I experienced first-hand the value of dehydrated food on a recent trip to Woodland Caribou.  Light, easy to use, tasty, and spoil-free. 

I am embarrassed to say that I have owned a food dehydrator for years.  It's never too late: now I'm intent on using it to create at least two simple meals using dried ingredients for next canoe season. 

I'm looking for lots of info!  How to dry?  Then, how to use in a recipe.  What's your favorite meal made from home-dried ingredients?

prouboy

I don't want to send folks away from QJ but  for this issue there is a terrific thread on bwca.com

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Great link. Thanks!

prouboy

You might also find some good info on backpackingchef.com.

I'm not much farther along the experience curve than you are, but here are a few things I've learned that they don't seem to tell you in the "standard sources":

(a) Everything dehydrates well, as long as it contains almost no fat or oil, and anything solid (meat, veg) is cut into small bits: shreds or small thin pieces (think 1/2" length of popsicle stick) for meat, tiny dice for veg. Smaller pieces rehydrate faster, but I like the pieces of food to be big enough to taste separately :)

(b) For meat-in-sauce type dishes, I find it easiest to cook the dish the way you normally do, let it cool, then pick out the meat chunks and slice them into dehy-size. Dry the meat and sauce separately, then recombine.

(c) Cooked rice and lentils (any kind) are especially good dehydrated.

(d) Preparing a good dehydrated meal is time consuming (just like preparing any good meal) so plan ahead! Buy stuff when it's on sale, cook extra quantities of meals, and dry them for later. When summer rolls around and you need a couple of weeks supply of dehy food, you won't have time to do all the cooking and drying.

For recipes, Mexican and East Indian cookbooks are good places to look, but you can find ideas in many other places too. Pasta with "real" tomato sauce (home dehy) is so much better than store-bought you'll never go back. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Good info from all.
J_S is right about the taste over most commercial products.
One thing I've learned is that it's a good idea to try your initial effort at home before taking on a trip.
Sometimes things don't come out as you might think they will. ;D
Don't be afraid to experiment and once you know the basics, you can adapt just about favorite recipe if you are open to substituions and willing to experiment.

I take cheap can pasta sauce, spice it up at home, and dry into "leather" at home. I also like taking small chunks of whatever left-over fish you have on hand and adding to sauce for a few minutes before pouring over pasta.
Makes a very flavorful addition.

Joe_Schmeaux wrote on Sep 2^nd, 2013 at 6:37am:

You might also find some good info on backpackingchef.com. (a) Everything dehydrates well, as long as it contains almost no fat or oil, and anything solid (meat, veg) is cut into small bits: shreds or small thin pieces (think 1/2" length of popsicle stick) for meat, tiny dice for veg. Smaller pieces rehydrate faster, but I like the pieces of food to be big enough to taste separately :) (b) For meat-in-sauce type dishes, I find it easiest to cook the dish the way you normally do, let it cool, then pick out the meat chunks and slice them into dehy-size. Dry the meat and sauce separately, then recombine.

Joe_
I think I'd like to try chili (with hamburger) for my first dehydrated meal.  So I should dehydrate the meat separately, but cook the chili sauce then dehydrate it?

prouboy

Puckster wrote on Sep 2^nd, 2013 at 6:16pm:

So I should dehydrate the meat separately, but cook the chili sauce then dehydrate it?

Yes, fry up the ground beef + bread crumbs and dehydrate it. Depending on how you make your chili, you can either dehydrate the sauce and add it to the ground beef "gravel", or dehydrate the sauce ingredients separately (bell peppers, tomatoes, cooked beans) and add them to the beef.

Make sure you read the directions for dehydrating ground beef first! If you don't start with ultra lean ground beef (<5% fat), you have to do some extra work to remove all the fat.

The backpacking chef chili recipe isn't bad:
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Here is how I make my chili and corn bread.    (You need to Login or Register
Tastes GREAT!

backpackingchef.com is a great site for dehydrating info. I use ground venison for most of my dehydrating and adding bread crumbs makes a hugh difference when rehydrating.

