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Author Topic: Boil in the Bag  (Read 28286 times)

Windy

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Boil in the Bag
« on: April 01, 2015 »

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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Rich.H

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2015 »

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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Ed

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #2 on: April 02, 2015 »

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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Rich.H

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2015 »

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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Ed

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2015 »

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/1405/Boil-a-Bags

Theyre heavy sheet plastic, so mylar in all but the brand name
« Last Edit: April 02, 2015 by Ed »
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RedLeader

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2015 »

How successful is home made boil in the bag stuff if you don't have access to a dehydrator?
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Ed

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2015 »

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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Rich.H

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2015 »

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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Matthew

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2015 »

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

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.









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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Windy

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #9 on: April 12, 2015 »

Took Rich's advice .Worked a treat .Ideally for those persons who are particular . Thanks Rich
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lomick1

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2015 »

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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Matthew

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #11 on: April 12, 2015 »

Yea I did that the next time I tried it and it came out a little easier
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RedLeader

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #12 on: April 13, 2015 »

Flip, those eggs look tasty. Would be a great start to the day in the hills :)
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Ed

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #13 on: April 14, 2015 »

chuck in a wee bitta hollandaise sauce and some bacon lol
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Chris E

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Re: Boil in the Bag
« Reply #14 on: April 15, 2015 »

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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