“Ultralight” food video

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

I saw this link over on Reddit.  I kind of look at food with respect to weight, but in general, I eat what I like.  This video discusses selecting foods for “ultralight” considerations.  In this video, he discusses how carefull selction of food items can drastically reduce your pack weight.  Something to think about if weight (and volume) are a significant concern.  My 2 cents, I found it interesting.

 

[dirtbag]

Im gonna watch this. I love nutrition and i love food!!!

 

[Philip Tschersich]

That was excellent. Comprehensive and analytical. Great find.

[Josh J]

Tagged to watch later, always looking for new ideas

[PaulW]

What a great channel he has. Thanks for the link.

[Christine H]

I love it when people make charts!  His version of trail mix looked tasty.  I watched his freeze-dried food video, too.  Powdered eggs and freeze-dried meat ranked high.  When I need a break from gorp, I think I’ll add those to deydrated vegetables and Ramen.

[Bonzo]

Mmmmm…powdered eggs… 🤤

[JCH]

Please direct me to the powdered eggs of which you are so fond :)

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

I myself like OvaEasy.

[Bonzo]

Please direct me to the powdered eggs of which you are so fond :)

Read on!

I myself like OvaEasy.

In my opinion, successful powdered eggs are all about preparation and recipe, not brand.  That said: OvaEasy is pretty good, and it’s usually available everywhere.  I like it because it’s consistent and I’ve been happy with it, but I also don’t like it because it’s always expensive as hell: US$12.50 for 128g on Amazon this morning, and US$10.00 at REI and other places, plus shipping unless you buy a bunch of other stuff.  A better option is to buy egg powder in bulk: as long as you’re getting whole egg powder, one brand is about as good as any other.  US$16.99 for 680g – also on Amazon this morning – is a much better price, and you’re reducing the packaging impact (if that’s of importance to you).  Within bulk purchasing lies the secret to powdered eggs: having a whacking great pile of egg powder that didn’t cost a fortune allows you to play with recipes at home until you find what works!  I like to add a touch of powdered milk and a bit of butter powder to mine, along with the requisite salt and pepper.  Dried cheeses are also nice; you can get a creamier egg texture if your cheese rehydrates well, and if you add some spices and veggies you can make a really nice frittata.  I don’t know that you’ll ever be able to make a passable French omelette with powdered eggs, but if you figure it out, let me know.

[Christine H]

Frittata.  That sounds good.  I was thinking soup or hash.

[Bonzo]

Frittata. That sounds good. I was thinking soup or hash.

Hashes are really good when someone knows what they’re doing, but whenever I make them I really do make a hash of things and I always end up with burnt, egg-ridden veggie glop.  Not even abject misery makes that taste very good.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Make a quiche.  The crust makes cleanup a snap.

[Philip Tschersich]

I downloaded the excel spreadsheet and there seem to be a few errors. Nothing crazy, I just noticed a few times where there is a category of foods (e.g., ‘meat’) and most rows indicate roughly similar kcal/oz values with one standout, but after looking up the nutritional label the manufacturer-reported value dropped that standout item back into the bunch.

Still a great resource and represents significant effort, thought, and insight.

[David Gardner]

I was fortunate enough to sample some of Jon’s amazing cooking at a GGG or two. There was an all-cooked-at-once (dry baked?) cheeseburger thingy if I remember correctly, and some other dishes. It was almost enough to make me want to cook on the trail instead of just boil water. Almost.

[AK Granola]

I like the Ova Easy in burritos with black beans and salsa (all dried). I’m glad I don’t need all the calories so although I consider food weight to a limited degree, it’s not that important. Besides I carry plenty of other fat…

[Eric Blumensaadt]

YouTube will be the salvation of the world – if only we knew which videos to watch. :o(

But seriousnessly now, thanks fort his interesting video. I’m a foodie. I live to eat, like the French and unlike the Russians, who eat to live.