A new favorite from our Quetico trip this year was burritos. Cook the meat and bread crumbs, add the burrito seasoning packet and refrained beans and cook per the packet instructions. Spread it on dehydrator trays and dry it till it's crunchy. It rehydrates back to almost exactly the way it started. Spread on a tortilla with some cheddar cheese and salsa packets from Taco Bell. Or dehydrate your favorite salsa at home. Delicious and very filling.

Pat

rlageman3 wrote on Sep 3^rd, 2013 at 1:25am:

A new favorite from our Quetico trip this year was burritos. Cook the meat and bread crumbs, add the burrito seasoning packet and refrained beans and cook per the packet instructions. Spread it on dehydrator trays and dry it till it's crunchy. It rehydrates back to almost exactly the way it started. Spread on a tortilla with some cheddar cheese and salsa packets from Taco Bell. Or dehydrate your favorite salsa at home. Delicious and very filling.

I've taken burritos on almost every trip for about the last 6 years.  I use ground sirloin (as lean as I can find)  and cook it with burrito seasoning before dehydrating.  (I don't use bread crumbs.)

Independently, I dehydrate salsa (I like a little more spice than usually found in the packets).  I also purchase dehydrated refried beans (Rosarita brand ... bought from Walmart, in a plastic pouch).  I typically add a little vegetable [olive] oil with water when re-hydrating to making them a little more creamy.

This season, I also took dehydrated chicken, a variety of veggies (peppers, mushrooms, ripe olives), fruit (apples, bananas, mangos), and sauces (pizza, spaghetti).

dd

Okay, now I'm thinking TWO meals on the next trip will be dehydrated, chili and burritos.  I wanted to get into this new world slowly...  But I've never been very patient!

prouboy

One of our favorite non-fish meals on trips has been a package of deluxe kraft macaroni and cheese (with cheese pouch) and a packet of tuna thrown in. 

Easy, filling, but HEAVY!!

Any of you dehydrators figure out how to dehydrate macaroni and cheese?  If so, I'd be very interested.

thanks much

prouboy

The dehydrator gets very busy in the weeks leading up to our annual trip. In addition to the burrito fixings I dried spaghetti sauce, apple sauce, apples, strawberries, bananas, jerky, mixed vegetables, and deli ham.  Also several pounds of ground meat for use in the spaghetti and Zatarin's dirty rice mix.

In the past I have dehydrated tuna and shrimp, but I was not really happy with how they rehydrated, and my wife was not happy with how they smelled.   >:(

Pat

Anything that's "oily", isn't going to dehydrate well.
For mac and cheese, I think I would go with partially cooking the pasta JUST before al dente and then dehydrating that.
I'd bring some suitable cheese, maybe the Baby Bell type wrapped in the wax covering.
Use powdered milk/with a dash of flour to make your sauce and grate cheese into the mix and blend at the campfire.
Then add the almost done dehydrated pasta and simmer until it's al dente.
I suppose you could rig a way to bake it over campfire as well.
Next trip I take, I'm bring some of that Laughing Cow cheese. They make some nice varieties.
I think you could make a "gourmet" version of traditional mac and cheese by substituting  few wedges of the LC for the grated cheese.
Bonus of the LC, is that you can use it for a garnish to other food items or lunch spread.
I'm a big believer in experimenting and thinking outside the box especially when cooking. ;)

My wife and I are very big on dehydrating.  It makes things so easy and light.  Pasta sauces are great to dehydrate.  Just make them up as you normally would and spread the finished product out on sheets (which you can buy or use parchment paper) and dehydrate.  You'll end up with something the consistency of a fruit roll up, which is easy to rehydrate for a quick and tasty meal.
ST is right about dehydrating oily stuff.  That being said we do it with caramelized onions, asparagus and a few other items.  Those things dehydrated with oil won't last for a long time, say a year, but will certainly last months.
This year I went to the cheese store and had all our choices (hard cheeses like gruyere, parmesan, emmental etc.) cut to 100 gram increments and then each one shrink wrapped separately.  It worked out really well.  None of the cheese went off and any oil was contained.
I wasn't so clever, however, with tortilla wraps.  I had them shrink wrapped four in each packet.  They stuck together and became inseparable resulting in a bread like substance of dwarf star density. Ah well, life is for learning.

