Comments on: Dehydrating Spaghetti for hiking – cheap, simple and fast

By: Frank

Frank — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:01:53 +0000

Works really well, we mix the sauce and pasta and dry it together.

By: M. Charlot

M. Charlot — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:43:10 +0000

I have not tried dehydrating Spaghetti bolognese before. Will do this the next time. Thanks!

By: Frank

Frank — Sun, 16 May 2010 07:43:20 +0000

Hi Tina,
It works really well and re- hydrates beautifully. In our new book there will be step by step tips on how to dry a huge range of food!
Cheers, Frank

By: Tina

Tina — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:54:51 +0000

Thanks very much for the info, I haven’t tried dehydrating food for camping, but I will try it next time. Would be much easier than making it from scratch while camping.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 00:59:31 +0000

Busy fella Graeme!
- a mate drys and freezes his spag up to 3 months before the walk
- we usually dry the week before and leave it refrigerated

- NO problems with quarantine in Tassie – link to their site is in the Overland Track ebook – here it is for anyone else: http://www.dpiw.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/EGIL-56FW46?open

- I would happily store it for a month in my pack IF it was dried properly, had all the fat removed etc. Clare, our daughter, has had stuff with her for over 2 weeks that was dried. We regularly take dried meals for 6-7 days.

- I think it was bought at Myer or a large department store. It is a Fowlers one. Three familiies bought it together and we share it around. (we got extra trays and “leather” sheets.

Great questions, hope I have helped.
Frank

By: Graeme

Graeme — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 23:36:19 +0000

A few questions (dehydrating food is completely new to me).

- how many days before the trip do you usually dehydrate the food?
- have you had any problems with Quarantine on entering Tasmania with home-dried food?
- how many days can a dried meal be safely stored in a backpack (is this safe for a 6-7 day hike)
- where did you buy your dehydrator and can you recommend a particular unit?

By: The Overland Track - advice from a first timer | Our Hiking Blog

The Overland Track - advice from a first timer | Our Hiking Blog — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:22:59 +0000

[...] Drying food is great – check out this post on how to dry spaghetti [...]

By: Levi Cole

Levi Cole — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:47:00 +0000

Very nice I think this will be use full in he future. I will have to try it out.

If you don't mind I have started a hiking/camping blog of my own at
levicolehenley.blogspot.com

Let me know what you think, Constructive critique is welcome

By: Frank and Sue

Frank and Sue — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 00:11:00 +0000

Geday Nik,
Nice to hear from you.
With the mince we brown it and then put it in a sieve and run it under hot water to remove the fat.
We also wipe out the frypan before we add the mince back so there is minimal fat around (as you are aware , fat will not dry)

Re the temperature, I don't set it at any specific temp. If I am around and can stir it frequently, would set it 3/4 high. If we are away for a few hours, set it on low. Reckon low is better.

The trick, I think, is to get it JUST dry i.e. not crunchy. I feel it between my fingers a lot in the late stages. If crumbly TOO DRY.

Should also note, we JUST cook spagetti before we add it and then dry. Helps keep its shape and form.

This is the first time we has dried the sauce and pasta together and we were very impressed. Slow rehydration and gentle heating meant a great , one pot meal (with minimal fuel usage)

By: nixanz

nixanz — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 23:49:00 +0000

Hi Frank! I tried Bolognese as one of my first ever dehydrated meals and it was a disaster. It didn't rehydrate well, and tasted horrible (kind of burnt taste?)

So I'd really like to figure out what I did wrong.

Did you use a high temperature on your dehydrator? Did your mince have a high fat content?

Cheers,
Nik (Bushwalk Tasmania)