Just curious really.

I am sure that some here will have experimented with re hydrating freeze dried meals cold.

My guess is the danger lies in dehydrating the stomach if the meal is not hydrated properly.

The thinking is to chuck the packet contents into a water bottle, add water, enough that the meal will end up a lumpy drink type thing. Leave it in the holder to be re hydrated/shaken up and consume say 20 minutes later.

I have done a little experimenting with supermarket type products but like the increased calories and nutrition in the dedicated stuff.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Any thoughts much appreciated.

Why?

Surely there's enough options to allow what you eat to be pleasant and not simply a calorie ingesting chore? If you just want fuel, eat butter.

The why is to not stop, heating water takes time.

I do eat butter, love it.

The why is to not stop, heating water takes time.

So, we're talking about an ITT / race situation? There must be easier things to eat with a higher energy value in that instance?

Bearbonesnorm wrote:

The why is to not stop, heating water takes time.

So, we're talking about an ITT / race situation? There must be easier things to eat with a higher energy value in that instance?

I vote pie in this situation.

And many other situations too

I once went sans fuel with lyo meals for 6 or 7 days, not sure any more how long exactly. I had three resupply packages that had to go to different places and messed one up, so that was without fuel. Of course I could not get fuel elsewhere and hey, it was absolutely okay.
If you like lyo food, be it a particular brand or flavour, add water, warm it for 30 min or more if possible with body heat and you'll be amazed how close to boiled water it'll be.
Would be good to stay away from the meals that contain big chunks as they rehydrate slower and may result in an odd texture when crotch cooking.

Any cereal and whole milk powder goes down well and doesn't really need rehydrating. Well and fast. Then there's nuts, like seasoned macadamia or bars, pies, cakes, fruits etc.


OT
There's another aspect I come across planning for a certain type of trips;
Going stoveless does make things much easier and saves a fair amount of weight on long autonomous trips, which can mean you can go on even longer stretches without resupplying, so eventually no air drop or big detour of an intended route. Obviously not everything works in such circumstances. Not sure a pie will be good after 3 weeks in a rucksack, no matter what the temperature. When going with meat, choose wisely.

Be interested to know how you get on with this. The freeze dried meals we used to eat in the Arctic (melting snow to hydrate them) where much lighter than the boil-in-the-bag options, but could take a fair bit of time and effort to reconstitute. I guess the food technology has moved on a bit, and there are certainly 'meal-substitutes' that you could refuel with quite easily, however I would be careful what you use in the water bottle method; anything that emulates real food may be hard to drink, and quickly result in a messy and unhygienic bottle!

How are ya Nigel, mate? You coming on the winter bivvy? You've only got four months to decide, so don't muck about. Places are strictly limited to anyone who wants to come along.

I tried cold water to rehydrate a meal once and while it worked, in that after over an hour I could eat it without cracking too many teeth, it was utterly disgusting. Spag bol, for the record. Thankfully I was a home, so I added some butter and warmed it up on the hob. Then it was rather tasty.

Cheers fella
Tim

Yep, it is just my mind wandering about thinking of the best ways to be efficient on a ITT.

Not that I expect or even want to try and break any records, if I can complete one in double the record I'd be bloody surprised!

It was just something that my mind settled on as a possible option.

I have ordered up some meals and will have a dabble.

The truth is I expect it to be a no goer but figure it's something to try.

Cereal, cous cous, nuts, oil, cheese and dried meats are all on the menu as is dark chocolate... ITT nah, gourmet bike ride with views more like it.


Tim, date is in the diary...