Posted: 3/27/2014 10:52:51 AM EDT
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We are planning another summer campout and last year it was a blast. About 10 miles of hiking and a secluded pond and 3 days just hanging out next to the fire and fishing.
Mountain House was my friend last year as far as ease of use and taste goes, but the sodium was a killer. Not terribly healthy and made me pee a lot. So this year I want to take all home packaged food and yesterday I made a big pot of chili, so I dehydrated some. I started with 1/2 cup and put it on the fruit rollup rack, it took about 6 hours to dry. The starting weight was 6 ounces, the dry weight was 3 ounces. I used a little too much water to cook it, but it tasted fine. Boiling water and then about 5 minutes of sitting with the lid on. The beans were a little mushier, but they had been cooked a few times at that point, so it was to be expected, tasted fine though. As the time draws closer I will start dehydrating and bagging meals as I cook them for supper every day. Then combined with the normal pack food like pasta, rice, peanut butter, pancake mix, and some other random stuff it should make for a tasty trip with a lot less salt. 
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My wife has been doing this. The only thing is if you're doing it over a period of time, put those packaged left-overs in the freezer when you finish dehydrating. Often times some of the oils don't dehydrate completely and even when sealed will go rancid over the long term.
We are getting geared up for our summer trips so our dehydrated is out and we make a double batch for the leftovers. Some items do best when soaked before adding hot water. We will often get to our campsite, add a little water and let it sit for the 30-60 minutes as we set up hammocks, get water, wash up, etc. With some water already absorbed, adding some boiling/hot water completes the hydration and it's fully ready to eat. ROCK6 |
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Quoted:
My wife has been doing this. The only thing is if you're doing it over a period of time, put those packaged left-overs in the freezer when you finish dehydrating. Often times some of the oils don't dehydrate completely and even when sealed will go rancid over the long term. Oils don't dehydrate (that means to remove water.) They go rancid due to a chemical reaction, usually with oxygen. Lower the temperature to slow the reaction, or use oxygen adsorbers to remove the oxygen. Longer term storage is going to need a oxygen barrier package like glass, metal or mylar |
| There is a member here that was experimenting with making his own Mountain House meals. Maybe someone can search the archives for you. I have the thread saved on one of my external drives, but it would probably be faster if you just asked on the board who it was... |
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Quoted:
I'm a little surprised that the weight was only reduced by 3oz. Are you sure it was thoroughly dried OP? Probably not, it was only 6 hours on the rack. However, I am sure it would be dry enough to pack for a few days. I make a lot of jerky and I usually keep one bag out on the counter for a week or so while we eat it, I freeze the rest though. I have had jerky that was almost 3 weeks old with no issues. |