I've found that tortillas keep well - easily 10 days.  I buy them in bags of 5-10.

Tortillas are a mainstay for almost everything we eat.  (Even egg rollups for breakfast.)  We had a "tortilla crisis" once where I wasn't monitoring until too late, and we had to do some creative scrambling to avoid running out of tortillas!  Since then I error on bringing in too many, and then I freeze any unopened packages.  On the advice of a grocer, I only buy the tortillas sold on the shelves, not in the coolers. 

prouboy

Quote:

I had them shrink wrapped four in each packet.  They stuck together and became inseparable resulting in a bread like substance of dwarf star density. Ah well, life is for learning.

I had that happen with some thin type whole wheat I used for roll-ups.
You mentioned the "fix" in your advice for doing pasta sauce "leather".
Put a piece of parchment paper between slices.
Even better, a piece of wax paper which you save in bag and use crumbled into balls as a firestarter. ;)

I cut the marinara sauce sheet of leather up with a pizza cutter om a cutting board.  Seemed to hydrate quickly that way.  Have read of people using a food processor to cut it up.

Okay, I know that this isn't a 'gear' thread but thought I'd ask anyway---any suggestions for a dehydrator?  I saw a photo of what Gavia packed in on one of his last trip reports and thought....I need to get back to this stuff! Looked at Excalibur and Nesco brands but open to suggestions...thanks in advance..

I have an Excalibur.  Absolutely fantastic.  Solid, well built and designed.  Everything they say it is and well worth the price in my opinion.

I have a Nesco, with two extra trays added to the "standard" model.

It wasn't very expensive and works fine in every respect.

Whatever you get, make sure it has a temperature control.

Most people recommend 700W as the minimum size (entry level). I have a 500W, and it's good enough for me, but only because I live in a very dry climate.

Kerry, JS - Thanks! Had same impressions of both of those models but had no idea about wattage requirements and potential impact on drying out certain foodstuffs. I live in a fairly humid climate and a better or higher functioning unit might be worth the extra cash....thanks again for the feedback!

I have a Nesco at 700 watts with fan - another important feature - and it's great.  About $70 at farm and fleet.  I know the Excalibur's do more at once and maybe faster, but for a one or two trips for 2 to 4 people a year, I could never justify the additional cost and don't miss anything.  Besides for 50 weeks a years in storage and two weeks on the kitchen counter, it's a lot more compact.  We're I dehydrating food for large groups and many trips a year, I'd probably get the Excalibur.

A bit off topic, but not too much: I just butchered a big spike buck, and have a pile of prime venison set aside for making jerky in my dehydrator! 

I've never been a jerky fan, but my family and friends love it.  This stuff disappears like a bucket of candy in a kindergarten class. 

prouboy

Quote:

with fan - another important feature - and it's great.

I have a DAK turbo dehydrator that I bought from Sharper Image years ago. I don't think they even make it anymore.

Lot's of good models out there driven by more and more people getting into dehydrating for a variety of reasons.

Whatever model you get, make sure it has a FAN.
Older models basically just had a heating element and to get the most efficiency out of them, you needed to flip thicker items ( jerky etc) which is a real pain.
The fan feature eliminates that as long as you don't crowd the trays.

  I also bought extra trays and when doing jerky of any kind, I put an empty tray between loaded trays. It seems to speed the dehydration process.

