@@jesseprins4744 depends - some civilian going for a hike: yes that would feel like surviving. 1-2 week army march in woods: the pudding will improve morale, thus i'd say it leans towards thriving then (altho it's also about surviving too - but in army one survives with bread and water - everything else feels like bonus). (Ofc this is country dependant too, i bet the rations armies offer vary a lot)
Lol in the army we werent even allowed to cook it, 10mile hike gives me ptsd no thanks, hiking with other vets was just as bad but atleast hot food, who hikes for fun tho
Gotta say guys. Despite the outdoors and the snow/rain, the production quality is top notch. Really appreciate the effort you put into this videos, really enjoyable!
Gotta agree 100%, and despite the painstaking and hilarious cloche placement, Barry still found a way to muck it up. Let's face it though it was to be expected. xD
Small tip for those pouch meals for anyone trying them on their own. You don't need to use a spoon to mix just seal the bag tightly hold the seam to keep it together and give the whole bag a good shake. Saves having a crusty spoon when its time to eat.
Second tip: before opening the bag, turn it upside down and give it a shake. Otherwise, it can easily happen that all the seasoning hides in the creases, giving you a tasteless meal that ends in two very salty spoonfuls.
Excellent review. Note that freeze dried food requires longer rehydrate times at elevation due to lower boiling water temps. It can be up to 5 mins longer. Some bags only list the sea level rehydration times.
@@SortedFood Also factor in the temperature of the environment. The heat of the water is going to try and escape from the mylar bag more in the winter than a mild summers day. In your environment I would have a neoprene sleeve to insulate during the rehydrate or better yet, inside your jacket ;-)
Having lived @ 4500 feet, I know it takes liquids longer to boil - maddening the first time I tried to make pudding/custard. Using a thermometer to check water temp may have made a difference.
The Frosty Cloche sounds like Ebber's pop-up restaurant. I love MRE videos and would love to see you guys do more in the future. Wonderful series and so good to see James again!
I'd really like to hear / see these guys also do MRE's vs Astronaut foods. Aerospace foods are highly regulated because of the top notch condition astronauts need to be in, vs MRE's are more a stop gap filler not really designed for prolonged eating.
The key with all these freeze dried meals is at the half way mark add a little more boiling water than originally called for and stir it again making sure to really get those corners. Also always give them an extra 3-5 minutes than called for. I've had literally hundreds of these over the decades from tons of different brands and the extra water, stirring and time is always going to be a "pro tip".
Because it's always going to be better to get the occasional one that ends up a bit on the soupy side versus nearly every single time having under hydrated crunchy bits.
I always add more water as you can get quite the stomach ache if you eat too much underhydrated food. We had a poor quality water purifying rig once and didn't want to wait for more water. My husband and I ended up waking up with stomach pain. Luckily an older couple by us saw us up in middle of the night and asked if they could help and realize that we needed to drink more water. Sure enough a couple of cups of water each and the stomach pain went away. We bought a better water purifying set up with a force pump instead of the drip set up we had. Also depending on your weight restrictions I have 2 thermos I take. One for drink one for food. In the morning you get your food for lunch in the thermos and add the water and by lunch time all the waters has been absorbed and its still hot because of the thermos and easy lunch. But we mainly weekend hiked so we were not traveling miles and miles we could afford to carry a bit extra.
As a long time viewer, maybe seven years of watching every video as it’s released - not only is it heaps of fun to see James back, but I’m *really* enjoying this new format. Camp cooking, as well as survival cooking or historical cooking content, can have fantastic lessons for modern home cooking. After all, cooking is all about sustaining yourself and doing what you can with what you have. There are loads of takeaways from this kind of content. Whether it’s a basic cooking technique that works “well enough” on a camp stove but is even easier and tastier in a real kitchen. Or one of these modern convenience self heating foods where you can talk about how it’s not fancy but still good flavour and nutrition, and what makes it better than other options, things like #1 here with the freeze dried chicken being “not as good as fresh chicken but still really delicious in context”. Even in these tougher times, most of us are still better equipped to cook our food than people have been for much of history. Even those of us who only have access to a microwave, or only have access to a shitty electric stovetop. This kind of video is a great out of the studio way of getting those very same ideas and techniques across!!
They have done some campfire cooking in the past. But its been like 5 or 6 years. I recall a true scratch cooking series they did in the woods back in 2017 where they made different flavored breads. They also had an episode where they made chimney bread in conjunction with I think it was a bbq dinner? That said I really enjoyed them making another foray into out doors cooking.
Would love to see them do a big set of camping videos again. I regularly go back and watch all their camping stuff. Whenever they are out in the "wild", it's always fun. Beach, woods, forest, etc. Amazing stuff.
I've been in charge of food & cooking for a couple of long duration expeditions in the past. Weight, pack size & calories were three of the major concerns for us, though something often overlooked is the weight & volume of fuel needed to cook or hydrate items as it can add considerably to your burden. You also had to make sure food wasn't going to cause loose bowels or stomach upsets as they can be problematic at altitude or in the middle of no-where. What we found with extended trips when you were relying on a lot of dehydrated food when you've been working your bodies hard is that you all begin to crave fat! So we'd squirrel away little fatty treats like small tins of oily fish, salami, jerky, pemmican & tubes of cheese. These could be had as a treat but were usually mixed through the main foods in small quantities to bolster calories & satisfy that craving for fats. I did hear a great story about a group of Scottish climbers who ran a competition for the most outrageous summit food treat back in the 1980's. Seemingly one of them drew attention on one climb as frost was forming on the bottom section of his rucksack even though the weather was quite warm. When they got to the summit he pulled out a polystyrene box which had been insulated in newspapers.Inside was more insulation & in that was a still perfectly frozen mint flavour Wall's Viennetta! He was a scientist with access to liquid nitrogen [-195.8°C] & he'd frozen the whole thing before he left so it would still be cold at the top. He served it up to everyones amazement & they ate it enjoying the view.🍧⛰
I remember watching gearskeptic's 'ultra light' video, he always joking bout how life would be easier if we able to digest olive oil, I think he also shown example of some people took the light weight too far that the hikers had a hard time consuming the food, as they're dry and even tasteless.
