If it's only for a short trip, or car camping, go for gold and take hydrated meals. I've used the 'Look what we've found' range of sauces, with some normal rice or pasta boiled up. Though that takes a bit more clean up.
For hiking, the freezer bag cooking works for me. I'm sure there must be lots of freezer bag threads on this forum, but here's my offering:
After a lot of tatting about and a lot of being left eating something resembling wallpaper paste, I managed to perfect freezer bad porridge.
Measure the actual capacity of my water pot (not believing what it was sold as) and measure out the oats by volume. 2parts Standard rolled oats to 1part water, then add powdered milk, sugar, raisins, whatever, into sandwich bag (not the water, obviously, just the dry stuff). Measure the oats first, for the 2:1 ratio, or you won't get the right consistency.
I have made up cosys from that aluminiumised bubble wrap. Make them so that they also seal in the air as much as possibly, or you will lose heat through convection. I have a circular two part one that nests around my mug and another that is a jiffy bag shape, with a fold over and velcro'ed top flap.
Then at camp, get a good rolling boil on the water, prep the dry stuff and bag in the cosy, so that the water can go straight in and be sealed immediatly. A good shake up and leave it for 20-25mins. I may also ball it all up in the sleeping bag. The result is perfect porridge that is still too hot to eat.
So in this case, it seems that the key is in the cosy and keeping the heat in for long enough. Also regular shaking prevents lumps.
Cous-cous works well. And I've had reasonable results with pasta, but only when using the packet ones with the sauce powder in there too. As the pasta is very thin so will hydrate properly. Good agitation required, or you get all the sauce stuck in the corner as a jelly mess.
Tried so many times with rice with no success. (The US guys have a quick cook rice, which appears to be cooked and freeze dried. The same stuff they use in the instant pot meal things. The quick cook stuff here is different, a par-boiled offering?)
I have heard people using the microwaveable rice, heated in a pot with a dash of water. Brought a packet last week to try that. Though that stuff is heavy.
BTW, Tesco food bags that have white printing on the side. The paint melts with the hot water and glues the bag to the cosy. So I double bag the food and put the two printed faces together.
Jules
For hiking, the freezer bag cooking works for me. I'm sure there must be lots of freezer bag threads on this forum, but here's my offering:
After a lot of tatting about and a lot of being left eating something resembling wallpaper paste, I managed to perfect freezer bad porridge.
Measure the actual capacity of my water pot (not believing what it was sold as) and measure out the oats by volume. 2parts Standard rolled oats to 1part water, then add powdered milk, sugar, raisins, whatever, into sandwich bag (not the water, obviously, just the dry stuff). Measure the oats first, for the 2:1 ratio, or you won't get the right consistency.
I have made up cosys from that aluminiumised bubble wrap. Make them so that they also seal in the air as much as possibly, or you will lose heat through convection. I have a circular two part one that nests around my mug and another that is a jiffy bag shape, with a fold over and velcro'ed top flap.
Then at camp, get a good rolling boil on the water, prep the dry stuff and bag in the cosy, so that the water can go straight in and be sealed immediatly. A good shake up and leave it for 20-25mins. I may also ball it all up in the sleeping bag. The result is perfect porridge that is still too hot to eat.
So in this case, it seems that the key is in the cosy and keeping the heat in for long enough. Also regular shaking prevents lumps.
Cous-cous works well. And I've had reasonable results with pasta, but only when using the packet ones with the sauce powder in there too. As the pasta is very thin so will hydrate properly. Good agitation required, or you get all the sauce stuck in the corner as a jelly mess.
Tried so many times with rice with no success. (The US guys have a quick cook rice, which appears to be cooked and freeze dried. The same stuff they use in the instant pot meal things. The quick cook stuff here is different, a par-boiled offering?)
I have heard people using the microwaveable rice, heated in a pot with a dash of water. Brought a packet last week to try that. Though that stuff is heavy.
BTW, Tesco food bags that have white printing on the side. The paint melts with the hot water and glues the bag to the cosy. So I double bag the food and put the two printed faces together.
Jules
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