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Post by skschrip on Jan 7, 2018 16:01:29 GMT -8
I’m a whole-hearted convert to cold soaking, but I’ve only really done oatmeal or ramen. Does anyone have any brilliant ideas for cold soaking?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2018 17:00:47 GMT -8
From many readings of PCTer Journals, a few through hikers, here and there, will use cold soaking to save on fuel and stove weight. Most of the freeze dried foods, from what I read, will work with cold soaking. My wife and I only cook one meal per day, dinner. We eat bars for breakfast and will have deserts for lunch, cold soaked. Our lunches consist of Backpackers Pantry Cheese cake, dark chocolate cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, coconut key lime pie, creme brulee, and others. We suppliment the meal with a meat stick of some type. Even though the package reads that its for 2, we eat one package each. We re-package the meals into 1 quart zip locks for weight savings.
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Post by bookmark2 on Jan 7, 2018 17:38:54 GMT -8
Couscous. almost any small pasta can work. Check sarbar's website for excellent recipes.
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RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Jan 7, 2018 18:37:28 GMT -8
We eat bars for breakfast and will have deserts for lunch, cold soaked. Our lunches consist of Backpackers Pantry Cheese cake, dark chocolate cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, coconut key lime pie, creme brulee, and others. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but those desserts are intended to be cold soaked, not cooked. I am not a fan of cold soaked, but I know several people who do it. They keep telling me that if I did it long enough I would get accustomed to it. I keep telling them that a hot meal, even on a hot day, is how I like to eat. I usually eat cold cereal with milk for breakfast but break out the stove to make hot coffee. I have non cooked meals for lunch, mostly wraps. But none of that stuff is intended to be cooked. A meal like freeze-dried chili or a pasta dish is intended to be cooked. Yes, you can cold soak it and eat, but the taste and overall enjoyment is diminished. And most of the stuff I prepare for eating is freezer-bag cooked. Often I use the knowledge of the treat of a great dinner to help motivate me throughout a tough day of hiking. I look forward to having that delicious meal I have planned for myself. Cold soaking takes that away from me. There are meals that I put together which do not require heating water or cooking, but those are few and far between. I can appreciate the ease of cold soaking, but I care not to make my backpacking trips a suffer-fest. I also like to have that hot cup (or two) of coffee each morning. I have had cold coffee, but only because I ran out of fuel or was so low I decided to save fuel for my dinner. Having said that, if it works for you, I say embrace it. Think of all the meals you can have without a stove. It doesn't have to be cold soaking of meals meant to be cooked/heated. Cheese and salami are great on a tortilla with some instant hummus. You could also cold soak dehydrated or freeze dried veggies with instant hummus. There is peanut butter powder as well. A cold burrito with instant refried beans, freeze dried cheese, sour cream powder, freeze dried beef/pork/chicken, and some salsa (either in packets or dehydrated) on a tortilla. Rumi
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Jan 7, 2018 20:17:06 GMT -8
As mentioned both ramen (make sure it is NOT the baked kind, you need the fried normal type) and couscous rehydrate fine in cold water for salads.
Freeze dried vegetables work better than dehydrated ones. Same with dried meats.
Always eat some oil/fats with cold rehydrated food. It may cause some bloating as your stomach has to work a bit harder. Oil levels it out.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 7, 2018 20:49:27 GMT -8
I've been experimenting with salads to use as compact lunches--mostly lentil and black bean based, as I don't much like couscous, and ramen lacks substance in some ways (though I might mess with one or two of those as well). These are cooked at home, dried, and are meant to be soaked cold and eaten cold. I agree with Sarbar that freeze-dried veggies work much better and dehydrated.
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Post by bookmark2 on Jan 8, 2018 9:22:50 GMT -8
I agree with Sarbar that freeze-dried veggies work much better and dehydrated. Well, she is the Goddess of trail food.
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tomas
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Post by tomas on Jan 8, 2018 13:34:02 GMT -8
Eating is supposed to be enjoyable as well as being a source of fuel. Haven eaten cold mush for days on end on the trail diminished the whole experience.
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Post by JRinGeorgia on Jan 8, 2018 14:14:05 GMT -8
Any food that's ready to eat after rehydrating can be rehydrated cold rather than hot. The heat only make the rehydration quicker and the food tastier, but it works cold just fine (using hot water doesn't actually "cook" the food, in spite of it being called freezer bag "cooking").
Pack-It Gourmet has some products that are specifically meant for cold rehydration such as fruit smoothies and chicken salads. I like some of the chicken salads for lunch -- put cold water in just before breaking camp in the morning, by lunchtime it's ready, put it on a tortilla.
And as Sarbar said, I also add a squirt of EVOO not only to aid digestion but since fat doesn't dehydrate, dehydrated foods are lacking in fats so some EVOO also enhances flavor and gives you calories that you need when burning a lot of energy on the trail.
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RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Jan 8, 2018 14:42:16 GMT -8
Eating is supposed to be enjoyable as well as being a source of fuel. Yea, I have talked with lots of people that cold soak and not one of them did it for the enjoyment of the food. There seems to be two complimentary motives for using cold soaking for meals, time and weight. Some people wish to hike long days. Because they don't have to set up stove and such, cold soaking allows them to hike longer into the evening, make camp, quickly eat and go to sleep. Also they don't have to carry a stove and fuel, though it is somewhat offset by having to carry their hydrating meal. If they dry camp, then there is no offset. But again, I haven't ever heard anyone tell me cold soaking was a taste treat. YMMV It's all about trade-offs. BTW, I knew a guy who carried huge amounts of slightly dehydrated Parmigiano-Reggiano. He just slightly dehydrated it to reduce some of the water weight in it. He ate copious amounts of it every day. I instead buy Whisps at Costco. They are tasty and much lighter than even slightly dehydrated cheese. There's lots of calories in those things. Rumi
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jan 9, 2018 16:23:22 GMT -8
I'll have to check those Whisps out, Rumi. I wasn't keen on the dried cheddar cheese things from TJs. But I wonder if these could be crumbled and used like fresh parmesan, to give a little more salt, fat, and flavor to a dish.
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Post by rachelsdad on Jan 10, 2018 1:03:28 GMT -8
There is peanut butter powder as well. A cold burrito with instant refried beans, freeze dried cheese, sour cream powder, freeze dried beef/pork/chicken, and some salsa (either in packets or dehydrated) on a tortilla.
I think I'd rather have lunch with ohm
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Post by bookmark2 on Jan 10, 2018 3:39:32 GMT -8
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RumiDude
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Post by RumiDude on Jan 10, 2018 15:40:37 GMT -8
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Post by skschrip on Jan 10, 2018 20:04:51 GMT -8
Oo, I'll have to check out those whisps too. I just thru-hiked the Arizona Trail this fall, and did so stoveless. In fact, I just did a blog post on cold-soaking at feedthewildlife.wordpress.com So I am fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages of cold-soaking, and still remain a faithful convert. I just don't feel the need or desire for hot food or coffee! And honestly, there is something about a lukewarm gob of ramen that I loved. Disgusting, I know. Sorrynotsorry. I thoroughly enjoyed most things I ate on trail, and I don't think I'll ever tire of trying new brands and flavors of bars. And have you seen all the newfangled variations of peanut butter they're comin' out with?! Man, dip a bunch of banana chips in a jar of extra chunky PB, I'm rockin' and rollin'. I recently saw somewhere something about the possibility of cold-soaking Stovetop stuffing packets, and just wondered if anyone else had any other off-the-wall ideas for meals.
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