Are you a boiler or cooker?

“Soup Starter sucks!! I recently discovered 'Soup Starter' as an option for light weight and easy cooking. Soup Starter is available in most grocery stores. I tried the first batch at home and could not have been more disappointed. I nearly gagged. I guess the dehydrated veggies were somewhat edible, but the seasonings were obviously developed in a Vomitorium.

Good Grief it was nasty.

burp”

“There is a company called BEAR CREEK that makes "instant" soup and chili. I have taken the chili bping ( i added dryed hamburger) and have had their cheesy brocolli and their potato soup at home. Very good! But they take 15-20 minutes of simmering to rehydrate well. I have rehydrated the chili in cold water for 3 hrs before hand, it was good after warming.”

“Had to visit the competing mega market yesterday for bulk rice and they had the Starkist tuna pouches in. Haven't opened one yet, but this sure looks promising for easy trail food.”

“I hate boiling, there is only one way to go and thats flame broiled. After a hard day of sacrificing chickens and goats who wants rehydrated food? I need something with substance,something grilled.”

“Pekka, the tuna in a pouch is very tasty try some and you will be pleased. Now as to the question of boil or cook I do both as it all depends on what I'm trying to do and the weather. In the summer its usually boil or no cook meals but in the winter, I cook there it nothing like stiring the pot over an open campfire (very small one as I can't afford anymore burnt and melted gloves) or a stove to put everyone into the right mood. I don't go out to rough it and winter meals, since its cold and you don't have to worry about food spoiling, can be elaborate. Such as bake stuffed flounder with scalloped potatoes and cherry cobler for dessert. I know to many people that don't cook because it takes planing but food is its own reward.”

“Boil baby, boil! Cooking is an inefficient & labour intensive way of consuming enough calories so that one doesn't keel over on the trail!

Spend all that otherwise occupied time hiking & exploring, you can always cook gourmet when you get home again... :-D”

“I love to eat.
I love to cook.
I HATE to clean-up!
So, on the trail, I'm a boil and pour gourmet.
Like Jerbear, I dehydrate some of my own meals but, I've found that some of the Low-sodium, pre-packaged, freeze dried stuff is really pretty good.
One of my favorites is red beans & rice - I'll re-package it in a zip-loc bag and add some jerky pieces, some dehydrated peppers and onions. When supper time comes, I set the zip-loc in a bowl (for support and because it gets really hot), add some boiling water and re-zip. When I'm done eating, the zip loc goes in my trash bag - no dishes to clean, no pots to scrub. Works for me.”

“boonierat, which low-sodium freeze-dried brands have you found? Much of the dehydrated/freeze-dried food seems so high-sodium.”

“Pekka - I buy a brand called "Fantastic". It is sold in the health food section of food stores. The sodium content is usually about 1/2 that of the regular brands. They look like those cup of soup things. They have things like beans & rice, chilis, polentas, and they also make instant potatoes in various flavors. It takes 2 of them to make a meal but, they only cost about $1.50 each.

Here in beautiful Central New York (the only place on this shiney earth that rivals the U.P. for lack of sunshine), they are sold in P&C stores.”

“Fantastic also packages some of their food in larger boxes that can be repackaged in zip locks. Their black beans plus some instant rice makes a fairly good just-add-boiling-water meal. Needs tabasco though.”

“don't you want extra sodium while hiking anyway?”

“I?m concerned about blood pressure, so lower sodium is better. I don?t believe that sodium causes blood pressure problems, but it certainly exacerbates them. Wait ?till you get old, my friend?”

“but you still have to worry about electrolyte loss”

“Boonie, I think I have seen those items before. Thanks for the tip, I'll give them a closer look. And a second to that "wait until you get old" advice.”

“Ken - Have never seen the big packages. I'll have to go looking. Thanks for the tip. You're right about the tabassco.

Deathmarch - NOBODY needs THAT much sodium!
Some of those meals have upwards of 1,000mg of sodium. I prefer the low sodium brands and replace electrolytes with Gatorade or something like that.”

“Boonie, they're 6, 7, 8 oz depending on the product. The box is rectangular, not cup shaped like the single serving sizes. Some of the products require simmering, and others, like the black bean example I gave, are add boiling water, sit five minutes, and eat.”