends thigh meat and Mt house, the Mt house is going to be delicious. The one thing I will say is if you know you will be using freeze dried foods, bring little bottles of seasonings. Plenty of old small plastic bottles can be repurposed and filled with your favorite seasonings and that can make all the difference between ''bleh'' and ''yum.'' |
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I'm getting down to the last box, the others have all been destroyed...
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Between the expense and generally unnecessary bulk of the packaging, I never use the stuff. I just buy the regular Knorr rice/pasta meals at the grocery store. It's the Easy Button when out on the road. With a bit pre-trip prep, a combination of stuff from a Mennonite and Asian markets can provide for more elaborate meals, while keeping weight down, and costs way down over specialty packaged stuff. If I recall, the Amish Cupboard store in Buena Vista, Virginia, ships. I'd tell thru hikers to take photos of the aisles, that way, as they get further up the trail, and want better quality stuff, they can just look at their photos, phone the store, and have the stuff shipped to a post office about a week further up the trail from where they place the call. As for water, even in environments where there is no water access, I will still go with add-water meals. You just have to really know your numbers ahead of time before you go in/up. Same thing goes even if your meals aren't add-water. |
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For me they make sense for keeping in the emergency kit in the truck. I have experimented with them for decades and have my preferences. Here are a few tips and tricks, many which have been posted above. 1. Don’t rely on FD meals alone. It’s expensive and gets old quick. 2. I always add at least 5 minutes to the rehydration time and if it has beans or rice I try and pre soak them while I am still on the trail. 2. Spices. Most FD meals need as Emril said “kicked up a notch”. In addition to the staples I often take Oregano, Basil, Old Bay, Garlic Salt and powder, Tobasco (and other sauces) lemon pepper, well pretty much anything you can imagine from the pantry. REi has some wonderful little containers which I then put in a zip lock bag just in case. 3. When it’s cold the FD bags can shed heat quickly. A trick I learned a king time ago from reading the latest edition of The Complete Walker by Chip Walker who took over for Colin fletcher is to make a little sleeve or “cozy” for the pouch out of a material called Refletix which is sort of a foil covered bubble wrap. Since they weig nothing I actually have 2. One is sized to take FD pouches and the other fits my largest trail cooking pot. They work wonders. 4. You have to experiment. Yes it costs. But anyone can spring for a couple of meals a year or so and expand from there. You also need to try the same meal from different manufacturers. Just because the ZXXXX meal from MH tasted crappy doesn’t mean that the same meal from Alpine Aire or Backpackers Pantry whine be amazing. 5. Supplement your FD meals with other stuff. Here are a few favorites of mine. Energy Bars Peanut butter. JIF now has it on squeeze tubes. I literally just shoot it right into my mouth. Soups. My all time favorite is Lipton Cup of Soup with Double Noodles. Great on a cold winter day at a rest stop and if you toss in a pouch of chicken from the grocery store it’s even better. MRE sides. A lot of camping and surplus stores have jut the assorted components and some of the cookies, bars and deserts are darn tasty and all high calorie. I usually have one stripped MRE in my bag just in case. Mashed potato pouches. Add a litte powdered cheese and powdered butter and they are a delicacy. Doubly so with Bacon Bits. Pouched meats. A lot of the meals need more protein. A pouch or two of chicken, ground beef or tuna tossed in really help. 6. Serving size. Most of the FD manufacturers are pretty optimistic about what a proper serving size. Just gone to grips now with the fact that you are either 2 people or in my case a family if 4. |