Fabulous story about the dessert! In the old 1980s and before MREs, there was always some item with fat in it for the same reasons you cite. Sugar helps, too, even in small quantities. And most definitely need to think about the 'waste' conditions as blockages can be quite as bad as runny when one is out in the field.
@@RijackiTorment "In the old 1980s and before MREs" -- i guess that depends on you define "MRE" -- Steve1989MREInfo has certainly eaten food rations MUCH older than that
The thing with freeze dried food is that at 500 kcal you need at least 3 a day plus a bunch of snacks. For a week hike 8.50 per meal add up real quick! I recommend instant couscous and soup powder, not as healthy maybe but much cheaper and you'll manage for a week.
Trick I've found useful is have a meal like these rehydrated ones for lunch, and have the longer, more cooking-involved meals at evenings in camp - when you can split duties more efficiently and have more set-up time.
I've adored this little series - So good to see Barry vindicated after all these years. And I must say, the boy certainly has a great eye for some incredibly beautiful scenery. Well done, Baz! :)
An mre is just that. Ready to eat. No need for water. Freeze dried meals that take water to rehydrate aren't technically an mre. 12 years in the military has that beat into me.
They are super hard to get in Europe/uk as the only company with a reasonable price is us based and you have to have the us one reworked to work with our power outlets (yes, I have looked into one 😉)
I am nearly 70 and unlikely to find myself stuck up a mountain needing food pouches….but I found this video as always hugely entertaining but also very interesting and informative. The production in general is so high quality, and Sorted just goes on and on improving. You all deserve a number 1 award when they bring in one for TH-camrs.
For survival food, try going directly to the source (original company) than getting it from a different store. The price difference is (sometimes) remarkable. The chicken and rice curry, for example, I was able to find for 5.99 pounds (6.76 euros). Since they store well and most camping trips aren't entirely spontaneous, a little planning (catching things on sale or clearance) can save a ton of money.
Also the "undercookedness" is likely a combination of user error and instructions, as I've seen the requirements be more as a guideline. For these you'd usually want to "overcook" it and knead it a bit before serving to guarantee full reconstitution. Plus it's kinda hard to "overcook" this since it's already cooked and dehydrated. Edit: You can still "overcook" it, but that usually requires you to pound it to a complete mash and drown it in water.
As a hiker I'm all too familiar with these kind of meals, would love to see opinions on common ones in the UK (firepot, summit to eat) and some of the boil in the bag ones, if only to find out which is the best!
One of the things I missed in your previous outdoor/travel videos was the lack of tried and true formats that attracted me to your channel in the first place. This mix of regular format in an unusual setting is a winning combination!
It would be really fun to see you guys making your own "survival" or just "on the go" food. Combining taste and convenience sounds like an interesting challenge
They already have... or at least I think it was barry who made a full set of food during one of their picknick meal challanges, I'm sure you'll find the episode if you search a bit.
I kept seeing this thumbnail all day and I'm like "why does it keep pushing survival food at me? I can't eat that stuff" Oh, it's chef torture - that's in my list!
Decathlon should sponsor you guys for your next adventure! And most awesome of all, they develop all of their own stuff, so including these foods. Well played Decathlon
The best thing about the freeze dried food (other than keeping pack weight down on week long hikes) is that you can put it under your jacket/fleece while it's rehydrating and warm up that way.
Freeze dried desserts on the blander side (like the rice pudding) are vastly improved by adding a bit of a trail snack to. Like broken granola bar or a nut / fruit mix.
Would be amazing if you could do a series on dehydrating your own food, I live in NZ and often do multiday hikes, but hate using these things as the packaging is a lot! Great video!
As a trained Duke of Edinburgh award leader, I used to a spend a lot on covering food. Some of the students got so creative with their foods and others bought these sorts of pouches. Looks like in the 8-10 years since I did this (health and wheelchair prevent me) those meals have really come on if the first one is anything to go by.
When I went for my bronze award in I think 2010. The food was one of my favorite parts. I was really surprised at how good rations can taste. Plus I had the best night's sleep of my life that night!
Another good TH-cam channel, Jolly, has done something like this. You may want to check it out. The Korean Englishman (Josh) and his best friend (Ollie) run the channel. They are quite funny. Recommend the squirrel episode and Ollie's multi-episode Korean language lessons, taught mostly by Josh. Hilarious.
I'd certainly recommend something like this because it's more a focus on getting the balance between cost and calories - as much as this was an interesting video, it's still very much at the premium/hobbyist end of the market, and while that's totally fine, it does also shift the goalposts a bit - you're not expecting anything to be inedible, it's just what comes out better than others. Admittedly, you wouldn't be the first on YT to do the reviews, but it would perhaps be really interesting to mix it in with another format, be it 'pick the premium', or having different budgets for different people and then sending them on a somewhat more outwards bounds camping trip where they need food which can survive them and their bags being dragged through a river and only having a hexi burner to cook with. That, and I'd love to see the group's reaction to some of the particular parts of the UK ration pack which came down into the cadets when I was a group. The fruit dumplings especially were... choice.
@@glasswingbutterfly jolly have been guests on this channel somewhere last year too :D i actually found them through the priest meme reviews like 2 or 3 years back :D
Sorted should probably contact Steve1989 for some tips as to "interesting" MREs. I'm pretty sure he's the YT authority on both current and historical MREs, and he's probably the only one to eat 20 year old rations if they only smell a little terrible.
May I suggest Lake of the Woods, which is an enormous glacial lake between Minnesota and Canada Next winter you could go ice fishing there and be secluded for days. It’s beautiful and serene.
Even though that wet snow looks really unpleasant, it's always lovely seeing James (and he really looks like he's in his element in these videos)! Most of my hikes are only single day or planned around possibilities to get proper meals (food always tastes much better when hiking), so I don't generally buy these kinds of products apart from the fruit jellies, but it's good to know that not all of them are terrible.
As an outdoor person, I eat a lot of these types of meals. Lots of different brands types, so I totally jiving with this video. Would love to see your take on the military versions of these.
Ever since I first started watching Sorted I was pleasantly surprised by the chemistry. I think it would be amazing if you guys could do some German cuisine (maybe not just from Bavaria since many people tend to reduce German food to Sauerkraut and Bavarian dishes :)
4:26 I absolutely couldn’t agree more. For me as a “better to have than need” person, self editing is important. So quality, and meets the main goal. Heck yes
Hadnt seen this one in a long while, and wow, like others said, the production is amazing. I especially enjoy the audio. The snow and the mixing means no echo at all and feel like we are right there chatting.
