Should Your Next Trip Feature Dehydrated Camping Food?

Did you know that drying your own food for camping could save you a lot of money, weigh very little and take up very little space, and still be extremely good for you and good tasting? There are all kinds of foods you can use to create dehydrated camping food at home. The moisture content is slowly removed, which allows these foods to stay good for much longer periods of time. They're easier to carry, and almost anything you usually bring fresh or in a can is capable of becoming dehydrated camping food. That's great news for anyone who wants to make the most of their packing space while camping.

Making dehydrated camping food is actually quite simple, and at the most basic level, you don't even need any kind of special equipments. However, for large quantities a commercial dehydrator is preferable. If you'd like to try drying small amounts of food at home without buying one, try setting your oven to about a hundred degrees F, then placing food in a single thin layer on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Put that in the oven and allow it to remain there until dry.

You'll find that vegetables usually become brittle when you dry them, while fruits and rollups tend to be quite flexible. Meat, vegetables, fruit and all kinds of other foods can be dried if you know what you're doing and the majority are done overnight or even faster. Some don't require preparation before you dry them, such as frozen veggies and fruits and foods from a can, which can go right on the cookie sheet. Vegetables and fruits, on the other hand, usually need to be blanched to keep them looking attractive.

Fortunately, it's no trouble to do blanching. Just boil a large pot of water and place your food into it for a short period - no more than a few minutes. It should be bright in color and crisp in texture. Immediately upon removing it, plunge the food into ice water to stop it from cooking any further. This will keep vegetables of any kind looking great when you dehydrate them, and is a commonly used process in freezing, too.

Some foods don't reconstitute as well as others. This is a common problem, and while it's part of the fun of experimentation for some, it's annoying to others. If you're worried about whether or not you can dry foods effectively, use one of the many convenient recipes available online. That will help you avoid getting a bad batch and wasting food.

There are lots of things out there that can become dehydrated camping food, and the process allows you to create meals that will last for weeks or even months when stored correctly. How do you do it? Just put them in a plastic bag or other sealed container when they're totally dry. Mark the container with the date, then rehydrate as you please. Often, you can even use the same container for the reconstitution process. It's remarkably easy and makes great dehydrated camping food readily available.

The great thing is that the vast majority of dehydrated camping food is going to reconstitute well, with a few things, like dried citrus and pineapple getting even better as their sugars concentrate. Most foods regain about ninety percent of volume, and rehydration is as simple as packing a water filter along with you. The nutritional value and taste are better than many commercial camping products, making this a great choice for anybody who really loves camping.