Pasta Sides

[AO2134]

Noob question here.

I have been eating Mountain house primarily because I can poor boiling water and let it sit, but can I do the same with Knorr Pasta Sides? Is it safe? Will it cook fully if I don't boil the pasta side for the 7 minutes?

I would prefer not doing any cleaning of my pot after cooking and that is why I love the Mountain House option. No cleaning required! Just pack out the container.

Can I do the same with the Pasta sides? I have heard of others using a ziplock back (must be heavy duty) and pouring pasta side + boiling water into the ziplock bag and putting it into a cozy to help keep warm.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. While I love Mountain House, I like the idea of saving $7 per meal more.

If you know of any videos or instructional websites, please let me know. Assume I am too stupid to function in your responses. lol

Thanks!

[saltysack]

Try hawk vittles.....waaaaay better than mh...not cheap but good


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[Bearleg]

using my jetboil, i have prepared easy mac(at home remove from bowl, put into ziplock bag)that way, boil, pour, wait, add pepper eat. no problems, cost about $1

[flemdawg1]

Yes it works as FBC, just remember that you only need about half the water that the instructions call for. Add salt, EVOO and Nido or instant milk(if it calls for milk) to taste.

[AO2134]

using my jetboil, i have prepared easy mac(at home remove from bowl, put into ziplock bag)that way, boil, pour, wait, add pepper eat. no problems, cost about $1

Do I not have to worry about my ziplock bag melting then? That was one of my concerns. Which brand/type do you use?

[Rocket Jones]

Don't use boiling water. Near boiling is hot enough. Use ziploc freezer bags. Store brand and/or storage bags aren't tough enough.

[RangerZ]

Noob question here.

I have been eating Mountain house primarily because I can poor boiling water and let it sit, but can I do the same with Knorr Pasta Sides? Is it safe? Will it cook fully if I don't boil the pasta side for the 7 minutes?

I would prefer not doing any cleaning of my pot after cooking and that is why I love the Mountain House option. No cleaning required! Just pack out the container.

Can I do the same with the Pasta sides? I have heard of others using a ziplock back (must be heavy duty) and pouring pasta side + boiling water into the ziplock bag and putting it into a cozy to help keep warm.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. While I love Mountain House, I like the idea of saving $7 per meal more.

If you know of any videos or instructional websites, please let me know. Assume I am too stupid to function in your responses. lol

Thanks!

I do this all the time. Use name brand freezer bags, they won't melt. Others are right about the decreased water or else you'll get soup. I add NIDO and TVP.

A reflectix cozy really helps. I generally do other things for about 10 minutes, then squish it around to make sure its all wet, then wait another 5 or 10 minutes. Add tuna or spam singles and eat.

[Bluegrass]

I do quite a bit of "freezer bag cooking" and have used various brands. The key is to get freezer bags and not storage bags. Quart-sized bags work well. Ziploc sells some now that have flat bottoms.

Trailcooking has some information about the safety aspect.

My favorite is "Thanksgiving dinner" - some instant mashed potatoes, instant gravy, instant stuffing, and some canned meat. For weekend trips I will prep the ziploc bags ahead of time (adding all the dry ingredients). On the trail I add the meat to the bag, add boiling water, and let sit for 5-10 minutes. It is a little more expensive than some other freezer bag recipes (Lipton sides, for example), but I recently priced it out with some friends on my last trip. They bought a $10 Mountain House meal. My ingredients cost about the same, but I was able to get 3-4 meals out of it. Had I left meat out the price per meal would have been about $2.

[Gambit McCrae]

Bring a thick paper clip, cut top off pasta side, boil water, poor it in, they are foil lined. let sit for 15-20 minutes. FYI, i hate pasta sides, I rather just pay the extra 5 bucks and have a good tasting meal. Several of the pasta sides have left me witha abd taste and even a headache from the flavors.

[Bluegrass]

Oh, and my friends that brought the Mountain House meals? They agreed that my Thanksgiving meal tasted better than their meal.

[hikernutcasey]

I eat the pasta sides a lot. I use the freezer bags but still carry a Sea to Summit bowl to eat out of. I hate eating out of the bags. To each their own.

