I know you can do it with porridge oats which I have done overnight for a cold breakfast but I was wondering if anyone has tried hydrating dry pasta meals with cold water. My thinking is this. Get a tupperware type pot/mug with a lid that fits into a stem cell, add dry pasta meal and water and put the lid on. Go off road cycling which will agitate it and possibly help it hydrate quicker, not sure how long it would take. Once hydrated remove the lid and eat on the go from the stem cell. So, daft idea or goer. Might give it a try on my next ride as a test.

Actually sounds quite revolting Ray

Bearbonesnorm wrote:Actually sounds quite revolting Ray

What, you never had cold pasta?

I'd be worried about bacteria flourishing - food source, water, warmth. It could be a goer if you heated it up first, but I guess then it would all go really soggy by the time you wanted to eat it.

You can do it, just a slower re-hydrate than hot water. No comment on taste etc.

Ray
Trust me on this carry a meths stove!
I mean if it was life or death OK, but I for one prefer a hot / pleasant meal at the end of a long day....

Seems to me you'd be carrying the extra weight of the water required for re-hydration. So, I assume this would only be for day 2 onwards of multi-day trips?

Also - eating cold pasta "on the go"? Quite apart from the fact that I can't imagine being in such a rush that I couldn't stop for 10-15 minutes, can you imagine the mess?

It's a pretty easy test at home... without the agitation though, pour some water over dry pasta and test it the next morning!

I'm quite sure it would be edible but considering a water heating solution can be very light why would you? Also you would miss out on coffee and a late night hot cocoa if it's cold. It's almost as unthinkable as not taking whisky

From experience of living from warm food instead of hot for about 5 or 6 days I can say it's not as bad as it sounds. Not at all.

I use self made pouches with toll tops for my supper and brekkers. As soon as I arrive at a good spot to camp I pour cold water into the pouch and place it at my crotch or belly and let it warm and rehydrate for about 30 min which is just about enough for some freeze dried meals to stop being crispy. Not pre cooked meals don't work and will have an unpleasant consistency. I' d stay clear of those.
Fats won't liquefy at cooler temps, consider warming water with your body for such cases.
In some cases where I wasn't sure if it would turn out alright, I soaked it for about an hour and warmed it during the ride.

I always prefer hot cooked food more than cold and cooked but body temperature is high enough to make the meals pleasant. Same goes for brekkers. This was on a trip in Aug/Sept in Scandinavia, where the air was rather cool.

Give it a try, no matter what others say.

No pot, no tupper, no fuel, no stove. There's not just 100 - 150 g less weight but also at least .7 L less bulk. Sounds like nothing, but it eventually adds up.

The idea behind it is purely for long distance individual time trials where time is everything. I'm definitely in the carb fueled category so not having to carry a stove/fuel and not stopping to heat and eat would save time. Not really thought about how messy it could be eating on the go but I'm still going to give it a shot. I promise to post a pic if I end up covered in pasta .

Alpinum wrote: I use self made pouches with toll tops for my supper and brekkers. As soon as I arrive at a good spot to camp I pour cold water into the pouch and place it at my crotch

Crotch warmed pasta?

Blair512 wrote:

Alpinum wrote: I use self made pouches with toll tops for my supper and brekkers. As soon as I arrive at a good spot to camp I pour cold water into the pouch and place it at my crotch

Crotch warmed pasta?

Cheesy...

Penne al a formaggio funghi.

When I take pasta, I cook it at home, add the pesto and hemp-seed oil in and the bit that works for me - diced chilli (scotch bonnets work well). Gives you all the warmth you need and the ingredients don't go off. Double bag it though - it's messy stuff.

However, in line with what you're asking, you could soak your pasta overnight, and add the other ingredients in as and when required. Pesto will go in a small jar and you probably only need a tablespoons worth. Oil of whatever kind in a smallish bottle (think small meths bottle size). You could carry the chilli in with the pesto.

Greetz

S.

Thinking more about the problem we're trying to solve here, can't you use your time differently when stopping?

For example, assume you'll only need hot stuff at the start and end of a day. When you arrive at your bivi, the first thing you do is get the stove on. By the time the water has boiled, your bivi is set up and you're in the bag ready for bed. Eat food, sleep, wake, reverse the process so breakfast is the last stop before moving again.

I use couscous more than pasta as it's quicker, and you can heat in the sachet (Ainsley Harriott's finest). Also, as you're pouring in to rehydrate you don't get a mucky pan, and can use the rest of the water for hot chocolate or coffee.