Reviewing Mountain House Food Pouches

I’m shaking things up a bit in this post. A few weeks ago, I received a new flavor pouch of freeze dried food from Mountain House. So I thought I’d do a Mountain House food review post.

If you’re not familiar with Mountain House food pouches, you probably haven’t done much camping or backpacking. Freeze dried meals for backpacking are pretty much essential.

But it’s also very important for backcountry hunting trips. You never know if you’ll actually get some wild game meat, and it’s nice to have some lightweight food options with you.

And if that food tastes good too, well – that’s a bonus!

The problem is…I didn’t have any backcountry hunting trips planned this spring. But I was definitely going to have to spend some time pruning apple trees on our hunting property.

Lots of physical work, hiking, and time outside equals a healthy appetite. I wanted to simulate a real backpacking trip to truly field test it.

So without further delay, here are the observations for my Mountain House food review.

Preparing Mountain House Food Pouches in the Field

I’ve used Mountain House on other camping trips before and have been pleasantly surprised. The preparation is beyond simple: boil water, dump in pouch, and re-seal it. That’s pretty much it, with a few caveats.

If you’re keen on learning more about the process, check out the link below directly from Mountain House.

How to Prepare Mountain House Freeze Dried Food

Read the cooking instructions carefully, as it can vary from package to package. Make sure you use the right amount of water, or the results can vary. They include the water measurements in cups, ounces, and milliliters, so you can use your water bottle to measure it out easily in remote settings. My cook set includes a small measuring cup, so I simply used that instead.

Boil water over an open fire, on a camp stove, or on a small jetboil stove. Open the pouch and remove the oxygen absorber packet. Carefully pour the boiling water in, stir it around, and reseal it. Let it stand for about 5 minutes, re-stir it, and before you know it, you’ll be enjoying a warm meal!

I can’t overstate how easy this is to make. If your hands are cold and you’re hungry: the preparation is short, the payoff is good, and the cleanup is super simple. Just fold the pouch up compactly and put in a garbage bag to tote out. Let the water pot dry and wipe your spoon/spork/chosen utensil off. That’s it.

Mountain House Food Review: How Did It Taste?

Ah, this is what you really want to know, right?

The flavor of the Mountain House food pouch is new for 2018, Homestyle Turkey Dinner Casserole. Per the pouch, “It features real turkey with whole wheat stuffing, harvest vegetables, and familiar Thanksgiving spices…”

Reading the ingredients and description, I was pretty excited to try it. Who doesn’t crave the taste of a warm, home-cooked, Thanksgiving dinner when they’re freezing and sleeping on the ground for several days?

And I’ve got to say…

I really enjoyed it.

When I first opened the package, the smells of a turkey dinner filled my nose. The pieces inside looked like real food. After pouring the water in, it smelled even better!

The flavor and texture were spot on for a turkey dinner. There were real pieces of turkey in it. The green beans were vibrant green and good tasting. But what’s really amazing is the pieces of bread in the stuffing had the same texture as fresh stuff – slightly chewy. I figured it would turn to mush during the re-hydrating process. I devoured the whole bag at our little hunting shack and got back to apple pruning feeling good.

Why Mountain House Food Pouches?

When you’re burning calories in the backcountry and need to keep your energy (and morale) up, there’s nothing quite as magical as a great tasting, warm meal. But you simply can’t carry a bunch of fresh ingredients with you. It’s too heavy and can spoil.

Freeze dried meals are lightweight, very easy to cook, and full of good calories to keep you going. During my Mountain House food review process, I’d say those are all covered by this new flavor.

Oh, Mountain House also has a 30 year Taste Guarantee shelf life! Let that sink in…

Food that will taste good 30 years down the trail? While survival foods with long shelf life are more applicable as an emergency food for preppers (rather than going on a week-long hunting trip), it’s still really impressive.

Overall…

I was very pleased with this new flavor. Like I said, I’ve had several Mountain House meals before and have more or less liked all of them. But I will definitely add this to my list of favorites!

Oh, and if you’re looking for some of their other options, check them out on Amazon for some great deals and hard-to-find flavors.