Pimp that meal: Adding extra taste to your freeze dried experience

How to pimp a freeze dried meal

 Most "Dirt Bag" long trail hikers exist on fairly dodgy food: soup powder, cous cous, rice, powdered potato, nuts and ramen noodles. This works but man does it get boring fast!

Tasty Ramen - good on day one....not so much on day 81!

   Using freeze dried meals is another option open to you - the problem, while light and convenient, these meals can be lacking in taste.  With a few choice additions you can make any freeze dried meal into food worth savouring.

Freezer bag or freeze dried?

When I am tramping I generally carry two types of dinner meal. The first is the home-made "freezer bag" type which I make from store brought ingredients. These consist of a carbohydrate with the addition of vegetables, protein, herbs and spices.

A selection of dehydrated freezer bag meals

Generally these require some "in pot" cooking time although it is possible to make meals that simply require hot water. I eat them straight from the bag or the pot. Ihese are great but they are also heavier and often more difficult to prepare at meal time.

I will be covering the preparation of these in a separate post.

 The second meal type is the ubiquitous freeze dried (FD) meal: you just add hot water and then wait for the meal to re hydrate.

 

The advantage of freeze dry meals is their low relative weight (less than 200gms) and the ease of preparation which negates a whole lot of mess and bother at the end of a long day. Unfortunately, they can be costly and sometimes lack taste. 

A selection from the Backcountry Cuisine range

I'm a kiwi section hiker so my typical breakdown would be two home-made to one freeze dried meal. If the section was 5 days or more, when food weight becomes more of a factor, freeze dried meals will dominate.

Bagging up four days worth of tramping food

Buy in New Zealand or bring with you?

In New Zealand the two main freeze dried ranges are supplied by Backcountry Cuisine and the Outdoor Gourmet Company. These are available at outdoor stores and some supermarkets. 

Both companies produce a wide range of 1 and 2 serve meals including breakfast, lunch and dinner items. People will often tell you these rival products are different, i.e. one is better than the other, but in reality I cannot tell them apart.

Backcountry Cuisine Meal

The Outdoor Gourmet Company meal

Of course, you could just purchase some freeze dried meals and bring them with you. There will be a company in your country which produces freeze dried meals, check your local camping/outdoor stores. If you want to ship them to New Zealand you should check with the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) first to if they are allowed here.

Adding extra taste to your freeze dried meal

 I'm sure most of us have tasted a freeze dried meal before, they are OK but not what you would call 5 star cuisine. The solution: add ingredients to "pump up" that taste!

Jon at Mid Robinson Hut, 2015, with pimped freeze dried meal in hand

Obviously, anything you add to this type of meal needs to be pre cooked, dried and or freeze dried as well. The idea is to add items that will increase the flavour of your meal while still minimising weight and size.  

Salt, pepper, herbs and spices

 Freeze dried meals have a high salt content but given the amount of sweat you expend tramping adding a touch of salt to improve taste is acceptable. Taste your freeze dried  first as some are much saltier than others.

 Pepper is a great addition to any meal and adds a complex depth of flavour. I generally carry the small sachets of salt and pepper from take out restaurants, one of each per day used sparingly.

Salt n' Pepper alright!

A touch of dried curry powder, oregano, mint, coriander, chilli or your herb or spice of choice can add a blast of flavour to any meal.  Adding a good Tex-Mex mixture will maximise the taste of chilli and re fried bean meals.

Spice rack at the local supermarket...go mad!

I carry some small resealable bags with a selection of herbs and spices to add at meal time or you can staple your chosen mix in a small bag to the outside of the freeze dried bag.

Why not make a "spice tin" like the one in the photo below, less than 50 gms and a whole lot of added taste...

Small spice tin of a US hiker-

Remember weight is important and a little goes a long way with spices; dont go overboard.

Sauce it!

There are a bewildering array of sauces on the market that you can utilise, here are a few I have used:

 Tomato ketchup/sauce/HP is probably the most obvious type, a small takeaway sachet added to dehydrated tomato dishes will maximise the tomato flavour. I use the McDonald's packets because you always get a fist full of them with your McD's meal and never use them.  

Tomato paste sachets can also be used but the flavour is a lot stronger.

Good old Mickey D's ketchup!

Tabasco hot sauce will give your meal a hefty kick, it is especially good in stews and casseroles adding complexity to the taste as well as heat. I have a supply of miniature Tabasco bottles brought from an Asian food market but you can decant your hot sauce of choice into a lightweight plastic container.

Miniature Tabasco bottle

Soya Sauce is great with any Asian, rice or fish dish, I use the small "fish" shaped serves you get with sushi, again I found a supply of these in a local Asian food market.

Single use Soya "fish"

Worcestershire: I have taken to decanting Worcestershire sauce into a small plastic bottle as I find it adds great taste depth to any venison, beef or lamb meal. Worcestershire is a piquant fish based sauce with a hint of spice and a warm mouth fill, beautiful with all meat dishes.

Worcestershire Sauce

Muoc Nam or fish sauce is a salty additive which is vital in any South Asian recipe. Again it is best with Asian inspired meals but can be used in a wide range of situations for example to give Bolgnaise an unusual fusion taste, or to add another flavour level to stews and casseroles. 