[Coffee]

I haven't used pasta sides since I figured out how to cook mac & cheese in my Jetboil. It is a much more satisfying meal.

[saltysack]

Oh, and my friends that brought the Mountain House meals? They agreed that my Thanksgiving meal tasted better than their meal.

Yuuum sounds good


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[lonehiker]

Don't use boiling water. Near boiling is hot enough. Use ziploc freezer bags. Store brand and/or storage bags aren't tough enough.

I've used storage/bread bags for years with no problems. I use an old coleman stove bag as my cozy, put my bag in it, add pasta or rice side (right now the rice/pasta blends are my choice) then add my boiling water directly to it. Never had a leak. I have hiked with a friend that uses the same system. He has had one leak but he was storing his bags just in his food bag. We think that a sharp corner punctured his bag. I keep mine in my cozy and have never had a bag leak. Let me be clear, I am using those cheap flimsy bags that are called bread/storage bags that you would have to close with a twist tie. I usually use name brand but have had equal success with Albertson brand as well.

[Another Kevin]

I've used storage/bread bags for years with no problems. I use an old coleman stove bag as my cozy, put my bag in it, add pasta or rice side (right now the rice/pasta blends are my choice) then add my boiling water directly to it. Never had a leak. I have hiked with a friend that uses the same system. He has had one leak but he was storing his bags just in his food bag. We think that a sharp corner punctured his bag. I keep mine in my cozy and have never had a bag leak. Let me be clear, I am using those cheap flimsy bags that are called bread/storage bags that you would have to close with a twist tie. I usually use name brand but have had equal success with Albertson brand as well.

I tried using an off-brand freezer bag exactly once. The seams burst when I poured the boiling water in. I was able mostly to rescue the meal by dumping back in the pot immediately, because the Reflectix cozy contained almost all the liquid, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. Given this experience, I'm not about to try storage bags.

[saltysack]

I tried using an off-brand freezer bag exactly once. The seams burst when I poured the boiling water in. I was able mostly to rescue the meal by dumping back in the pot immediately, because the Reflectix cozy contained almost all the liquid, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. Given this experience, I'm not about to try storage bags.

I'm a little concerned with putting boiling water and eating from plastic... Does this plastic leach out when boiling water put in...like putting boiling water in a solo cup.... Melts...cold only?


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[bigcranky]

I have tried using a freezer bag to cook a pasta side and got a gloppy sticky mess. They do NOT need the whole 7 minutes simmering -- just bringing the side to a boil in the pot and then putting the pot in a cozy is enough. I didn't find cleaning the pot to be a huge problem, but then whenever I had the opportunity I would make easy mac in a freezer bag, so go figure. (Use the brand name freezer bags, as noted above.)

[atmilkman]

Yes it works as FBC, just remember that you only need about half the water that the instructions call for. Add salt, EVOO and Nido or instant milk(if it calls for milk) to taste.

I do this all the time. Use name brand freezer bags, they won't melt. Others are right about the decreased water or else you'll get soup. I add NIDO and TVP.

A reflectix cozy really helps. I generally do other things for about 10 minutes, then squish it around to make sure its all wet, then wait another 5 or 10 minutes. Add tuna or spam singles and eat.

+1 and +1 on both of these suggestions. Half the water. Never a problem with boiling water and name brand bags. Put in reflectix cozy. I wait about half and hour. I like my food well cooked and not stiff. Sometimes food is still too hot, depends on outside temp. I put the bag back down in my Jetboil (it has long since cooled down) and drape the opening of the bag over the side of the cup. Very easy to eat out of and of course very easy clean up.

[Another Kevin]

I'm a little concerned with putting boiling water and eating from plastic... Does this plastic leach out when boiling water put in...like putting boiling water in a solo cup.... Melts...cold only?


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Not a huge worry when using food grade bags. One scenario that the manufacturers consider is filling the bag with hot food from right off the stove. Which isn't too different from freezer bag cooking, when you think about it.

[saltysack]

Ok glad too hear it...we try to avoid plastics when possible...


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