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Freeze-Dried Food for Backpacking
by Rita Raffanti
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Overview
When you're backpacking, it's very important to pack as light as possible. Packing freeze-dried meals is the easiest way to enjoy tasty food on the trail without carrying extra weight.
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History
A type of freeze drying was used by the ancient Incas of Peru in the Andes Mountains, and is still used today by the indigenous peoples of Peru, Bolivia and Chile. They prepared freeze-dried potatoes, called "chunyo," by spreading their potatoes on terraces high in the mountains to freeze overnight, then thaw out in the morning. At noontime, barefoot men, women and children walked on them to squeeze out the excess moisture from the potatoes, then they were dried out again in the afternoon. They continued this process for two to three more weeks, until the potatoes looked like dry, grey stones. Chunyo will keep for as long as four years.
In 1938, the Nestle Company invented freeze-dried coffee called Nescafe, which led to other companies developing similar products.
Freeze-dried fod was further developed by NASA space programs for their astronauts to eat in space.
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The Process
After fresh or cooked food has been checked for purity and contamination, it is flash-frozen and placed in a vacuum chamber as cold as -50 degrees Fahrenheit. Ninety-eight percent of the moisture present in the food is siphoned off by evaporating the ice with low-level heat so the ice doesn't revert to liquid. The food is then immediately sealed in special oxygen-and-moisture-proof packaging to retain its freshness until it's opened. When water is then added to the product, the food's original appearance, aroma, flavor and texture is restored.
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Benefits
Cleanup is minimal. Just roll up the container and outer foil package, and put it in your backpack or the trash bag you should be carrying with you. It's a good idea to bring along some wet towelettes to clean your pot and wipe off your utensils.
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Uses for Backpacking and Camping
Freeze-dried foods are easy to prepare on the trail. All you need is a portable camping stove, water, a pot to cook it in, and utensils to eat it. Most freeze-dried meals have their own containers and are ready to eat in about five minutes. Add just a little water at a time. Too much water and you could end up with lasagna soup.
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Manufacturers
Mountain House, a division of the company Oregon Freeze Dry, Inc., is the most popular brand and has produced delicious-tasting freeze-dried backpacking food since 1963. Another brand, Backpacker's Pantry, has organic and vegetarian dishes. Outdoor stores like REI carry various brands of freeze-dried meals.
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Tips and Warnings
If there is a reliable water source available where you camp, be sure to bring a water filter or Aqua Mira drops to purify the water.
If you're backpacking in warm weather, don't bring foods that will melt, like chocolate. In cold, freezing weather, energy bars can be very hard to chew.
Single-serving packages of prepared freeze-dried meals are more expensive than multiple-person packages. The 20-oz. meals for two persons are just enough to feed one person, and a four-person (40 oz.) meal pack will feed two or three.
If you're preparing a packaged meal with rice, cut open a bag of instant boil-in-bag rice and add it to the meal container. Add water to the meal (a little more than usual to accommodate the extra rice) and cook for the specified time. Adding the extra rice will stretch out the portion size.
Freeze-dried meals are sometimes not specific enough as to how much water to add to rehydrate the meal. Start with a little, then add more until it has the consistency you want.