Biggest problem making homemade jerky is the smell as it's drying. Hard not to over sample. ;) ;D

...what does one do for needed dietary fat on extended trips to avoid cannibalizing your muscle mass and to provide longer term slow release energy , ,especially in the shoulder seasons?     :-?

a healthy mix of nuts could be one suggestion...they're tasty too!

knafelc wrote on Jan 3^rd, 2014 at 11:53pm:

cannibalizing your muscle mass

I usually gain at least 5 lbs and lose ~2" around my midsection on trips. Mine are slow burns I guess so my metabolism doesn't go back to 'norma'l for a couple months afterwards. When I was skinny, I'd shiver and shake at the slightest cold snap.

Hey, I was offered Packer tickets today. All I needed to say was thanks for thinking of me ... enjoy the game and thanks (edit) but no thanks.  :thumbup

I notice that Kessilring cooks bannock with lard, and a fellow who calls himself "Wintertrekker" on youtube cooks with olive oil to obtain the benefits of a slow, even energy release, and to temper the up and down energy delivery of carbs-  especially simple carbs like sugar.
   Of course bears will' just kill' for fat in cooler weather , so the old timers practice of carrying a quantity of bacon or salt pork (close your ears,Mountenpaddeler ;D) is probably not that great of an idea , besides it's heavy. Peanut butter can get pretty bulky, and the only available fatty fish in canoe country is lake trout, and good luck with always coming up with those.
   So if your out for 4-5 weeks, or longer, super skinny  is probably a given ? That's good if you're carrying extra weight like am these days, but after a point,  it's not.
   Whadaya think?

Quote:

So if your out for 4-5 weeks, or longer, super skinny  is probably a given ? That's good if you're carrying extra weight like am these days, but after a point,  it's not.    Whadaya think?

The "old timers" were right about the need for fats in long term conditions especially in the outdoors and if physically demanding environments.

Back then, fat was fat, but we now know that there are good and bad fats.

You live on a diet of saturated fat and eventually you'll pay the price health wise.
"Good" fat like the kind you find in nuts/ certain seeds (sunflower etc) and of course oily fish (Lakers).
is what you want.

Short term any kind of fat will help you stay warm in a pinch but if you want to optimize your health/longevity, you need to limit the "bad" fats, even though they taste great. Fats hold flavor and that's why bacon/cheese burgers, any high good/bad fat food smells and tastes so good.

The Inuk people survived for thousand of years eating a diet high in whale/seal blubber and heart disease/ most cancers/ diabetes was virtually unknown. Once introduced to "white mans " food, saturated fats/ processed sugar/ white flour/ simple carbs, they quickly developed the diseases that are all too common in most western fast food dominated societies.

IF your a fisherman and plan on an extended wilderness trip, where your pretty well assured of eating some kind of fish on a regular basis, then you have your "protein" needs covered, and IF it's oily type fish, you get some of those healthy fats/oils as well.

Protein is what you need for/sustain muscle mass and mental clarity.  Carbs simple (bad), complex( good) are for energy. Simple carbs are easily absorbed, spike your blood sugar but they energy they give is short termed. It's produces that roller coaster/ crash and burn cycle that is so bad for you health wise and very inefficient for prolonged term physical activity.

So for a long term trip, I'd take complex carb foods, some source of protein to supplement if you don't catch fish, and a source of healthy fats. Nuts/ olive oil, even fish oil/krill capsules would do the trick.

Many legumes (beans) are rich in protein as well as complex carbs. Think red beans and rice, except use brown rice (complex carbs). Maybe saute some onions/garlic in olive oil and then add beans/rice.
Add in some fish chunks and you have a perfect mix of high quality protein, complex carbs and healthy fats.

I make my own trail mix. Plenty of healthy nuts, seeds and for a quick but long lasting energy burst, I add plenty of dried fruit to the mix.
Not all sugars are the same either. It takes longer for your body to break down complex type sugar sources like fruit and so you don't get that same roller coaster effect like with processed white sugar.

On travel days, I eat oatmeal with a handful of trail mix added and of course a big hot cup of strong coffee, hot and black like the Good Lord intended.

