Being a life-long outdoorsman, backpacker, mountain biker, and health-conscious minimalist, I was somewhat disappointed after reading the following article.
Can we really not figure out how to preserve healthy, great tasting food for a car camping or backpacking trip in the year 2019?
Complaints ranged from, "...needs more salt." from one taster testing a low sodium meal, to, “No, thank you, it smells really bad, like chemicals, and I don’t want to eat this." Some meals had good taste, but scored poorly in texture or cook time, while others were loaded were sodium, preservatives, MSG and sugar.
While I do not own a company that manufactures backpacking meals, I have done my share of freeze drying, vacuum bagging and canning over the years. Salt is not required as a preservative when food is dehydrated or freeze dried. Further, the sodium is significantly concentrated by dehydrating a salty food, such as ham, sending the salt per serving off the charts.
Freeze drying is the preferred method to preserve freshness, eliminate sodium and other preservatives, whilst retaining all nutrients, when compared to pre-cooking or dehydrating. Yet, only one brand in the OJ test used a freeze drying process to make their meals, IIRC.
I would be interested in hearing your strategies for short term food preservation; the idea of making something shelf stable for 2 - 30 years is patently absurd to me. Who keeps backpacking meals for 2 or 3 years? You buy them, go camping and they are gone in a few months. This alone should eliminate all preservatives and additives, IMO. It's just part of trip planning.
Alternative brands to the ones reviewed in the article above would also be of interest. I have used Packit Gourmet meals for years, and while the ingredients are quality, the sodium is still a bit high for my tastes, so I try to limit my use of them on trips.
Other options are Wise Foods, Fish People Seafood, Bertrand (GER), Back Country Cuisine (NZ) and Adventure Menu (CZ).
Feedback on preservation methods or top-of-the-range brands would be appreciated. A focus on preservative and additive free meals, with fresh, quality ingredients gets bonus points. Double bonus points are awarded for vegetarian, vegan, keto or other "whole food" based diet options. I do not eat salt and MSG at home, so why would I eat them on a 10 day backpacking trip?
Cheers
The Best Backpacking (Shelf Stable) Camp Meals - Expedition Portal
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Overland Journal, Fall 2019. I can still remember the smell of the horse shashlik, a tub of meat and indecipherable seasonings that we pulled from a freezer in the remote Russian village of Kosh-Agach. The only way I knew it was horse meat...
expeditionportal.com
Can we really not figure out how to preserve healthy, great tasting food for a car camping or backpacking trip in the year 2019?
Complaints ranged from, "...needs more salt." from one taster testing a low sodium meal, to, “No, thank you, it smells really bad, like chemicals, and I don’t want to eat this." Some meals had good taste, but scored poorly in texture or cook time, while others were loaded were sodium, preservatives, MSG and sugar.
While I do not own a company that manufactures backpacking meals, I have done my share of freeze drying, vacuum bagging and canning over the years. Salt is not required as a preservative when food is dehydrated or freeze dried. Further, the sodium is significantly concentrated by dehydrating a salty food, such as ham, sending the salt per serving off the charts.
Freeze drying is the preferred method to preserve freshness, eliminate sodium and other preservatives, whilst retaining all nutrients, when compared to pre-cooking or dehydrating. Yet, only one brand in the OJ test used a freeze drying process to make their meals, IIRC.
I would be interested in hearing your strategies for short term food preservation; the idea of making something shelf stable for 2 - 30 years is patently absurd to me. Who keeps backpacking meals for 2 or 3 years? You buy them, go camping and they are gone in a few months. This alone should eliminate all preservatives and additives, IMO. It's just part of trip planning.
Alternative brands to the ones reviewed in the article above would also be of interest. I have used Packit Gourmet meals for years, and while the ingredients are quality, the sodium is still a bit high for my tastes, so I try to limit my use of them on trips.
Other options are Wise Foods, Fish People Seafood, Bertrand (GER), Back Country Cuisine (NZ) and Adventure Menu (CZ).
Feedback on preservation methods or top-of-the-range brands would be appreciated. A focus on preservative and additive free meals, with fresh, quality ingredients gets bonus points. Double bonus points are awarded for vegetarian, vegan, keto or other "whole food" based diet options. I do not eat salt and MSG at home, so why would I eat them on a 10 day backpacking trip?
Cheers