How about doing lost and hungry El Camino di Santiago edition? El Camino is a long walk/pilgrimage where you can start any route and ends in Compostela in Spain. I think it's good because you get to discover food cultures as you're walking.
As a trail hiker who loves Sorted, this series has been amazing. I hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc last summer and will be doing the GR5 this summer-so I've been playing 'I-spy' as you've been on a number of trails I've hiked during this series! As a follow-up, have you heard of fell-foodie? A really interest story and I think you'd be brilliantly suited for a collaboration! I often have 1-2 dehydrated meals in my pack as a backup incase I can't find anything fresh, the shops are shut, or there aren't any huts or restaurants. Definitely not my go-to, but the quality has definitely increased over the past few years. LOVE the series-you've made a venn diagram of two of my favourite things! Thankyou! :)
So much better than the MREs of the 1980s when I went camping with them. It's amazing how much food technology has advanced to have any of them not jsut 'food to survive".
I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed this series - the same kind of great content we love, elevated ten-fold with the absolutely stunning scenery and all-round excellent production! More please!!!!
"Is this a pouch of life, or is it a pouch of strife?" "Will this one keep you warm in the cold, or does it need to be re-sold?" "Does this meal scream 'survival in the woods', or is it just a cry for help?" Just throwing you a few lines here Ben because it sounds like you ran out of ideas pretty quickly
I would love to see you guys try to make MRE:s from scratch. You could put together 24h packs from ready stuff or make your own rehydrating meals. I tend to use cous cous and add other dried stuff to it in a Ziploc bag before my hikes.
It's been my experience that with any of the dehydrated camping/military meals add more water than recommended and leave in for double the recommended time.
The brand huel has started making meal replacement food and even though its not marketed as hiking food it works exactly the same as these and is very eco friendly and vegan
What a great place to test camping foods. I don't want this series in the Alps to end. It's so good to see Ben, Baz & James together testing foods. I got some years ago from an army disposal store. They had pepper steak, which was the best. I also got some cans of food for camping and they had a chemical in a double walled can. You pierced the can top in 4 places and the air coming in contact with the chemical heated the can and contents. I haven't seen either for a long time. But then again I haven't looked 😆
14:45 makes me wonder... I don't really know of any sweet potato dishes, though potatos are fairly neutral in flavour, so you should definitely be able to have a sweet and creamy mash with honey or something.
'Where should you go to try more facinating foods?' Well, off the top of my head, you've done freezing cold, how about blistering hot? I would say go to very high heights, but you technically did that with your fancy dinner, but maybe in a hot air balloon? The thick of a jungle could be interesting, and the stark flatness of the sea. There's just so many places, some more extreme than others that you can choose. But I do know, wherever you choose to go, I'll watch with bated breath and delight in my heart.
I had a craving last summer to try a whole lot of these foodpacks while hiking in Norway. Tactical Foodpack, Firepot, Monsen's foodpack, REAL Turmat. And so many of those tasted absolutely like cardboard, or worse plastic. The only brand I could steadily recommend and enjoyed was REAL Turmat, the beefstew and chickencurry was the highlights of my trip. I also like how the packaging has a second line where you're supposed to cut it after it's finished cooking. Makes it more comfortable eating out of with a spoon when you don't have to shove your hand deep inside a bag. I suggest trying out some of the local foodpacks you intend on bringing before you're in the middle of the woods!
Love that you kept the running out of water bit in there, biggest problem with freeze dried meals is the weight saved often goes to the extra water to make it edible. The fruit jelly sticks would be my choice, but carried in an inside pocket. trying to gnaw through frozen fruit mixtures is brutal :)
I would love to see a beach/sea trip where its all about you guys catching or gathering your own ingredients. (if you go to the beach please take me with you!)
Every time they stirred with the spoon I kept thinking "but it's a pouch can't you just seal it and shake it or squish it around with your hands?" but ah well not like you're dirtying a secondary utensil when you're using the spoon you're going to eat it with. Good run with this series, guys! Nice to see you again, James!
The battle of SortedFood and reliable water supply continues lol. No sink at home, running out of water in the forest :) Also, love these video’s quality and style. Truly well done ( as always)!
It amuses me to see how you consider even the simplest pâtes de fruits as some kind of luxurious dessert. I've had those all the time when I was a kid (not premium ones, same as the one you had, individually wraped), so convenient for a snack !
I want to see you guys explore different BBQ foods and cultures of outdoor fire cooking. The less precise temperatures, and the extra flavours of what the heating source is I think could tell a really interesting story.
As others have mentioned, learning how to use these meals is part of the trick. Most are designed for rehydration at sea level at approximately 50 degrees F, 10 C. Tucking the warm pouch in your jacket is good for you and the food. You can also boil water for tea or coffee and let the pouch rest in there if it's extremely cold as your conditions were. It will sterilize the the outside of the bag and keep the warmth in and the water is still safe to use... assuming they didn't have any funky packaging. Mountain House foods in the US are my preference for freeze dried but I've had MREs from the 1960's in cans that were still edible 20 + years later.
I’ve loved this little series of outdoor cooking/surviving! Please do more! I’ve also loved seeing James again 😊 The whole MRE thing is really interesting. They can last for years and take up so little space.. I’d love to learn more about them. Perhaps on your next excursion? Or maybe do some taste tests in the studio?
You know what's a great backpacking dessert? Jell-O No Bake Cheesecake. And it's only $4. Add some crystal light on top for a strawberry swirl look. Nearest stream is the required "refrigerator."
If you're ever in the US again in the North Carolina area, I recently stayed in a tiny little town near Raleigh for a wedding that had an amazing ... restaurant? Yeah, let's call it a restaurant. Like I said, it was a *TINY* town called Saxaphaw. I ate at the Saxaphaw General Store, because that was THE place in town you could eat. It was also the gas station. And the food was incredible. Everything on the menu was entirely sourced from local farms. And there was a lot on the menu. They served emu-meat burgers, duck bacon, and plenty more I don't remember. There's nothing but farms for miles around, and all of a sudden in the middle of nowhere is a gourmet restaurant tucked inside a gas station, which is also the town's grocery store.