I munch on trail mix as I paddle/portage along with plenty of water. I eat some protein every night, just too keep from losing muscle mass and for mental clarity ( brain is a muscle and needs protein, that's why if you have that "brain fog" first thing in morning, you need some protein and make sure your properly hydrated),
I'll eat some of high quality protein meat sticks. I prefer wild game ones ( venison/elk/buffalo/ but lean beef will do too).

You'll be surprised how much energy you'll have and how good you'll feel with/by adding these type items to your wilderness food menu. You can substitute healthy items in older tasty buy unhealthy favorites and find a healthy balance that everyone can live and benefit from.

Solotripper -- thanks for the good info.  I am interested in trying to eat healthier on my canoe trips (and at home!).  My wife and son-in-law (an IronMan competitor), are zealots, and are pushing me hard that way.  My natural instinct is to resist when pushed, but if I can make easy changes to my food on trips that improve my health and give me the right kind of nutrition, I would be foolish not to. 

My question: do you know of a book written specifically on the topic of healthy eating on camping trips, (with recipes) that contains at least some recipes that might relate to wilderness canoeing? (ie, food and recipes that consider weight).  If so, I'd value your recommendation, and I'd be interested in getting such a book.  If not, you should consider writing one (or a magazine article).

prouboy

Quote:

My question: do you know of a book written specifically on the topic of healthy eating on camping trips, (with recipes) that contains at least some recipes that might relate to wilderness canoeing? (ie, food and recipes that consider weight).  If so, I'd value your recommendation, and I'd be interested in getting such a book.  If not, you should consider writing one (or a magazine article).

I appreciate the compliment, but you must of noticed by now, that my grammatical skills are less than what anyone should expect when their reading a book or article.

I don't know of a specific book for camping that has all healthy recipes. There might be, but if you don't mind, I'll give you what IMHO is the better way to go, both at home and in the bush.

You can take any recipe within reason, and make it healthier. The secret/key is to learn how to substitute.

Once you know/understand that, you can take even a high fat comfort food and make it healthy and just as important, tasty as well.

Here's easy example of what I'm talking about.
Take your basic box brownie mix.
Most call for 1/4 cup of vegetable oil, 2 eggs and a little water.

Skip the oil, add one of those small unsweetened apple sauce cups and use 1 egg.
Mix adding a little water as needed and heavy on the walnuts.
The brownie will be more cake like, but the taste is still there and you've cut out a lot of the fat by eliminating the vegetable oil. The applesauce acts like a binder along with the egg and the walnuts give you a healthy fat source. You can substitute pureed prunes IF you can tolerate them.

I'd look for a book/articles that show what and how much to substitute, then get a book like the One Burner Gourmet and start experimenting at home. Once you get a recipe that you like, your on your way.

Another big key is that by limiting/eliminating fat from a recipe, you cut the flavor.
That's why many people are turned off by eating healthier food, because it's bland and tasteless.

I've found at least for my tastes, that even in healthy recipes, I double the amount seasonings the first time I make a new recipe. I've seldom found that it was to much.

Oh, when you make/serve a healthier version of a old favorite to others, don't tell them its: low fat/healthier/ etc. Just tell them it's your version of whatever your making. Let the recipe stand on it's own merit, people get ideas about what they "think' they like without actually even trying something.

Here's a link to what I'm talking about.
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Much of the little I know came from this book.
If you come to understand what she's saying, you'll find that eating better at home/bush or even in restaurants isn't that hard. Considering the alternative of poor health, IMHO it's a no-brainier.

ESSENTIAL EATING- A COOKBOOK
DISCOVER HOW TO EAT, NOT DIET

JANIE QUINN

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Thanks ST.  I'll check out the book, and try some recipes at home, before heading into the bush.

prouboy

Glad to help.
If you come up with a killer recipe(s), be sure to share. :thumbup

solotripper wrote on Jan 6^th, 2014 at 3:52pm:

... brain is a muscle and needs protein, that's why if you have that "brain fog" first thing in morning ...

Sorry, ST, the brain is not a muscle. Muscles can use carbs or fat as fuel, but the brain is a specialized organ that *only* burns glucose.