Fish sauce I use

Don't spill this in your pack, my gawd it stinks, and it will stay there for years! 

Nuts & dried fruit

 Adding a handful of your nut of choice can add a nice crunch to any Asian, pasta or rice dish, including risotto. The nut flavour also brings out the inherent nutty taste of rice. I personally favour peanuts, cashews and almonds but any nut can be used.

A selection of nuts

A handful of dried fruit is a traditional essential in any North African inspired meal including tagines, lamb cassoulets and any cous cous based meal. Think raisins, sultanas, dates, dried apricots....

My homemade Moorish style cous cous salad with feta, raisins

  

Craisins (dried cranberries) will go well with any Venison or Chicken meal, they add an interesting sweet-sour note.

Ocean Spray craisins

Vegetables

 There is no reason you can not add vegetables to your freeze dried meal including your choice of fresh ones. There are a variety of dried and freeze dried vegetables commercially available which can be added to any meal. 

BCC make a freeze dried vegetable mix (as well as rice/potato/beef mince/cheese and egg) which can be added straight to any freeze dried meal. I know that Backpackers Pantry and Mountain House make similar products in the US.

 

A quick search of your local supermarket will yield dried onion/shallots, mushrooms, garlic, capsicum, peas, beans, olives and sun dried tomatoes. All of these, properly re hydrated, can be added to freeze dried meals. 

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

Don't forget fresh vegetables; a diced clove of garlic, some sliced ginger,  diced onion or capsicum, freshly sliced mushrooms, carrots and celery can all add a touch of class to your meal.

Preparing vegetables for the dehydrator

Onions and garlic will last a long time in your pack. Do not go overboard with the fresh vegetables as the fresh varieties are heavy.

Extra protein

 If you want to add extra protein to a freeze dried meal then go ahead. The downside is that adding any form of protein that is not dried will add considerably to the weight of that that meal. Personally I I usually find freeze dried meals have more than enough protein already.

Jack Links Jerky is a good source of protein

Good sources include cheese, tuna or other oily fish, smoked meats (salami/jerky/bacon) and canned chicken and shredded ham. If you are going to use cheese a hard one such as Parmesan, Pecorino, Romano or aged Cheddar is best (they last longer) or some form of shelf stable processed cheese.

Olive oil

Long distance "through hikers" in the US and Europe swear by olive oil: they add it too everything. Olive oil is a rich source of fats and anti oxidants as well as tasting delicious.

A local brand of Olive Oil

 A tablespoon of oil added to a freeze dry can make that meal more unctuous as fat is one of the elements the freeze drying process removes.Carry it in a well secured small plastic bottle stored in an outside pocket as it will make a real mess if spilled inside your pack.

Milk powder

Milk powder will add to the creamy nature of many freeze dried meals, anything with a cheese or cream based sauce will benefit.

Full cream Anchor milk powder

Coconut cream powder is especially good for those who are Lactose intolerant as well as going well with Asian style meals. Make sure you add enough water to reconstitute the powder correctly.

A coconut milk powder available in New Zealand

What about crackers/potato chips?

If you are the kind of tramper who eats crackers/chips for lunch and you have some spare, break them up and add them to your dinner meal.

Leave some for dinner...

 Most if not all of these meals are soupy or stew like so anything that adds a crunchy texture is appreciated.

A note on serving size

Some people are happy to use the single serve meals, personally I find this is too small a portion for me. I always buy the two person serves as I find them more filling especially after a long hard day. You will need to decide which is best for you, a two serve will add an extra 50-75 gms to the weight.

Back Country meal sizes: 2 serve meal on left, 1 serve on right

Here is a breakdown of serving sizes:

Meal: Cottage Pie

Serving size                                        1                                              2

Net weight                                         90gm                                     175gms

Preparation                                        Add 250ml water                  Add 500ml water

Serving size (Reconstituted)             335gm                                   640gm                  

Alternately you can "bulk up" your single serve with some extra freeze dried rice, cous cous, tabbouleh or 2-3 dessert spoons of dehydrated potato flakes. Make sure you add extra water to allow these to hydrate fully.

What about some practical examples?

Here a couple of practical examples of how this works using meals from both Back Country Cuisine and the Outdoor Gourmet Company product lines.I have made all of these additions in the past.

BCC Chicken Tomato Alfredo: add olives, olive oil, diced sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms, salt and pepper

BCC Chicken Tomato Alfredo with added olives and tomatoes

BCC Morrocan Lamb: add pine and or peanuts, raisins, olive oil, dried mint/nutmeg, freshly diced garlic clove, salt and pepper (this is my current favourite BCC meal)

BCC Spaghetti Bolognaise: add diced garlic, tomato ketchup, olive oil, olives, freshly shaved Parmesan

BCC Creamy Carbonara: add sliced sautéed mushrooms, garlic, diced salami, olive oil, milk powder, salt and pepper

One of the OGC meals

OGC Lamb and Black Olives: add nuts, raisins, olive oil, dried mint, garlic salt and pepper

OGC Venison Casarecce with White Wine Sauce: Craisins, garlic, sliced mushrooms, salt and pepper

As you can see you could really go crazy with your additions the only limit is your taste buds and imagination. Just remember to keep the weight factor in mind as you could easily negate any weight savings by adding too much to your meals.