Hei Guys ! Thanks for a great show:) The Tome we use for Aligot is from Massif Central, another mountains and cheese producing area. Still looking forward to try it!
Having served in the Finnish defence forces, the best one of these pouch meals I have found is by a mile Real Turmat. It is a great meal, which helps you mentally aswell when you have been in the snowy/rainy forest for weeks on end :D
Baz demonstrates the bigger win with these: imagine being on a kayak and it tips, or your back pack tumbles down a ridge into a stream etc, events that do happen. Ben, that is really the median with these, they are not perfect, none of them are, but they due suit a purpose. You know, you have been to Japan. One of the traditions from I believe WWII that is a cook-thing is Mess Tin meals. Using a 'mess tin' to do usually 1 pot meals. Worthy of a vending machine I think but maybe a fun world food theme?
This is why seasoned backpackers in the US have a pouch with much needed seasonings because these meals sometimes needs a bit of help. Worth the additional weight.
As a backpacker, I use these to help reduce weight when traveling long distances. Pro-tip: buy #10 tin cans of freeze dried plain vegetables and repack to a small baggie to add extra veggies! 🥦🫛🫑🥕
Another great video, guys. The production quality just seems to be getting better and better. Would love to see more of this! A Summer series of cooking and camping would be amazing. Or just cooking outdoors somewhere. They are always amazing videos. Whether it is beach cooking, in the woods, or up a mountain, it's great to see what you can do with limited resources. Would also love to see you all go more regional in the UK.
On the "Trek' N Eat", there's also another rip-line under beneath the zip closure to reduce the Pouch size so you can reach the meal easier, with a Spoon
I'm glad you did say that the portable outdoor kettle was useful with the hiking food pouches. I posted in the video where you reviewed it that it seemed ideal for use with them. Anyone who has been a hiker/camper for any length of time has seen a very pleasant improvement in the quality and selection of these food pouches. There was a time when you could only get bad bland food and actual military MRE's (which vary between vile and inedible).
This has been very fun to watch. It would be interesting to see you do UK IMP's (MRE). Military "cuisine" would also be a fun one to watch. Maybe also trying to feed a bunch of hungry soldiers as a challenge would ALSO be amazing. You have some amazing chefs and I know that soldiers love a good meal.
Hi guys, beyond camping I feel like the ignored scenario is travelling to places where you can’t always trust the food. That chicken curry would be amazing in that situation, plus you boil the water so safer still.
None of these brands are available here in Australia, but as a hike camper, I've LOVED this video watching some of my favourite TH-camrs eating dehydrated trail food
All these dehydrated foods need to be mixed thoroughly then, when you've done that, you have to mix it thoroughly and then, as an extra step, mix it thoroughly. Once you've done that, all you have to do is mix it thoroughly and then leave it for the amount of time they say then, mix it thoroughly.
me thinks the reason a few of them came off as underwhelming was because they were in the mountains and not at ground level. at higher altitudes our sense of smell is affected and we can't readily pick up subtle fragrances as easily. the curry was probably much more strongly flavoured compared to the subtler vanilla pudding or the potato and pork. the gang should try them at ground level and see if the results change.
![ฮักเทื่อสุดท้าย - บอย ศิริชัย [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/-1PoPoQ-B-k/mqdefault.jpg)
Now, go on a 10 mile hike with a 30lb pack. Setup camp and taste test these again. The rating will go up.
Now this is very true.
Lol
I had this thought too, but you're still surviving then, not thriving.
@@jesseprins4744 depends - some civilian going for a hike: yes that would feel like surviving. 1-2 week army march in woods: the pudding will improve morale, thus i'd say it leans towards thriving then (altho it's also about surviving too - but in army one survives with bread and water - everything else feels like bonus). (Ofc this is country dependant too, i bet the rations armies offer vary a lot)
Lol in the army we werent even allowed to cook it, 10mile hike gives me ptsd no thanks, hiking with other vets was just as bad but atleast hot food, who hikes for fun tho
Gotta say guys. Despite the outdoors and the snow/rain, the production quality is top notch. Really appreciate the effort you put into this videos, really enjoyable!
That means so much, thank you!
Gotta agree 100%, and despite the painstaking and hilarious cloche placement, Barry still found a way to muck it up. Let's face it though it was to be expected. xD
@@cortaeali8838 did you just shake your head like I found myself doing after I stopped laughing?
Now I just wanna see the whole crew making meals in a cabin for a week! Lol I have thoroughly loved this whole series!
Yeah honestly really good point
“It’s a curry, of course it is. It’s a curry for James Currie.” Yep… and the joke never gets old. 😂
The curry is probably also the most British dish in this video. :D
That's hilarious and I don't know why read that in a rp you know the posh British accent but it is what it is mate lol
No giant peaches tho
This while time I was lost as to if its pronounced like curry or like Marie Curie, now I know
@@supernova582 haha, me too!
James seems very happy and at-home in the wild. Please invite him back more for Sorted excursions!
He's so happy! We will invite him if we go on some more for sure.
@@SortedFood Yes, please do! James is maturing in a very nice way and now fits in with the SF ethos admirably.
@@SortedFood "If." ? I'm sure you meant "when" but it's fine, we won't hold it against you.
Go to Scotland with James.
'James in the Highlands' is what the viewers want.
Small tip for those pouch meals for anyone trying them on their own. You don't need to use a spoon to mix just seal the bag tightly hold the seam to keep it together and give the whole bag a good shake. Saves having a crusty spoon when its time to eat.
Second tip: before opening the bag, turn it upside down and give it a shake. Otherwise, it can easily happen that all the seasoning hides in the creases, giving you a tasteless meal that ends in two very salty spoonfuls.
Great tip! I like using a chopstick to stir and really get into the crevices. It's easy to wipe off any crusties right after stirring.
Great tips right here!
Third tip: don't hold the pouch in your hand while you pour boiling water in it. You do not want a burned hand during a hiking trip.
@@HenryLoenwind Same tip also applies to cup noodles and the like, btw.
Excellent review. Note that freeze dried food requires longer rehydrate times at elevation due to lower boiling water temps. It can be up to 5 mins longer. Some bags only list the sea level rehydration times.
