DIY 1 year dehydrated meals

[ateallthepies]

It was this time last year I bought a dehydrator and I dehydrated some meals. They have been sat at room temperature and I have started to try some.

Meal 1: Tesco canned beef curry with added rice.

Put in a pan and brought to a boil. Left to stand 15 minutes.

Was generally fine and tasted good but could have left stood for longer as the beef was a little tough.

Meal 2: Mince, mixed veg and beef super-noodles.

Put in a pan and brought to a boil. Left to stand 20 minutes in a pot coozie(sp?).

Was excellent and very tasty. Only thing wrong was the dried sweetcorn was tough.

Meal 3: Mince, mixed veg and buttery smash potato + gravy.

Boiled in a pan but had a few issues with water amounts. Turned into quite a mess!

Tasted good, probably better to separate the potato in the pouch and cook at the end as it's near instant cooking? Cheese would make it excellent?

I have left to try:

Stag chilli and rice
Chicken curry and rice
Tinned spaghetti and meat sauce

It was dried in a Westfalia dehydrator and vacuum sealed in my Andrew James sealer. So far I have not got food poisoning but now know the food is good for at least a year at room temperature!

Anyone else tried making DIY food pouches and how long have they kept?

Steve.

 

[Shewie]

I made some in April which I've still got in the freezer, I just use pour&store bags though rather than vac sealed. I heard that meat can go rancid after a while but I can't remember the timings, vac sealing is the way to go for long term storage.

As long as the dairy is kept out I should think they'd last a good twelve months at a decent room temperature.

 

[bushwacker bob]

I made some in April which I've still got in the freezer, I just use pour&store bags though rather than vac sealed. I heard that meat can go rancid after a while but I can't remember the timings, vac sealing is the way to go for long term storage.

As long as the dairy is kept out I should think they'd last a good twelve months at a decent room temperature.

He cant reply as he is still in the bathroom.

 

[treetop57]

not tried dehydrated meals is the equipment expensive /what i have done is when i make paste type meals i make a bit extra and put it in resealable bags with the foil lining that have had things like coffee or anything i can find then but them in the freezer my wife thinks it will taste of coffee so i said i would just have a cup of coffee when i'm eating them simples (not so sure about the ones that have had cat biscuits in them)lol

 

[Wook]

Why dehydrate canned goods at all? The 2 year shelf life the supermarkets slap on them is hopelessly pessimistic.

Popular endurance estimates for intact cans go all the way up to 50 years and beyond.

 

[treetop57]

i did not know that was what they was doing so i agree seems pointless to me too

 

[ateallthepies]

Why dehydrate canned goods at all? The 2 year shelf life the supermarkets slap on them is hopelessly pessimistic.

Popular endurance estimates for intact cans go all the way up to 50 years and beyond.

Just trying to make up lighter weight/more compact meal pouches along the line of Mountain House pouches. I have used several of the shop bought meal pouches but really the amount you get is pitiful-usually around 300 calories per single serving. And the price is quite high too.

The meals I tried would be at least 600 calories and half the weight de-tinned.

Steve.

 

[widu13]

All dried food is cooked then dehydrated, this includes mash (not heard of smash being done before!), pasta, rice etc- they actually end up the tiniest bit lighter BUT they cook a heck of a lot quicker.

To set up is relatively cheap. £30 ish for the Westfalia dehydrator and my Andrew James sealer was about £100. You can't buy very many shop bought dried meals for that amount. To dehydrate just make an extra portion of whatever meal you are having and dehydrate. To hydrate, add boiling water and leave to stand for 10-20 mins in a pot cozy. Saves fuel and you can have a hot drink whilst you wait.

The weight of the food is much less than tinned or even fresh food with the nutrients intact beyond what the cooking removes. They are usually more tasty as you have made them to your taste at the start, unlike pouched meals which attempt to please everyone's palate. Minced beef and strips of meats do very well and mix well with most things.

 

[ateallthepies]

No I did not mess with the smash, just put the raw flakes into the vacuum pouch along with everything else, next time I will bag it separate as it cooks instantly! Also I did not know that pasta/rice can be cooked then dehydrated and then it cooks faster and is lighter, thanks.

Yesterday I tried a couple of meal pouches by Wayfarer. These are non-dried meals vacuum sealed. Again the portion size for the price is not good. The sausage casserole had 3 or 4 mini sausages, some thin sliced potato and a smattering of veg and gravy. The second was Thai chicken curry and rice. A bit more substantial than the first and tasted OK but at least two pouches of either meal would be needed and that comes to around £8! These pouches were quite heavy though for the amount of food and it's surprising how the weight adds up if your packing meals for several days.

Yes making my own is good as I can tailor to my tastes. I now know I get a years storage at room temp' of these pouches and the cost can be a quarter of the store bought stuff including the pouch. I know the dehydrator and vacuum sealer are not in that price though. I may try Mylar bags at some point to see if they are 'better'?

Steve.

 

[PDA1]

Agree that the only sensible way of using a home dehydrator is to cook your own, then you can control portion size etc. There are very good web sites for this. Prices tend to be 1/4 to 1/3 of store bought.