That being said, I eat mostly the same way you do: a cup of custom-made granola in the morning (high carb; no time for coffee), constant snacking on GORP and dried fruit during the day (more carbs), then protein and carbs (need to recharge those muscle and liver glycogen stores) for dinner. For a full paddling/portaging day, I usually plan on about 2900 calories, typically 70% carbs, 20% protein, 10% fat. For an easy day, I cut back on the mid-day fruit and dinner carbs.

I don't try to fine-tune simple vs complex carbs. The carbs in Granola and GORP (for me) are about 50% sugars, 50% other, dried fruit is about 75% sugar, and lentils, rice, and pasta at dinner are almost all "non-sugar" carbs. (yeah, I know that's not the same as how fast the stuff gets converted to blood glucose, but I don't have handy data on that).

If you want to perform - mentally and physically - you gotta eat those carbs!

Quote:

Sorry, ST, the brain is not a muscle. Muscles can use carbs or fat as fuel, but the brain is a specialized organ that *only* burns glucose

Your right Joe, I must of been in that "brain fog" when I referred to the brain as a muscle and not a specialized organ. However I probably did so, because like muscles need protein to maintain/grow, the brain does best with glucose that is derived from a protein source early in the day. The second link spells out how protein/carbs/amino acids effect the brain differently and why when you eat both are important.

It goes on to explain how some foods contain all
8 essential amino acids ( complete proteins) and some only contain a few( incomplete). You can combine two incomplete ones to make a complete.

Beans and Rice are a classic example.
I'd just go a little further and make it brown instead of white rice.

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Quote:

If you want to perform - mentally and physically - you gotta eat those carbs!

But all carbs are not created equally. There's a reason that after eating Chinese food, your often hungry later even though you've eaten a large portion. White rice is a simple carb. Easily digested, but spikes your blood sugar.

Sugar derived from fruit ( fresh or dried) is different too.

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On a outdoor trip where weight and space are at a premium, you get far more "mileage" out of taking complex carbs than simple ones. Substitute whole grain pasta for white enriched, brown rice for white. Buckwheat pancakes etc. Whole grain pita/ tortilla rather than white.

I like discussions like this. Getting people to think about what they put in their bodies is a good thing.
I'm no expert and when I'm wrong, I appreciate that others will straighten me out.
Point is we can all learn to make better choices.

HighnDry wrote on Nov 15^th, 2013 at 2:45am:

Okay, I know that this isn't a 'gear' thread but thought I'd ask anyway---any suggestions for a dehydrator?  I saw a photo of what Gavia packed in on one of his last trip reports and thought....I need to get back to this stuff! Looked at Excalibur and Nesco brands but open to suggestions...thanks in advance..

My dehydrator is a Nesco American Harvest model with 6 round trays and a donut-shaped bottom piece.  The trays are like screens.  The bottom piece is solid with upturned edges and will hold a quart of salsa or pasta sauce (done both).

It also has a dial to adjust the temperature.  This is critical - jerky is dried at the highest temp and veggies are dried at various other temps.

I believe Nesco also makes a square dehydrator, which holds more per tray.  If you get one, it's better to have extra trays than not enough.  Jerky, for example, can take up to 12 hours.

Thanks Gavia! I've been looking at 700 watt units to counter the humidity in MN during most of the year (not now obviously -- think the humidity in my basement is at about 40% per my dehumidifier :). I'm not in a hurry so I'll wait for a sale or similar deal for a used one. Thanks again for the response. I appreciate your and everyone's advice on this!

I have found on my Nesco that cutting parchment paper "liners" on each tray or at least those with finer items works really well.  Especially good for sauces and viscous food, and for ground beef.  Thing as dry better then on the plastic trays provided. 

Always looking for good sources of info for back country cooking or even car type camping.

These two have some great recipes/tips for newbie's and anyone that dehydrates.

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Thanks for the web addresses here is another.
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Thanks MP,

I already had that link, and coincidently just placed an order with them. :thumbup