That's so interesting - thanks!
@@SortedFood Also factor in the temperature of the environment. The heat of the water is going to try and escape from the mylar bag more in the winter than a mild summers day. In your environment I would have a neoprene sleeve to insulate during the rehydrate or better yet, inside your jacket ;-)
Having lived @ 4500 feet, I know it takes liquids longer to boil - maddening the first time I tried to make pudding/custard. Using a thermometer to check water temp may have made a difference.
The Frosty Cloche sounds like Ebber's pop-up restaurant. I love MRE videos and would love to see you guys do more in the future. Wonderful series and so good to see James again!
Did he have to take that on the plane as it would be interesting seeing ebbers getting through securuty and all the other things that he packed
I'd really like to hear / see these guys also do MRE's vs Astronaut foods. Aerospace foods are highly regulated because of the top notch condition astronauts need to be in, vs MRE's are more a stop gap filler not really designed for prolonged eating.
The key with all these freeze dried meals is at the half way mark add a little more boiling water than originally called for and stir it again making sure to really get those corners. Also always give them an extra 3-5 minutes than called for.
I've had literally hundreds of these over the decades from tons of different brands and the extra water, stirring and time is always going to be a "pro tip".
Because it's always going to be better to get the occasional one that ends up a bit on the soupy side versus nearly every single time having under hydrated crunchy bits.
GREAT tips! Thank you, much appreciated 😀
I always add more water as you can get quite the stomach ache if you eat too much underhydrated food. We had a poor quality water purifying rig once and didn't want to wait for more water. My husband and I ended up waking up with stomach pain. Luckily an older couple by us saw us up in middle of the night and asked if they could help and realize that we needed to drink more water. Sure enough a couple of cups of water each and the stomach pain went away.
We bought a better water purifying set up with a force pump instead of the drip set up we had.
Also depending on your weight restrictions I have 2 thermos I take. One for drink one for food.
In the morning you get your food for lunch in the thermos and add the water and by lunch time all the waters has been absorbed and its still hot because of the thermos and easy lunch.
But we mainly weekend hiked so we were not traveling miles and miles we could afford to carry a bit extra.
@@Emeraldwitch30 doing it in a thermos and waiting for lunch is SUCH a good idea!! It's so simple it seems so obvious once you've been told 😄
@@jdkgcp I contest this, less water than called for, thorough stir with a mad shake makes em perfect.
As a long time viewer, maybe seven years of watching every video as it’s released - not only is it heaps of fun to see James back, but I’m *really* enjoying this new format. Camp cooking, as well as survival cooking or historical cooking content, can have fantastic lessons for modern home cooking. After all, cooking is all about sustaining yourself and doing what you can with what you have. There are loads of takeaways from this kind of content. Whether it’s a basic cooking technique that works “well enough” on a camp stove but is even easier and tastier in a real kitchen. Or one of these modern convenience self heating foods where you can talk about how it’s not fancy but still good flavour and nutrition, and what makes it better than other options, things like #1 here with the freeze dried chicken being “not as good as fresh chicken but still really delicious in context”.
Even in these tougher times, most of us are still better equipped to cook our food than people have been for much of history. Even those of us who only have access to a microwave, or only have access to a shitty electric stovetop. This kind of video is a great out of the studio way of getting those very same ideas and techniques across!!
They have done some campfire cooking in the past. But its been like 5 or 6 years. I recall a true scratch cooking series they did in the woods back in 2017 where they made different flavored breads. They also had an episode where they made chimney bread in conjunction with I think it was a bbq dinner? That said I really enjoyed them making another foray into out doors cooking.
Would love to see them do a big set of camping videos again. I regularly go back and watch all their camping stuff. Whenever they are out in the "wild", it's always fun. Beach, woods, forest, etc. Amazing stuff.
I've been in charge of food & cooking for a couple of long duration expeditions in the past. Weight, pack size & calories were three of the major concerns for us, though something often overlooked is the weight & volume of fuel needed to cook or hydrate items as it can add considerably to your burden. You also had to make sure food wasn't going to cause loose bowels or stomach upsets as they can be problematic at altitude or in the middle of no-where. What we found with extended trips when you were relying on a lot of dehydrated food when you've been working your bodies hard is that you all begin to crave fat! So we'd squirrel away little fatty treats like small tins of oily fish, salami, jerky, pemmican & tubes of cheese. These could be had as a treat but were usually mixed through the main foods in small quantities to bolster calories & satisfy that craving for fats.
I did hear a great story about a group of Scottish climbers who ran a competition for the most outrageous summit food treat back in the 1980's. Seemingly one of them drew attention on one climb as frost was forming on the bottom section of his rucksack even though the weather was quite warm. When they got to the summit he pulled out a polystyrene box which had been insulated in newspapers.Inside was more insulation & in that was a still perfectly frozen mint flavour Wall's Viennetta! He was a scientist with access to liquid nitrogen [-195.8°C] & he'd frozen the whole thing before he left so it would still be cold at the top. He served it up to everyones amazement & they ate it enjoying the view.🍧⛰
I remember watching gearskeptic's 'ultra light' video, he always joking bout how life would be easier if we able to digest olive oil, I think he also shown example of some people took the light weight too far that the hikers had a hard time consuming the food, as they're dry and even tasteless.
Fabulous story about the dessert!
In the old 1980s and before MREs, there was always some item with fat in it for the same reasons you cite. Sugar helps, too, even in small quantities. And most definitely need to think about the 'waste' conditions as blockages can be quite as bad as runny when one is out in the field.
@@RijackiTorment "In the old 1980s and before MREs" -- i guess that depends on you define "MRE" -- Steve1989MREInfo has certainly eaten food rations MUCH older than that
I'm so glad you mentioned concern for one's stomach! it's all I could think about with the prevalence of dried milk
@@firstname4337 I think what they meant was specifically MRE meals of the US Military. Rations go back centuries as a thing.
For the Decathalon energy mix fruit jellies, they're 333 kcal per 100g, not per bar! Those bars are 25g, so more like 83 kcal each.
That's quite a big difference. I knew it sounded too good to be true.
Such an incredible joy to see James back for so many episodes! I hope the trip has been a wonderful vacation for everyone
yeah it is the reason why watching these guys is so relaxing. They're all good friends having good fun.
