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Mountain house cans

I have another freeze dried question. Has anyone ever taken the big 10 serving can and divided it up into single use servings?

What the hunt you are planning for that you are going to need the freeze dried meals for? Sounds interesting!

I do a few backpack hunts every year. I'll start with sitka blacktails on POW, then it depends on what I draw. Probably elk in Wyoming. I go through 15 or so freeze dried meals every year.

JSW, I have, but I question their serving sizes. It is supposed to yield 10 servings.....but at least for the lasagna, I divide mine into 5 servings.....don't forget to increase the water proportionally. I re-use the foil lined, zip top pouches....but one quart zip lock plastic bags would probably also work....when space isn't critical, I roll them up and stuff them into old Pringles cans for extra protection.....don't ask me how I know....LOL!! That backpack STILL smells like dinner.....BTW, using a measuring cup, you can measure the exact recommended amt of water, pour it into the pringles can, mark the water level on the can, then pour it out and dry the can. Then, when it is time to actually make the meal, you'll know exactly how much water to add, if you don't want to have to guess.

I do this all the time. I do look at the single serve pouch and then divide that into the can net weight to get how many bags to use. I then take a large spoon and go around each bag with one spoonful so that it gets evenly distributed since the can has stratified. I used to get zip loc boil in bag with flat bottom but these would not seal good so now I vacuum seal in a bag and just be careful how I handle it with no flat bottom. You can save some money here.

I tried to see how much $ I would save, and decided it wasn’t worth it to me, plus the huge problem of eating the same meal everyday for a week seemed like torture!!

The only advantage is to customize- add spices, oil, meat if you are Keto, etc. or other special diet

I did this my first year elk hunting. I just used ziploc freezer bags. Worked fine. Two problems that made me decide it wasn't worth it. One was eating the same thing for five day was horrible after about the third day. Number two, was once you open the can you have to eat it all within a set amount of time before it goes bad. I cant remember how long it took but it was written on the can. Something like a week or so. There is only a couple MH meals I eat anymore and the rest I get from peak refuel meals. I find them to taste much better than most MH meals.

Years back I would go through 50+ meals in a year with hunting and Backpacking. Not so much anymore. If your only going through 20 of so meals a year its just easier to get a meal for each day. The other thing is I like to have variety. So a 14 day hunt will most likely have 7 or so different flavors. You can take the say Mountain house meals out of their pouches and put them in zip-locks or vacuum bags that are ok for heating in. I do this only to save space. I'll take 2 of the empty Mountain House bags with me. I'll open my zip-lock or other bag and put that bag in a M-House bag, pore my hot water in and spend a little extra time mixing. I also always add more water than what it calls for, about 3oz more.

Now once you open a bag or a can, I'm guessing you only got a month or so of life left in them, because their not vacuum packed anymore.. Ed

Just don't be like me and take the cans deep, deep into the wilderness and forget a can opener. It was very...creative...opening them with a knife and rocks.

I agree with some of the guys above. For 15-20 meals a year it’s just not worth it to me. I just buy what I want and if it’s that big a deal save a few bucks somewhere else. I am generally willing to pay a little extra for the convenience/variety. Watch for sales.

—Jim

Man, you guys are making me feel like a total tight wad. Which I totally am by the way.

You all are probably right. I would be better off buying a variety of singles and stop worrying about the $20 I might save in a year.

Yeah, I've done it. I divide the can contents into equal parts by weight, as others have suggested.

I just save a Mountain House bag, rinse it out, and re-use it, for heating and eating the vacuum sealed can servings that I've split up.

Speaking of eating the same thing everyday and getting sick of. I am sitting here eat Starkist Sweet and Spicy Tuna and few crackers for about 5 week in a row minus Sundays for lunch and getting sick of it.

if you look at it as a one year plan, it doesn't make sense. but if you look at it over 5 years it might. i get the meals i like in the #10 cans. i divide them in portions that work for me, i add rice or a package of ramen noodles w/o spice and 1/4 cup or so of dried chicken. they go into free standing mylar bags and heat sealed. write the name of the meal and how much water is needed with a permanent marker. sometimes i tape cheese or sauce to the package as well.

Just remember that a “serving” is just like every other “serving” on the label of other foods: it is about half of what I consider one serving. Most of the pouches say 2 to 2& 1/2 servings. And they feed me for one meal.

I don't eat any freeze dried meals as we make our own and then vacuum seal them. But couldn't you pre cook some things like bits of chicken, pork, beef, polish, brats, etc., etc., and then just add them to those meals and then seal them up for a variety?

I did a short thread on this exact question last year. Should be able to find it. It saves you a little money. Probably not worth the effort. In did it because I could not find a couple of my favorite meals in the single serving.

On one flavor you could only get in bulk, I divided up a bulk supply wrote instructions, drop into vacuum seal bags and you're good to go. Just save the bag from a different meal the night before, rinse and use with your vacuum sealed meal.

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