Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program Canoe Basics Canoe Camping Cooking - Freeze Dried Foods
Freeze-dried foods are popular with backpackers,
especially for feeding large groups on long expeditions and in difficult
conditions.
Shopping for a group paddling trip can be an
expedition in itself. You have to plan meals everyone will like and get
the quantities and ingredients just right. Most paddlers use a variety of foods in their meal
planning, including favorite recipes using foods available at the
supermarket. But for convenience in lightweight packages, nothing beats
freeze-dried food produced for paddlers. They're especially popular for
large groups, long expeditions, and difficult conditions. Here's why:
Long Expeditions:
Freeze-dried foods are lightweight. They're also packaged to last
(sometimes for years). Difficult Conditions: When
rain is falling sideways and eight hungry paddlers are clamoring for
dinner, do you really want to be messing around with chopping this and
sautéing that?
What About The Taste?
Old-timers might tell you that the meals used to
taste like cardboard and shoe leather, but do yourself a favor and put
the new generation of foods to the test. You'll find some of them quite
tasty.
Shopping Smart Convenience comes at a price, and these meals can be
expensive. However, a few tricks will help you get the most out of your
food-buying dollars. Rule 1: Buy in bulk. Instead
of spending full retail price on a large order, surf the Web for
discounts from Internet companies and mail-order houses.
Rule 3: Spend your dollars
where they count. There are lots of different types of inexpensive
breakfast and lunch foods available elsewhere. Dinner is where
freeze-dried meals shine in convenience and variety. Rule 4: Use a calculator to
figure out and compare the cost-per-ounce of bulk foods like cartons of
vegetables. Rule 5: Choose wisely. There's little advantage to buying freeze-dried macaroni-and-cheese or spaghetti-and-sauce, which can easily be assembled with supermarket ingredients. Instead, spend your money on sweet and sour Chinese shrimp or vegetarian chili—meals you probably couldn't make yourself on a camping trip.
Calculating Quantities Freeze-dried foods come in pre-measured sizes, but
you do need to calculate the right quantities. Each company packages its
products slightly differently. Mountain House, for example, offers small single-serving meals that make about 1 1/2 cups of cooked food. That can be enough for lunch, but probably not enough for dinner, when most hikers (especially hungry teens) easily wolf down the company's double package of two 10-ounce servings. Plan for about 2 1/2 cups of cooked food as a dinner serving for one person.
Consider Your Prep Time
Think twice about meals that require simmering. It's
not a process you want to be doing in foul weather—plus some backpacking
stoves do not simmer very well. On the opposite end of the spectrum are no-cook
meals that stew in their own pouches. You simply mix the ingredients
together, add boiling water, stir, then let the pouch sit while the meal
rehydrates. Hint: Set the pouch in a bowl
during this last step, because the pouches are too easy to knock over.
Nutrition
And why not throw in a novelty dessert or two?
Freeze-dried ice cream (Mountain House makes an ice cream sandwich)
isn't exactly the real thing, but at the end of the day, you're bound to
get applause for pulling that trail treat out of your pack!
Freeze Dried Food
Here's a few of the manufacturers and suppliers;
Dehydrated ingredients from spices to beans
and vegetables to meat bits are available in bulk from
Adventure Foods
LDP Camping Foods offers a wide selection of foods
from all major makers at low prices. Discounts for frequent buyers are
available. (800) 826-5767.
What's the difference
between freeze-dried and dehydrated food? Freeze-drying: Food is rapidly frozen then
placed in a strong vacuum. 98 percent of moisture in the food is
removed as vapor through sublimation. Freeze-drying uses low heat
and causes little damage to the tissue, taste or aroma. Products
easily reconstitute and more closely resemble the taste and texture of
the pre-dried food. The process is time consuming and requires
large, expensive machinery. Dehydration: Heat is applied to a food,
removing the moisture through evaporation. This is the preferred
drying method for some foods, including onions, peppers and tomatoes.
Dehydration is a lower cost method and results in a more compact
product.
What's The Shelf Life Of Freeze Dried Food?
Each product is "best by" date coded -- generally 3
or more years from date of manufacture. See brand
variations in the table below. Expected shelf life is
set by the manufacture and is based on the ingredients, drying method
and packaging. Meals including shrimp, nuts or dairy
products have a shorter shelf life. Vegetables,
fruits, meat, grains and beans can last significantly beyond the typical
three years. Oxygen, moisture, light and heat are food's enemies. Good packaging controls the first three factors. Storing your packaged food in a cool pantry will further extend it's life. In the freezer, packaged dried food can last decades!
Freeze Dried Foods Shelf Life ~7 yrs Mountain House ~4 yrs AlpineAire ~3 yrs Backpacker's Pantry, Natural High, and Richmoor ~2 yrs Adventure Foods , Cache Lakes ~1 yr Enertia Trail Food
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