❤
The thing with freeze dried food is that at 500 kcal you need at least 3 a day plus a bunch of snacks. For a week hike 8.50 per meal add up real quick! I recommend instant couscous and soup powder, not as healthy maybe but much cheaper and you'll manage for a week.
That's a great idea!
Trick I've found useful is have a meal like these rehydrated ones for lunch, and have the longer, more cooking-involved meals at evenings in camp - when you can split duties more efficiently and have more set-up time.
I have a dehydrator. I make my own.
This was exactly my thoughts too
Back in my hiking/camping days I'd get the Knorr Sides and similar.
I've adored this little series - So good to see Barry vindicated after all these years. And I must say, the boy certainly has a great eye for some incredibly beautiful scenery. Well done, Baz! :)
Reviewing a freeze dryer would be a super cool thing to do. It would also allow you to make food like the mres where they're rehydrate and eat only.
I like this! Figuring out how to do better than an MRE brand could be a great competition
An mre is just that. Ready to eat. No need for water. Freeze dried meals that take water to rehydrate aren't technically an mre. 12 years in the military has that beat into me.
Barry does that in the THE ULTIMATE LUNCH BOX BATTLE video, although with dehydrating and not freeze drying.
They are super hard to get in Europe/uk as the only company with a reasonable price is us based and you have to have the us one reworked to work with our power outlets (yes, I have looked into one 😉)
Freeze dried food is terrible for MREs and will destroy your gut and intestinal health.
I am nearly 70 and unlikely to find myself stuck up a mountain needing food pouches….but I found this video as always hugely entertaining but also very interesting and informative. The production in general is so high quality, and Sorted just goes on and on improving. You all deserve a number 1 award when they bring in one for TH-camrs.
For survival food, try going directly to the source (original company) than getting it from a different store. The price difference is (sometimes) remarkable. The chicken and rice curry, for example, I was able to find for 5.99 pounds (6.76 euros). Since they store well and most camping trips aren't entirely spontaneous, a little planning (catching things on sale or clearance) can save a ton of money.
Also the "undercookedness" is likely a combination of user error and instructions, as I've seen the requirements be more as a guideline. For these you'd usually want to "overcook" it and knead it a bit before serving to guarantee full reconstitution. Plus it's kinda hard to "overcook" this since it's already cooked and dehydrated.
Edit: You can still "overcook" it, but that usually requires you to pound it to a complete mash and drown it in water.
Loving the series, it feels like a meal you don't want to end.
Thanks Gavi 😁
I feel like Ben is even more Ben-ish when James is around! 😂
As a hiker I'm all too familiar with these kind of meals, would love to see opinions on common ones in the UK (firepot, summit to eat) and some of the boil in the bag ones, if only to find out which is the best!
'spoon crotch' that's a phrase I wasn't expecting so early on in the episode 😂😊
One of the things I missed in your previous outdoor/travel videos was the lack of tried and true formats that attracted me to your channel in the first place. This mix of regular format in an unusual setting is a winning combination!
It would be really fun to see you guys making your own "survival" or just "on the go" food. Combining taste and convenience sounds like an interesting challenge
They already have... or at least I think it was barry who made a full set of food during one of their picknick meal challanges, I'm sure you'll find the episode if you search a bit.
@@tore650 thanks! Yeah with their vast library I'm sure they've done something of the sort. Still, wouldn't mind if they revisited the idea :)
I kept seeing this thumbnail all day and I'm like "why does it keep pushing survival food at me? I can't eat that stuff" Oh, it's chef torture - that's in my list!
Gotta say! Love James dry responses to the Ebber's humor! It's such a classic pairing and i'm eated that this series continued! You guys are the best!
Decathlon should sponsor you guys for your next adventure! And most awesome of all, they develop all of their own stuff, so including these foods. Well played Decathlon
The best thing about the freeze dried food (other than keeping pack weight down on week long hikes) is that you can put it under your jacket/fleece while it's rehydrating and warm up that way.
Freeze dried desserts on the blander side (like the rice pudding) are vastly improved by adding a bit of a trail snack to. Like broken granola bar or a nut / fruit mix.
Would be amazing if you could do a series on dehydrating your own food, I live in NZ and often do multiday hikes, but hate using these things as the packaging is a lot! Great video!
This series was so much fun and loved seeing James in it. I hope he comes back to visit more often. MRE's have really gotten fancy!
Always a joy to see James!
I would actually be quite interested to see you guys try some actual army MRE’s, curious what a professional chef thinks of those!
came here for this def should have got these
As a trained Duke of Edinburgh award leader, I used to a spend a lot on covering food. Some of the students got so creative with their foods and others bought these sorts of pouches. Looks like in the 8-10 years since I did this (health and wheelchair prevent me) those meals have really come on if the first one is anything to go by.
They really have come on a long way since then!
When I went for my bronze award in I think 2010. The food was one of my favorite parts. I was really surprised at how good rations can taste. Plus I had the best night's sleep of my life that night!
"Such a lovely little spoon crotch" was not a combination of words I ever expected to hear in my lifetime. 🤣
A video showing military food rations from around the world could be really good back in the studio! "Taste testing MREs from around the world!" ?
Great idea!
Another good TH-cam channel, Jolly, has done something like this. You may want to check it out. The Korean Englishman (Josh) and his best friend (Ollie) run the channel. They are quite funny. Recommend the squirrel episode and Ollie's multi-episode Korean language lessons, taught mostly by Josh. Hilarious.
I'd certainly recommend something like this because it's more a focus on getting the balance between cost and calories - as much as this was an interesting video, it's still very much at the premium/hobbyist end of the market, and while that's totally fine, it does also shift the goalposts a bit - you're not expecting anything to be inedible, it's just what comes out better than others.
Admittedly, you wouldn't be the first on YT to do the reviews, but it would perhaps be really interesting to mix it in with another format, be it 'pick the premium', or having different budgets for different people and then sending them on a somewhat more outwards bounds camping trip where they need food which can survive them and their bags being dragged through a river and only having a hexi burner to cook with.
That, and I'd love to see the group's reaction to some of the particular parts of the UK ration pack which came down into the cadets when I was a group. The fruit dumplings especially were... choice.
