I'm interested in buying large quantities of bulk dehydrated foods so that I can keep a decent diet of fruits, veggies for backpacking this summer.
Anyone in the Boulder/Denver area interested in going in on some bulk? I'm thinking we could get like 5 people together and buy about 100lbs of dehydrated vegatable for about $100-$150 each.
Might seem expensive up front, but I know come summer I'll be happy to have some healthier Backpacking options without spending $5 on a MH meal.
Here is one bulk website I'm looking at:

http://www.harmonyhousefoods.com/Dehydrated-Vegetables_c_1.html

Suggestions for other dry bulk food options are welcome, I'm just putting the call out there.


I'm also interested in buying dehydrated Quinia in bulk if anyone wants to go in on that...


Thanks!

http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/
http://beprepared.com/
http://www.internet-grocer.net/dehydrtd.htm

These are a few I have used in the past. One of the troubles with dehydrated stuff is that it is not usually pre-cooked. So, rehydrating peas peas, then cooking them in soups can take upwards of 20-30 minutes of simmering. Green beans, peppers, celery, okra, onions, potatoes, etc all have different rehydration and cooking times. Over a camp fire, this is fine. For quick meals on the trail using a stove, this means a large amount of fuel.

AlpineAire has bulk #10 cans of different types of individual & mixed veggies, not expensive (comparitively) and very good.

www.AlpineAire.com

As a general rule, the meal mixtures, like f.d. Beef Stroganoff, are packaged in #10 size cans (5/6 of a gallon), and those are boxed up as either four or six cans to a box. However, that is a lot of Beef Stroganoff.

Individual meats, like diced f.d. Beef, Chicken, Turkey, etc. are packaged in #2-1/2 size cans (quarter of a #10 can), and those are boxed up as six cans to a box.

Air dehydrated foods tend to be heavier, but less expensive, and they require more simmer time to rehydrate them again.

If you are shopping around for that kind of food, look for stores that sell to members of the Mormon church. It is part of their faith that they should have six months worth of food stored in their basement, so they buy lots of it. Such stores would be found more in Utah.

--B.G.--

I like dehydrated foods. If you really want to save money and have more creative meal options available to you, spend $50 (amazon.com) on a decent dehydrator, cook your meals yourself, then dehydrate them. I've found that it doesn't take that much time to rehydrate them and my meal options and recipes are much healthier and more flavorful than freeze dried meals. Dehydrated foods may not be as light as fd, but they are still pretty light and the food is much better because I made it myself.

Edited by socalpacker on 03/14/2011 13:28:14 MDT.

I have been doing a ton of experimenting with doing my own lately. I have found a variety of things I like and things I dont.

Dehydrated salsa works GREAT...easy addition to almost any meal and is easy to do.

Veggies work OK but I have found the freeze dryed ones almost as cheap and way easier (so far anyway...I tried to dry a pearl onion for like 4 days lol and it never dried)

Corn worked well, green beans worked ok, and ground beef or chicken worked ok.

I got a pork and tomato sauce recipe out of one of the books and thats the best thing yet. Only thing I will tell you is watch doing to much too soon. The pork recipe made a ton of food and now thats its sat bagged up for about a month, it doesnt taste nearly as good as the first day...maybe its my storage or just normal I dont know.

yell offline if you want to compare notes further.

If somebody is just starting out with air dehydrators of food, start with something easy, like kidney beans or garbanzo beans. I buy canned beans and rinse them very well, then throw them in the dehydrator. Depending on the quantity, it will take somewhere between 4 and 8 hours, and I do that on a cold winter night when the house needs that little bit of extra heat.

When the beans are done, you will know it. If they are right, you should be able to squeeze a dried bean with your fingers, and it will shatter. If you got them too dry, they will be hard as a rock and will not shatter. If they mash without breaking, they are not dry enough.

Stuff like a pearl onion can be tricky. You have to get it sliced very thinly. Maybe something between 0.1 and 0.2 inches. The more consistent the thickness, the more consistently they will dry, which is good. If you don't do this, you end up with some moisture left in it, and that might spoil quickly.

Green bell peppers are easy, if they are diced.

--B.G.--

Serge,

Alpine Aire actually has a VERY broad selection of #10 cans of not only vegetables, but meats as well. Bob's just a little off.

The #10 cans are hard to find if you're looking at Mountain House meals. Mountain House doesn't really do #10's unless you're an organization, if I understand correctly. (Either way, they make it clear on their website it's not readily available at the moment).

Alpine Aire has the following available right now in #10 cans:

-- sweet corn;
-- diced carrots
-- garden vegetable mix
-- choped onions
-- peas
-- potatoes (diced and instant both)
-- tomatoe flakes
-- tomatoe powder
-- vegetable mix (different than garden vegetable)

In addition, they have freeze dried:
-- beef
-- turkey
-- chicken
-- texturized vegetable protien
-- 5 grain hot cereal w/ apples & cinnamon
-- desserts
-- six different kinds of soups
-- blueberry honey granola w/ milk
-- 2 egg breakfast dishes
-- 21 different ready-made meals

They are one of the only (the only, that I know of right now) that use the #10 cans, that I would eat. Way better than Mountain House in terms of quality of ingredients and sodium content. They have no plans of getting rid of their #10 can usage either, as they just launched a new line that uses the #10 can size in distribution to the general public.

