Dehydrated/freeze-dried camping food is nice for hiking, backpacking, or camping meals because you do not have to keep it cold to avoid spoiling.



While coolers/refrigerators may work well in some situations, ice or electricity isnt always available building dehydrated/freeze dried food very attractive. While removing the water helps preserve camping food it also has another benefit...

Camping, backpacking, or hiking food thats freeze-dried or dehydrated can reduce weight by sixty to ninety percent. If youre carrying a backpack or other hiking gear with a few days value of camping food and supplies this can build a BIG difference.

As with any prepackaged food you will most likely find most camping food portion/serving sizes extremely optimistic or after a long day of hiking...laughable. Im not sure who dreamed up the system but keep it in mind when youre buying it because otherwise you will probably be going hungry, or if youre carrying a pack all day you might even be undernourished.

Something else to keep in mind is the design of the container itself. The containers with corners may generate it difficult for the boiling water to mix with the camping food leaving dry spots. Also tall narrow containers generate it almost impossible to reach inside with a spoon without acquiring as messy as a two year-old, as you work your way down to the bottom. (A quick fix is to trim off the top as you eat.) And if youre a light eater or use them afterwards for trash some of the containers have a "ziplock" type of closure which can come in handy, if theyre not trimmed to ribbons. ;-)

Some camping foods might now be heated with a heating pouch by adding water to a chemical heating source. The advantage is theres no flame. The drawback is they weigh more than the pouch by itself and theres more trash to dispose of properly. So it might be better to just bring a small stove if youre backpacking.

Camping food offers tradeoffs. While it isnt usually gourmet that doesnt mean it has to be bad. After all a gourmet meal would build for a lot of more weight and inconvenience. Not my idea of a fun trip. The reason many people buy it is because its light, convenient, and it might provide a quick hot meal. As for taste...