Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
General => Gear Questions, Information, Reviews and Competitions => Topic started by: Windy on April 01, 2015
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Anyone had any success in making there own .
I'm cooking on a Trangia .
Seen Lakeland sell 50 for a fiver ,does anyone have expereince of using these or an alterantive solution.
Son doing DOE and has is peculiar with his food
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I make my own all the time, I used to work at making my own dried foods to rehydrate. Sadly the method was slightly flawed and they would often need far too much time to work. So now I just don't dry things, otherwise the method is pretty much the same as follows.
1. Make yourself up whatever meals it is you are wanting to take with you while at home. For example make a big pot of curry etc.
2. Get yourself some good sized mylar bags, normally can be found on ebay for around £10 - £15 for 50.
3. Spoon in enough of your food into a bag so that it will give you a good meal.
4. Run an iron over the end for about half an inch on both sides, this seals the bag. Also tends to work best if you do this soon as the food is ready and while still hot (bug prevention and all that).
5. Leave to cool slowly then store in the fridge for a very long time.
When you come to use them they work in exactly the same way as the army ration packs you can buy. Just boil up a pot of water and put your bag in with it, keep it on the boil for a few minutes and it will heat the food throughout, then just cut open a slot in the bag and eat away. Your imagination and home cooking skills are really the limit with what can be done here, obviously you are not going to get something like chips to work due to the nature of the food. But if you have a food type that can be reheated in a sealed pot in a microwave, then it will work just fine as a boil in the bag too. Make sure you don't forget to get some of the smaller bags too, they are what's needed for taking your porridge or treacle sponges in. 8)
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I've experimented with this before also using the lakeland boil-a-bags
If I may add a few additional observations
Make sure the pieces of any meat etc are small so they can heat right to the middle. Theyll already be cooked of course but cold meat is just naff.
Add plenty of sauce to help the heat conduction through the food.
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What are these bags you mentioned from lakeland? Are they proper foil mylar bags or something else, if they are mylar ones that is an amazing price for them.
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http://www.lakeland.co.uk/1405/Boil-a-Bags
Theyre heavy sheet plastic, so mylar in all but the brand name
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How successful is home made boil in the bag stuff if you don't have access to a dehydrator?
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If youre making stuff up for use within the next day or two its grand.
It puts you more in the league of the wet meals (like beyond the beaten track for example) where its not so much "add boiling water" as it is "heat in boiled water"
You wont get the weight reduction that youd get with dehydrated but you will get much fresher tasting food.
Rich's observation about needing to flatten it out is crucial if you want it to heat through
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Even if you have a dehydrator I would forget trying to make dried meals. I have tried a few different things and they simply do not work well in the field, if you are willing to have a pot of water boiling for 15 minutes while your mylar bag sits there and you stir it constantly then you will get a passable meal. What you cannot achieve though is results where you just tip hot water in the bag, roll the lid over and let it stand for 10 minutes. I think the only way you can ever get that kind of result is using proper freeze drying equipment, which puts the entire attempt out of reach of 99% of folks wallets. Even if your happy to mess about and stir a pot trying to rehydrate food, I found the slow drying process leaves the food with a totally different physical makeup from how it was when you made it.
For boil in the bag however you can get homemade on a plate results every time (can't comment on the plastic bags posted here, I'm a gear snob and only use mylar ;D). Stews, curries etc are the best type as Ed pointed out with the liquid in the meal acting like a heat conductor through the entire food. Of course the added bonus is no arsing about trying to clean anything afterwards as your pot is only used for boiling water & drinking tea. You essentially get an identical experience as to buying the army 24 hour ration packs, except it costs you perhaps 10% of the price and you get food that you like.
The only kit you need to make bib food is your normal cooking gear in your kitchen to make the food, then either the plastic bags as listed here or mylar ones & an iron (don't let your missus see you using it or she will know you understand how it works). Finally just a pot out in the field big enough to hold the bag fully with water covering it.
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I bought a sample set of bags from this eBay seller.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STAND-UP-CLEAR-FOIL-SEALABLE-POUCH-ZIP-LOCK-VERY-THICK-250-5000-ml-/161375916052?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item2592c11014 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/STAND-UP-CLEAR-FOIL-SEALABLE-POUCH-ZIP-LOCK-VERY-THICK-250-5000-ml-/161375916052?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item2592c11014)
They also have a range of foil backed ones and various other storage items. I was looking for a plastic that would not deform in boiling water and these seemed to do the trick. First up was an egg to see how it went but in hindsight it was the worst item to test, taking five good scrubs to remove all of the egg stuck in the corners of the bag.
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e144/matthewrblack/egg/2014-12-08_51707%20pm-1_zpsdpxl6bpp.jpg) (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/matthewrblack/media/egg/2014-12-08_51707%20pm-1_zpsdpxl6bpp.jpg.html)
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e144/matthewrblack/egg/2014-12-08_51929%20pm_zpsevjncetd.jpg) (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/matthewrblack/media/egg/2014-12-08_51929%20pm_zpsevjncetd.jpg.html)
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e144/matthewrblack/egg/2014-12-08_52224%20pm-1_zpsp4rd59ro.jpg) (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/matthewrblack/media/egg/2014-12-08_52224%20pm-1_zpsp4rd59ro.jpg.html)
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e144/matthewrblack/egg/2014-12-08_52346%20pm_zpsb2bticjd.jpg) (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/matthewrblack/media/egg/2014-12-08_52346%20pm_zpsb2bticjd.jpg.html)
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e144/matthewrblack/egg/2014-12-08_53129%20pm_zps4sx5nyb0.jpg) (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/matthewrblack/media/egg/2014-12-08_53129%20pm_zps4sx5nyb0.jpg.html)
(http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e144/matthewrblack/egg/2014-12-08_53228%20pm_zpsaipitvhy.jpg) (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/matthewrblack/media/egg/2014-12-08_53228%20pm_zpsaipitvhy.jpg.html)
The outcome was fantastic and more than capable of taking the heat. I was using the bag one before the largest size and it was more than capable of fitting into a jet boil. The seal on the bags was also very impressive but I would be double bagging anything I was taking into the hills to be on the safe side.