They come six #10 cans to a box. I separate the amount in the #10 cans into individual serving sizes, or at least one larger bag and just draw from that until it's gone. I use a vacuum sealer to continue keeping the contents fresh.

Here's a picture of me last week with my stash of #10 cans from Alpine Aire for my PCT thru-hike. So.....I know they have 'em. :)

Edited by Pittsburgh on 03/14/2011 18:04:56 MDT.

"Green bell peppers are easy, if they are diced."

Does this mean yellow, orange, and red peppers more difficult? :)

I agree with Kendall...dehydrating is great. I received a food dehydrator for Christmas this year, and I am loving it.

My strategy for pretty much any trip:

Dehydrate my own meals. I've made and dehydrated chili...awesome. Spaghetti sauce. alfredo sauce. BBQ sauce.

Dehydrate my own snacks....fruit leathers, jerky, etc.

Use things like mashed ppotatoes and make "loaded" mashed potatoes with bacon pieces in a pouch (not bacon bits, but the moist kind).

Bring a bag or two or three of freeze dried meals, just for variety & ease, depending on how long I'll be out.

Load some fresh stuff (again, depending on how long I'll be out, or at least for the first night) and really have fun cooking.

But dehydrating has been so much fun. There's really so much you can do with it, and it's satisfying knowing you actually made it.

Dug
http://thf2.wordpress.com

"Alpine Aire actually has a VERY broad selection of #10 cans of not only vegetables, but meats as well. Bob's just a little off."

Dug, I made no mention at all about Alpine Aire brand. I have the big cans of Mountain House on hand. Maybe you are a little off.

--B.G.--

"Does this mean yellow, orange, and red peppers more difficult? :)"

It means that they are all more difficult if not diced.

--B.G.--

Bob, way to go Whiteblaze on us. I wasn't attacking you, I was just saying you were a little off in your facts, which we are all capable of being every now and again. Don't take it personally.

This is your quote, in which you made no mention of Mountain House. Nor was Mountain House mentioned before you wrote this.

"Individual meats, like diced f.d. Beef, Chicken, Turkey, etc. are packaged in #2-1/2 size cans (quarter of a #10 can), and those are boxed up as six cans to a box."

You sure made it seem like that's how things are done. I wanted to clear the "Aire," and even show a picture, so my credibility wasn't in question. :)

Packed into those boxes are several #10 cans of diced freeze dried beef, turkey, and chicken.

As for you having #10 cans of Mountain House on your shelf, I will point to this quote, cut and pasted verbatim from their website just now. I know what I'm talking about. :)

"As you know we have removed #10 cans from our website temporarily. The reason for this is sales of #10 cans have continued to increase. OFD is allocating as much production capacity as possible to this market segment, but we must maintain capacity for our other market segments as well."

So.....was I off to clarify?

Edited by Pittsburgh on 03/14/2011 18:12:42 MDT.

Look, Dug. If you got confused about what I had stated, that is your business, but you don't need to confuse everybody else. I made no comparison between Mountain House versus Alpine Aire.

Again, you can find lots of these food products better if you find the stores that sell to the Mormons.

--B.G.--

"Bob, way to go Whiteblaze on us. I wasn't attacking you, I was just saying you were a little off in your facts, which we are all capable of being every now and again. Don't take it personally."

Dug, I do take it personally. You stated that I was off in what I had already made clear.

I don't deal with Whiteblaze, whatever that is.

Your apologies are accepted, though.

--B.G.--

Sorry to interrupt the chest-thumping...

Honeyville Grain is also a good source of dehydrated and freeze dried foods in #10 cans, available by the can or case of 6 #10 cans. Use promo code SPRING11, good through tomorrow, for an extra 10% off your order. Flat rate shipping is also only $4.49.

http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/

Edited by baldknobber on 03/14/2011 18:27:40 MDT.

Bob,

Wasn't trying to confuse anyone, I was actually attempting to clarify, which I think I did successfully by stating facts and listing specifics.

In the 3rd post on this topic, I mentioned specifically the brand I like boxes things in #10 cans. Later, you mentioned as a "general rule," that meats, etc. are boxed in a different sized can. I only corrected you in that by saying those items CAN be found in #10 cans. That's a far cry from confusing people. I'll defend my position on this, Bob, because I know I'm right.

I'm not really into internet arguing, and if you took offense to me saying your facts were a little off, that's not on me. If facts are off, they're off. I clarified. I don't appreciate anyone calling me out when all I'm doing is trying to help by lending to the dialogue. If you look back on my posts here since I joined in July (?), I'm not confrontational and not a jerk in my interactions with people. For you to get this response from me should say something.

Apology still stands, and I'm done with that conversation. I never intended for this thread to get hijacked. Sorry, Serge.

Continue...I've stated the only facts I wanted to lend.

Alpine Aire. Good. Inexpensive. Available in #10 cans. Vegetables. Meats. Variety. Well made. That's all.

Edited by Pittsburgh on 03/14/2011 19:44:09 MDT.

check out thrive freezedried foods too www.shelfreliance.com

I bought 3 boxes of #10 cans back at their presidents day sale.

I havent opened them because i want to wait for the season before I open the cans.

They have almost everything known to man in both dehydrated and freezedried.

I thought the prices were hard to beat as well.

Lots of folks on whiteblaze (which is where I heard about them) seem to like their product.

just another option.