@@glasswingbutterfly jolly have been guests on this channel somewhere last year too :D
i actually found them through the priest meme reviews like 2 or 3 years back :D
Sorted should probably contact Steve1989 for some tips as to "interesting" MREs. I'm pretty sure he's the YT authority on both current and historical MREs, and he's probably the only one to eat 20 year old rations if they only smell a little terrible.
May I suggest Lake of the Woods, which is an enormous glacial lake between Minnesota and Canada
Next winter you could go ice fishing there and be secluded for days. It’s beautiful and serene.
Even though that wet snow looks really unpleasant, it's always lovely seeing James (and he really looks like he's in his element in these videos)! Most of my hikes are only single day or planned around possibilities to get proper meals (food always tastes much better when hiking), so I don't generally buy these kinds of products apart from the fruit jellies, but it's good to know that not all of them are terrible.
As an outdoor person, I eat a lot of these types of meals. Lots of different brands types, so I totally jiving with this video. Would love to see your take on the military versions of these.
Ever since I first started watching Sorted I was pleasantly surprised by the chemistry. I think it would be amazing if you guys could do some German cuisine (maybe not just from Bavaria since many people tend to reduce German food to Sauerkraut and Bavarian dishes :)
4:26 I absolutely couldn’t agree more. For me as a “better to have than need” person, self editing is important. So quality, and meets the main goal. Heck yes
Loved this series, I know it's probably expensive but I'd love to see some more like this in the future
Hadnt seen this one in a long while, and wow, like others said, the production is amazing. I especially enjoy the audio. The snow and the mixing means no echo at all and feel like we are right there chatting.
Was wishing you'd reviewed Alps train food while you were there.
Swiss trains are supposed to be especially nice as even the well off use them.
James got a curry, love his expression when he saw it 😂
Sad that this series is ending, was absolutely loving it!
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching :)
I really enjoyed your outdoor dining “series,” it’s always great when James is with you guys. Thanks gents.
I'm so happy to see James again. Hope he'll have time to appear more 😃
How about doing lost and hungry El Camino di Santiago edition? El Camino is a long walk/pilgrimage where you can start any route and ends in Compostela in Spain. I think it's good because you get to discover food cultures as you're walking.
You guys really rocked it this time! All that i love about sorted is here! This series is incredible!
Thanks Daniel :)
As a trail hiker who loves Sorted, this series has been amazing. I hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc last summer and will be doing the GR5 this summer-so I've been playing 'I-spy' as you've been on a number of trails I've hiked during this series! As a follow-up, have you heard of fell-foodie? A really interest story and I think you'd be brilliantly suited for a collaboration!
I often have 1-2 dehydrated meals in my pack as a backup incase I can't find anything fresh, the shops are shut, or there aren't any huts or restaurants. Definitely not my go-to, but the quality has definitely increased over the past few years.
LOVE the series-you've made a venn diagram of two of my favourite things! Thankyou! :)
James reviewing things can only go well 😂 at least there's no survival soda stream
So much better than the MREs of the 1980s when I went camping with them. It's amazing how much food technology has advanced to have any of them not jsut 'food to survive".
I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed this series - the same kind of great content we love, elevated ten-fold with the absolutely stunning scenery and all-round excellent production! More please!!!!
"Is this a pouch of life, or is it a pouch of strife?"
"Will this one keep you warm in the cold, or does it need to be re-sold?"
"Does this meal scream 'survival in the woods', or is it just a cry for help?"
Just throwing you a few lines here Ben because it sounds like you ran out of ideas pretty quickly
These are great 😂
I would love to see you guys try to make MRE:s from scratch. You could put together 24h packs from ready stuff or make your own rehydrating meals.
I tend to use cous cous and add other dried stuff to it in a Ziploc bag before my hikes.
It's been my experience that with any of the dehydrated camping/military meals add more water than recommended and leave in for double the recommended time.
Now we need a series of y'all reviewing all the mre's and also civilian mre's fom around the world. 😊 (I heard the French ones r the best but idk)
As someone who is lactose intolerant, I gotta say, these meals would make my forest excursion a very muddy hike.
Yay! James!! Funny how Barry got the desserts! Love seeing all of you together. This was very informative and fun!
So happy to see James again😻 So much fun💜
The brand huel has started making meal replacement food and even though its not marketed as hiking food it works exactly the same as these and is very eco friendly and vegan
This is one of the best series.
What a great place to test camping foods. I don't want this series in the Alps to end. It's so good to see Ben, Baz & James together testing foods.
I got some years ago from an army disposal store. They had pepper steak, which was the best. I also got some cans of food for camping and they had a chemical in a double walled can. You pierced the can top in 4 places and the air coming in contact with the chemical heated the can and contents. I haven't seen either for a long time. But then again I haven't looked 😆
Thank you to whoever did the super detailed subtitles!
14:45 makes me wonder... I don't really know of any sweet potato dishes, though potatos are fairly neutral in flavour, so you should definitely be able to have a sweet and creamy mash with honey or something.
I’ve missed the old gang. So nice to see a video with you all together!!!!! ❤
'Where should you go to try more facinating foods?' Well, off the top of my head, you've done freezing cold, how about blistering hot? I would say go to very high heights, but you technically did that with your fancy dinner, but maybe in a hot air balloon? The thick of a jungle could be interesting, and the stark flatness of the sea. There's just so many places, some more extreme than others that you can choose. But I do know, wherever you choose to go, I'll watch with bated breath and delight in my heart.
I had a craving last summer to try a whole lot of these foodpacks while hiking in Norway. Tactical Foodpack, Firepot, Monsen's foodpack, REAL Turmat. And so many of those tasted absolutely like cardboard, or worse plastic. The only brand I could steadily recommend and enjoyed was REAL Turmat, the beefstew and chickencurry was the highlights of my trip. I also like how the packaging has a second line where you're supposed to cut it after it's finished cooking. Makes it more comfortable eating out of with a spoon when you don't have to shove your hand deep inside a bag. I suggest trying out some of the local foodpacks you intend on bringing before you're in the middle of the woods!
Love seeing James again!
Love that you kept the running out of water bit in there, biggest problem with freeze dried meals is the weight saved often goes to the extra water to make it edible.
The fruit jelly sticks would be my choice, but carried in an inside pocket. trying to gnaw through frozen fruit mixtures is brutal :)
The survival stuff is super interesting. I'd like more of these types of things. Like camping gadgets, ready to eat food, and stuff like that.
