Mountain House Beef Stew Review
Kevin Felts 02.27.17
While working around the farm I decided to try the Mountain House beef stew for lunch. Long story short, I thought it was pretty good. It was a lot better than I expected.
Now for the rest of the story. Mountain House pouches are an easy go-to meal. Whether it is camping, hiking, or when the power goes out, the meals are easy to prepare and most of them taste pretty good.
Meals like the beef stew are freeze dried and then stored in a mylar lined pouch. The process involves cooking the food, putting it into a special chamber where it is flash frozen, and then a vacuum is applied to the chamber. The vacuum removes more moisture than is possible through normal dehydration.
The final process is putting the food in the pouch along with an oxygen absorber and then sealing the pouch. This results in a food that can be stored for up to 30 years in climate controlled conditions.
Nutrition Information
Serving Size: 1
Calories Per Serving: 190
Sodium: 860 milligrams
Protein: 13 grams
Carbohydrates: 22 grams
Preparing the Beef Stew
Using my Coleman Max mixed fuel stove, I brought a cup of water to a rolling boil. The instructions say to add hot water, but I add boiling water.
Open the pouch, remove the oxygen absorber, pour in the hot water and reseal with the built-in ziplock.
It usually takes 10-15 minutes before the food has cooled down enough to eat. During that time, I open the pouch and stir the contents.
Tasting
The gravy had good flavor and the pieces of beef were consistent with other items in the meal. The potatoes had a slight overbearing taste, but not too bad. I could taste the peas and carrots, which was nice.
I found the beef stew to be excellent. It is possibly one of the better Mountain House meals out there. I will be adding the beef stew to my freeze dried food stockpile.
