actually consuming backpacker food

[bobby49]

When most of us are going backpacking, we fill up a bear canister with 3-6 days worth of food that will fit inside of a backpack. We normally select food that is either freeze dried, dehydrated, or otherwise shelf-stable. I generally pack such that at least 50% of the food can be consumed without any cooking.

Today I was cleaning up some stuff in my gear room, and I came across a filled bear canister. I believe that I prepared it for a trip two years ago, and then I had to cancel that trip. So, this two-year-old food was still sitting there. I unpacked it to throw out any spoiled or stale food. To my amazement, everything seemed to be sealed and in good shape.

I looked around that room a little more, and I came across another bear canister. This had the leftovers from a trip for June 2023. That trip had been shortened, so less than half of the food was consumed. Again, I unpacked it to throw out any spoiled or stale food.

I guess I need to get more consistent in actually consuming backpacker food.

[Gogd]

Vacuum packed foods can be tricky to evaluate. I had some stuff a few years old that looked just fine, but when I prepared one item it became apparent that somehow air (oxygen specifically) made it's its way to the food, causing it to age and lose flavor. Tasted like old cardboard. Yum yum! I tend to stuff my canister on longer trips, and this probably created some small holes along creases in the packaging. You might try immersing suspect items in med hot water. The concept is the heated water will cause any entrapped air to expand and come bubbling out any holes in the packaging. Old, dehydrated and FD food doesn't pose a health risk, albeit you'll be bummed by the lack of flavor, should you be stuck eating it.

Ed

[The Other Tom]

Tasted like old cardboard.

After a few days on the trail, it all tastes like cardboard to me, so....

[Jim F]

Sometimes I punch small holes in packages of commercial freeze dried food, so as to get some air out before I pack the bear canister. It seems I can pack more into the canister this way. Of course, the holes are located so that any added water will not leak.

Occasionally, I empty the commercially packaged freeze died food into a plastic baggie (with a secure zipper) and compress it before packing into the canister. At the campsite, I then add water to the baggie.

Seldom do I complete an outing with more than a few crumbs of food remaining!

Jim

[Wandering Daisy]

I too usually eat up all my backpack food on a trip, often coming back totally empty. I often stay out an extra day because I have food left. My strategy is to not come back until the food is gone. I have also been given food by others who were going out and did not want to carry the extra food. So all you over-packers, keep it up, and I will gladly lighten your pack!

[Snowtrout]

My wife and I eat all of the main meals, with trail mix and bars sometimes being left over. After the trip, the bear can is gone through to remove the garbage and whatever is inside, then put away until the next trip. If we have food left over from a shortened trip, depending on what it is, will be saved for the next trip or consumed at home over the next few weeks (usually by me).

Pretty much every freeze dried meal we buy is repackaged and portioned out for our trip(s) to save space in a ziploc bag.

[oldhikerQ]

I am always returning with about a quarter of what i packed in. Mostly lunch and snack items. It all seems more appealing when i pack the canister at home, plus i am rarely hungry while i'm walking. Suppose that i need to do something about that some day.

[stevet]

I do pretty well at eating most everything I bring. Certainly for breakfast and dinner foods. I don't eat a "lunch" rather graze and nibble about 200 cal of something about every hour on the trail. I plan 10 hours worth. So some days I might have an extra bit and some days maybe will stop and fix dinner then finish hiking for the day. In all, especially if I blast out on the last day, I may have a bar or two leftover. But that's about it.

[Gogd]

Tasted like old cardboard.

After a few days on the trail, it all tastes like cardboard to me, so....

I totally get you! To that end I've made it a point, learning how to make these packaged goods more palatable with enhancements I discovered over years of trial and error, such that some folks have commented my trail meals taste better that what they eat at home. Hmm, makes me wonder what they eat! Anyway, if it tastes like old cardboard after my best efforts to revive it, then one has acknowledge there was nothing I could do, as it was truly beyond the miracles of modern culinary science. I thought it was only fitting I gave it a decent burial and respectful eulogy, concluding the event with a prayer our guts were spared certain gastronomical carnage, the likes of which only Montezuma (and perhaps spoiled shell fish) can wreak upon the hapless dirt bagger.

Ed