Harmony house foods

[greentick]

Anyone have experience with this stuff?

http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/cat...34/3029186.htm

I picked one up to fiddle with. If you didn't want to simmer for 10 minutes and wanted to do freezer bag cooking how long would you have to presoak this stuff so that it would be good to eat? Thanks.

[Jimmers]

I haven't used this particular brand, but I believe it would work the same as other freeze dried food in a cozy. Usually you just boil the water, pour it in the bag, put it in the cozy and wait 10 to 15 minutes. I've never had crunchy food using that method. Play around with it at home first and see what works. Nothing worse than experimenting on the trail.

[Auntie Mame]

I have an assortment of flavored TVP from them, and put some in some meals I sent to thru-hiking husband. He was fine with it. He does freezer-bag cooking, pretty much exclusively. Good luck.

[ScottP]

I used thier stuff for my PCT thru (I cooked quionoa and added in a little bit of pretty much everything they sell. It was pretty good, and good for you)--it's top notch. I believe it's dehydrated, not freeze-dried.
Pretty much anything you're going to soak should be an hour--longer if it's cold out. You can just eat it then--no need to heat if you don't want to. Tang containers make good soakers (and are ultralight), as do freezer bags if you put them in something (like a cooking pot), so they don't get punctured. Make sure to add the salt (and you'll need salt if you're hiking, for hydration purposes), after the food has rehydrated.
If you're going to be heating the stuff up there probably is no need to pre-soak. If you put in enough water (and it'll take way more than you think), by the time it comes to a boil you can just let it sit for a little bit wrapped up in a hat or something for 15 mins then it should be good to go.

[sarbar]

I ordered the Super Sampler last week, and it showed up this morning. Wow, 28 bags of food is a LOT! It is a better deal than their Backpackers Kit, and is only $10 more (you get 18 bags in the BP Kit).
So far, I am impressed.
Everything will work FBC style except for maybe the sweet corn, green peas, green beans and the potato dices. That means 24 out of 28 bags will work in freezer bags. Woo-hoo!
Coolest is the lentils. Drying lentils at home is not fun!

[Rain Man]

I ordered the Super Sampler last week, and it showed up this morning. Wow, 28 bags of food is a LOT!

Yeah, but they still don't have Lima beans, do they?! Phooey!!!


RainMan

.

[greentick]

...
Everything will work FBC style except for maybe the sweet corn, green peas, green beans and the potato dices...

Pardon my FB ignorance O Guru of FBC... but why won't that stuff work?

[sarbar]

Pardon my FB ignorance O Guru of FBC... but why won't that stuff work?

Lol..I should have said why, eh?
The 4 items I mentioned are tougher and thicker items. Green beans, green peas, corn and potatoes are 4 items where freeze dried is worth the extra cost. Problem is they are bigger sized pieces from Harmony, so they will need extra soaking time. But! If one wanted to soak them seperately for say 30 minutes before making dinner (all but the potatoes) you could add them in to your meals.
The potatoes would do well with being in a cooked dish (such as a rich chowder).

All the other items in the kit are either fully cooked or cut so small they don't need any extra care (Such as the dried leeks...yum!)

[greentick]

So I tried out the HH stuff at home. I made a SW Chowder thing. It turned out, surprisingly, really good. I made a reduced scale meal (about 1/3 to 1/2 sized). Here is what I did:

3 tbsp Nido dried whole milk
2 tsp corn
1tsp onion
4 tsp carrot
1tsp peppers
4 tsp potatos
4 tsp black beans
4 tsp pinto beans
one packet of Herbox sodium free bouillon
pinch of dried chipotle powder, cumin, oregano, garlic

I added ~300ml of boiling water, checked it at 10min, ate it at 15minutes. I added salt (too much actually) after it was done rehydrating.

This combo had ~300 calories. I unfortunately forgot to weigh the meal dry but it was WAY lighter than a Mountain house etc meal.

I didn't have any dehydrated chicken but will the next time.

The corn looked like it was dehydrated still but the texture was fine.

Looking forward to field trails ...

[sarbar]

Cool! I haven't had a chance to try out the corn yet, so I may be changing my tune on it

[BumpJumper]

Tick,
Got anymore receipes? That was great..
Is there a section on here where we can swap receipes like that?

[sarbar]

Greentick, that recipe is GOOD! I made it up this morning (with a minor spice change) and you were right, the corn is perfect. I was basing my assumptions on the corn and potatoes being like other brands of dried vegetables. HHF's products continue to amaze me!
Here is a photo of it:

[sarbar]

Greentick, here is my version (to go withe the above photo!):

Creamy Corn & Bean Chowder

In a quart freezer bag put:

3 Tbsp Nido dried milk
2 tsp dried corn
1 tsp dried onion
4 tsp dried carrot
1 tsp dried bell peppers
4 tsp diced potatoes
4 tsp black beans
4 tsp pinto beans
1 tsp low sodium bouillon of choice (1 Tbsp homemade)
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp dried diced garlic

Also take 1-2 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Add 1 1/2 cups boiling water, stir well. Put in a cozy for 15-20 minutes. Top with Parmesan Cheese.

Serves 1 as main meal, 2 as a starter.

Salt to taste if desired!

[greentick]

Tick,
Got anymore receipes? That was great..
Is there a section on here where we can swap receipes like that?

Sarbar is the master of FBC. I am just starting to dabble. Look at her posts. I am cutting and pasting the lentil burritos and curry lentils right now.

I have a trip coming up in a few weeks and am assembling a menu... Thanks for all the great ideas and tips Sarbar.

[Ewker]

I ordered the Super Sampler last week, and it showed up this morning. Wow, 28 bags of food is a LOT! It is a better deal than their Backpackers Kit, and is only $10 more (you get 18 bags in the BP Kit).
So far, I am impressed.
Everything will work FBC style except for maybe the sweet corn, green peas, green beans and the potato dices. That means 24 out of 28 bags will work in freezer bags. Woo-hoo!
Coolest is the lentils. Drying lentils at home is not fun!

even on sale at 60.00 seems very high for 28 (1 Cup size) bags.

[sarbar]

even on sale at 60.00 seems very high for 28 (1 Cup size) bags.

Ewker, I will agree that $60 seems to be a lot...but food wise it did come to be a baragin. If one dehydrates at home, they could much of it cheaper.
But if you don't dry items, or don't have time or desire, it is a great buy.
Those 1 cup bags hold a lot of food!
I woke up to a sick husband the other day and made chicken soup without going out for veggies. That was nice!

[frieden]

I tried it at a trade show, but not in the field. It was good.