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Took Rich's advice .Worked a treat .Ideally for those persons who are particular . Thanks Rich
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For best results if doing eggs in the bag coat the inside with a little cooking oil getting it into the corners the eggs will slip out the best
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Yea I did that the next time I tried it and it came out a little easier
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Flip, those eggs look tasty. Would be a great start to the day in the hills :)
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chuck in a wee bitta hollandaise sauce and some bacon lol
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Thanks for the information on the mylar bags. I've got my first set off e-bay and trialled it with a packet of cheap noodles and it worked like a dream. the bags I picked are slightly on the small side and next time I'll be looking for some flat bottom ones, that will hold a bit more but still fit into the jetboil.
In the end I used my wife's hair straighteners (with tinfoil over the end of the pouch to prevent any melting issues) as I couldn't think of any way to use the iron without spills or burns.
Looking forward to trying out the eggs and bacon.
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Chris i too would go fir the flat bottom ones. If you see them let us know please
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A quick links to a typical e-bay post.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MYLAR-STAND-UP-POUCH-METALLIC-MATT-with-HEAT-SEAL-ZIP-LOCK-100-250-500-750-ml-/151432747758?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&var=&hash=item2342185aee
or search for "mylar bag flat".
I reckon the 500ml bag should be about right for a jetboil.
I've added photos of my first two attempts, which worked well, as I mentioned earlier.
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Tried an "Aunties" strawberry sponge with custard in the pouch on Wednesday and it was amazing !
The sponge was one of those individual microwave ones sliced up in the pot and tipped in with a pot of ambrosia custard. It was sealed and left overnight in the fridge. Ate it for lunch the next day and it was far better than expected. I had made a spare for a friend and he was even more impressed.
Best of all it was done in less than 5 mins with no dishes etc , and the remaining water made a cup of coffee!
Two camps in the next fortnight so planning possibly chicken curry with boiler in the bag rice for one meal.
Any other suggestions welcome.
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Tried an "Aunties" strawberry sponge with custard in the pouch on Wednesday and it was amazing !
The sponge was one of those individual microwave ones sliced up in the pot and tipped in with a pot of ambrosia custard. It was sealed and left overnight in the fridge. Ate it for lunch the next day and it was far better than expected. I had made a spare for a friend and he was even more impressed.
Best of all it was done in less than 5 mins with no dishes etc , and the remaining water made a cup of coffee!
Two camps in the next fortnight so planning possibly chicken curry with boiler in the bag rice for one meal.
Any other suggestions welcome.
Tried an "Aunties" strawberry sponge with custard in the pouch on Wednesday and it was amazing !
The sponge was one of those individual microwave ones sliced up in the pot and tipped in with a pot of ambrosia custard. It was sealed and left overnight in the fridge. Ate it for lunch the next day and it was far better than expected. I had made a spare for a friend and he was even more impressed.
Best of all it was done in less than 5 mins with no dishes etc , and the remaining water made a cup of coffee!
Two camps in the next fortnight so planning possibly chicken curry with boiler in the bag rice for one meal.
Any other suggestions welcome.
Welcome to the good life.
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:D. LOL !
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Where do you get these pudings ..any chocolate
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Where do you get these pudings ..any chocolate
Not sure of the exact ones Chris is using, but I can think of no reason why any old one would do. You can get lots of sponge pudding things in tins at most places. Normally they say to drop em in a pot of boiling water to steam in, but if you took it out of the tin cold and cut it into a few pieces to fit a mylar bag. Then simply heat it the same as anything else.
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I just used individual ones that come in a plastic pot.
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This thread has been dead quite a while but thought id try anyway. Bought a pack of the lakeland pouches that were mentioned but I imagine the same principle applies to any of them. Anyone tried filling the bag and freezing them? Want to make a big pot of stew and freeze it so I dont have to remake stuff every time I want to head out last minute. I assume if there is a bit of room for it to expand it should be ok but anyone tried this yet?
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This thread has been dead quite a while but thought id try anyway. Bought a pack of the lakeland pouches that were mentioned but I imagine the same principle applies to any of them. Anyone tried filling the bag and freezing them? Want to make a big pot of stew and freeze it so I dont have to remake stuff every time I want to head out last minute. I assume if there is a bit of room for it to expand it should be ok but anyone tried this yet?
Not sure how well they hold up to freezing and expansion etc, though on the safe side probably best to just put your stew in a few small tubs portioned out and freeze those. Since you will need to thaw out the stew before heading out anyway it is no hassle to then just fill a bag as you need them.
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Yeah I was planning that as an alternative. The lazy side of me was hoping I could cut out the middle bit. Ill try it with one of them and see anyway. currently my food supply takes up too much space in my pack because im using tubs. These things should cut down a little space
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Ive frozen those bags before and its been absolutely fine.