I would love to see a beach/sea trip where its all about you guys catching or gathering your own ingredients. (if you go to the beach please take me with you!)
Every time they stirred with the spoon I kept thinking "but it's a pouch can't you just seal it and shake it or squish it around with your hands?" but ah well not like you're dirtying a secondary utensil when you're using the spoon you're going to eat it with. Good run with this series, guys! Nice to see you again, James!
Even sat in the woods in horrible weather, you always deliver ❤
The battle of SortedFood and reliable water supply continues lol. No sink at home, running out of water in the forest :)
Also, love these video’s quality and style. Truly well done ( as always)!
It looks cold but I so admire the commitment to film all of these outdoors! Great video series guys, can't wait for more in the future.
It amuses me to see how you consider even the simplest pâtes de fruits as some kind of luxurious dessert. I've had those all the time when I was a kid (not premium ones, same as the one you had, individually wraped), so convenient for a snack !
I want to see you guys explore different BBQ foods and cultures of outdoor fire cooking. The less precise temperatures, and the extra flavours of what the heating source is I think could tell a really interesting story.
As others have mentioned, learning how to use these meals is part of the trick. Most are designed for rehydration at sea level at approximately 50 degrees F, 10 C. Tucking the warm pouch in your jacket is good for you and the food. You can also boil water for tea or coffee and let the pouch rest in there if it's extremely cold as your conditions were. It will sterilize the the outside of the bag and keep the warmth in and the water is still safe to use... assuming they didn't have any funky packaging. Mountain House foods in the US are my preference for freeze dried but I've had MREs from the 1960's in cans that were still edible 20 + years later.
I’ve loved this little series of outdoor cooking/surviving! Please do more! I’ve also loved seeing James again 😊 The whole MRE thing is really interesting. They can last for years and take up so little space.. I’d love to learn more about them. Perhaps on your next excursion? Or maybe do some taste tests in the studio?
I really appreciated this one! finding good trekking food is always a challenge. Guidance is always welcome.
You know what's a great backpacking dessert? Jell-O No Bake Cheesecake. And it's only $4. Add some crystal light on top for a strawberry swirl look. Nearest stream is the required "refrigerator."
If you're ever in the US again in the North Carolina area, I recently stayed in a tiny little town near Raleigh for a wedding that had an amazing ... restaurant? Yeah, let's call it a restaurant.
Like I said, it was a *TINY* town called Saxaphaw. I ate at the Saxaphaw General Store, because that was THE place in town you could eat. It was also the gas station.
And the food was incredible. Everything on the menu was entirely sourced from local farms. And there was a lot on the menu. They served emu-meat burgers, duck bacon, and plenty more I don't remember. There's nothing but farms for miles around, and all of a sudden in the middle of nowhere is a gourmet restaurant tucked inside a gas station, which is also the town's grocery store.
Hei Guys ! Thanks for a great show:) The Tome we use for Aligot is from Massif Central, another mountains and cheese producing area. Still looking forward to try it!
Ben was on a roll this day with the comments. The innuendos just rolled down the mountain I guess… 😂
Having served in the Finnish defence forces, the best one of these pouch meals I have found is by a mile Real Turmat. It is a great meal, which helps you mentally aswell when you have been in the snowy/rainy forest for weeks on end :D
Baz demonstrates the bigger win with these: imagine being on a kayak and it tips, or your back pack tumbles down a ridge into a stream etc, events that do happen. Ben, that is really the median with these, they are not perfect, none of them are, but they due suit a purpose. You know, you have been to Japan. One of the traditions from I believe WWII that is a cook-thing is Mess Tin meals. Using a 'mess tin' to do usually 1 pot meals. Worthy of a vending machine I think but maybe a fun world food theme?
This is why seasoned backpackers in the US have a pouch with much needed seasonings because these meals sometimes needs a bit of help. Worth the additional weight.
As a backpacker, I use these to help reduce weight when traveling long distances. Pro-tip: buy #10 tin cans of freeze dried plain vegetables and repack to a small baggie to add extra veggies! 🥦🫛🫑🥕
Another great video, guys. The production quality just seems to be getting better and better.
Would love to see more of this! A Summer series of cooking and camping would be amazing. Or just cooking outdoors somewhere. They are always amazing videos. Whether it is beach cooking, in the woods, or up a mountain, it's great to see what you can do with limited resources.
Would also love to see you all go more regional in the UK.
On the "Trek' N Eat", there's also another rip-line under beneath the zip closure to reduce the Pouch size so you can reach the meal easier, with a Spoon
I love SORTED + outdoors. Top notch. Well done!
I'm glad you did say that the portable outdoor kettle was useful with the hiking food pouches. I posted in the video where you reviewed it that it seemed ideal for use with them.
Anyone who has been a hiker/camper for any length of time has seen a very pleasant improvement in the quality and selection of these food pouches. There was a time when you could only get bad bland food and actual military MRE's (which vary between vile and inedible).
This has been very fun to watch. It would be interesting to see you do UK IMP's (MRE). Military "cuisine" would also be a fun one to watch. Maybe also trying to feed a bunch of hungry soldiers as a challenge would ALSO be amazing. You have some amazing chefs and I know that soldiers love a good meal.
The curry package had a second tear notch further down, to allow better access after it's cooked. Genius design
Hi guys, beyond camping I feel like the ignored scenario is travelling to places where you can’t always trust the food. That chicken curry would be amazing in that situation, plus you boil the water so safer still.
None of these brands are available here in Australia, but as a hike camper, I've LOVED this video watching some of my favourite TH-camrs eating dehydrated trail food
All these dehydrated foods need to be mixed thoroughly then, when you've done that, you have to mix it thoroughly and then, as an extra step, mix it thoroughly. Once you've done that, all you have to do is mix it thoroughly and then leave it for the amount of time they say then, mix it thoroughly.
me thinks the reason a few of them came off as underwhelming was because they were in the mountains and not at ground level.
at higher altitudes our sense of smell is affected and we can't readily pick up subtle fragrances as easily. the curry was probably much more strongly flavoured compared to the subtler vanilla pudding or the potato and pork.
the gang should try them at ground level and see if the results change.