 

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

GearSkeptic updated the original video as food manufactures changes their nutrition data

Hiker Food Chart 2.0 (Updated and Upgraded)

 

Downloadable Chart: https://www.mediafire.com/file/6covxvmuz5qpnga/Hiker_Food_2.0.xlsx/file

 

[HkNewman]

In terms of eggs in soup, I saw raw eggs cracked into ramen soup while the later was being stirred on an Asian roadside foodstand, but think boiling would make it chunky.  Same when I tried it with powered eggs about 25 years ago but maybe my memory needs jarring.  It’d be a cheap experiment in town, though egg drop soup would rely on beaten eggs stirred in at the last minute.

… powdered eggs ….   [delicious edible?]

With enough melted cheese and hot sauce all things are eventually possible.

Same with hummus maybe.  Pretty sure American incarnations of hummus in “Nashville hot” or “Buffalo hot sauce”  varieties would have actual Middle Easterners scratching their heads.  Then again it could be their loss ..

[Robert Richey]

Jon Fong, thanks for posting this thread about the series of YouTube videos by GearSkeptic. I have fiddled with my gear lists since finding UL religion in 1998, all the while recognizing that on any trip of over four days food weight was of greatly increased importance. These videos are a tremendous contribution to UL backpackers who take on longer trips and who are interested in various aspects of nutrition and performance.

[HkNewman]

Definitely a great video find Jon.  I’ve seen the egg crystals here and there, but never figured they’d be that nutritious.

Timely as I’m about to stock up food for 2 weeks worth of backpacking (have a planned deli stop on day 1 but need to conserve pack weight afterwards).  Interesting the category break down towards the left of each excel tab.  I stopped carrying “honey stingers” but looks like they’re pretty high in the “pastry” category.  Still some other considerations like fiber, cooking times/fuel usage etc..

Just to add, found one YouTube video on rehydrating, then “cooking” ova dehydrated eggs separately fbc style … then adding to ramen when they have a scrambled egg consistency (guessing being careful not to under or over cook)  as an egg drop ramen..

 

 

 

[Ryan Humphrey]

I got a big can of freeze dried eggs a couple years ago and they are my go-to breakfast on the trail. I mix bacon bits, whole milk powder and herbs and spices with them in a little zip-lock. Sometimes a bit of dried peppers or something. Mix a bit of water, toss some olive oil in the bottom of your pot then cook and it’s indistinguishable from regular scrambled eggs.

Now, it means actually cooking in the pot. Not just re-hydrating. So titanium isn’t the best. But it’s fast and hot and tastes great and has a proper mouth-feel and chew to it.

For soup, I’d just mix a bit of the egg powder with water then try adding it. Once mixed and rehydrated it’s basically just a beaten egg and should behave more-or-less the same.

[Duane Hall]

Ryan Humphrey:  You might try this to save a little pot mess.  Follow your own instructions exactly, but instead of frying the mixture in your pot, leave it in your zip-lock bag and poach it.  This works quite well . . . more of an omelet texture.

 

[Zach]

Follow your own instructions exactly, but instead of frying the mixture in your pot, leave it in your zip-lock bag and poach it.

Thanks for the idea. I was experimenting with ratios today and made some pretty unappetizing FBC eggs. I’ll try your suggestion.

Mix a bit of water

Ryan, how much water are you using? I used 3 oz of water to hydrate 4 T egg powder, 2 T cheddar powder, and 1 T heavy cream powder. I think it was too much water, but then again, I cooked it in a freezer bag, so that adds another variable.

[Ryan Humphrey]

I’d have to double check. I use the egg/water ratio that the freeze dried eggs recommended. But add an additional powdered whole milk in a 1:4 ratio with the eggs, plus whatever extras and seasonings I’m using. Pack it in individual sandwich bags.

I’ve never worried too much about the water ratio because it doesn’t really matter much for my method. I add water to the bag and let it soak and mix for 5-10 minutes. So a bit too much or little water won’t really change the rehydration. And then gets cooked in the pot, so it’s done when the desired consistency is reached.

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