The start of my emergency food storage.

**wilderness medic** · 11-03-2014, 07:04 PM

**Solar Geek** · 11-03-2014, 07:27 PM

Very cool and thanks for the step by step pics!

**Adventure Wolf** · 11-03-2014, 07:44 PM

Pretty cool. I like the idea.

**wilderness medic** · 11-03-2014, 07:50 PM

Thanks. There are a lot of different things I want to try. So far spaghetti and chili work well, but i'm having trouble sealing the spaghetti. All the little hard ends poke the bags. It is emergency food so I guess I could grind it up into a spaghetti powder/paste.

**crashdive123** · 11-03-2014, 08:29 PM

Use elbow macaroni instead - fewer sharp edges.

**wilderness medic** · 11-03-2014, 08:30 PM

Originally Posted by crashdive123

Use elbow macaroni instead - fewer sharp edges.

Good idea thanks.

**crashdive123** · 11-03-2014, 08:41 PM

Another option might be couscous.

**wilderness medic** · 11-03-2014, 08:50 PM

I use couscous for other stuff, i'd like to keep it spaghetti like. I'll try elbow pasta.

Couscous is great as it already comes readymade dehydrated. Just add water. Not like the spaghetti or chili. I hope to get at least 1-2 months of good meals with variety packaged. Then I can started adding surplus and take the older stuff with me for hiking, and continually rotate. It's actually pretty good. Pretty much lived off this recipe for a month. Mix in the spaghetti, mmm...

**johnpages** · 11-05-2014, 08:12 PM

I actually double bag ground meats and meals because of the pokey pokey edges of even meat crumbles.

This is also my first post!

Sent

**hunter63** · 11-05-2014, 08:35 PM

Originally Posted by wilderness medic

Thanks. There are a lot of different things I want to try. So far spaghetti and chili work well, but i'm having trouble sealing the spaghetti. All the little hard ends poke the bags. It is emergency food so I guess I could grind it up into a spaghetti powder/paste.

So it's not cooked first?....then dried?....Why would it be pointy?

Meals look good.

**Rick** · 11-05-2014, 08:39 PM

spaghetti is dried noodles so.......

Nice job, WM. I have the same dehydrator. It's the berries....I mean...dried berries. Anywhooo. Look for a book titled The Complete Dehydrator Cookbook by Mary Bell. It's the bee's knees.

How long did you dry the chili? I've done spaghetti sauce but not chili. I was wondering how long it took the beans to dry.

**wilderness medic** · 11-05-2014, 08:40 PM

Originally Posted by hunter63

So it's not cooked first?....then dried?....Why would it be pointy?

Meals look good.

It's cooked, then dried, then broken up. Once you dry it it almost goes back to it's original state. Perhaps even harder. I'f I could get the portions right and put them in lumps before drying, I could probably keep all the pointy ends on the inside and slip the "spaghetti cake" into a bag. I just have to portion it out first, rather than drying it all breaking into pieces then dividing.

Originally Posted by johnpages

I actually double bag ground meats and meals because of the pokey pokey edges of even meat crumbles.

This is also my first post!

Sent

Welcome! That's a good idea. I'm being kind of cheap with the vacuum bags. I wonder If I could use a cheaper baggy or two, or maybe even some butchers paper.

Originally Posted by Rick

spaghetti is dried noodles so.......

Nice job, WM. I have the same dehydrator. It's the berries....I mean...dried berries. Anywhooo. Look for a book titled The Complete Dehydrator Cookbook by Mary Bell. It's the bee's knees.

How long did you dry the chili? I've done spaghetti sauce but not chili. I was wondering how long it took the beans to dry.

Thanks! I love it. Have you experiment much with the options like jerky, bread, and yogurt? I was skeptical about buying it because of the price at first, but don't regret it at all.

I started with one of those cheap RonCo ones I got for like $5. I've spent a lot of money on stupid pointless things before, but that $5 is something i'll always regret. Total waste of plastic. That thing made dehydrating things cost more than just buying them already made.

The spaghetti is "dried noodles" but there is a big difference between cooked and uncooked. Have to cook it first. Well, at least if you want instant meals like i'm going for. I just heat up water to boiling, turn off stove and add spaghetti and it rehydrates. Without cooking you'd have to boil it to cook. If need be I don't even have to use heat, can let it sit and rehydrate if you add the water way before you plan on eating.

I dried the chili for about 10 hours. All depends on how thick you put it on, and how much attention you give it. I frequently break it up as it dries (frequently is actually just a couple times). Then I let it sit after for a while to kind of "even out" and draw any inside moisture to the outside, and give it another good hour. Since it's going to be stored I want to make sure I get every bit of moisture out I can.

**Rick** · 11-05-2014, 08:42 PM

Why do you cook the spaghetti noodles then dry them?

**wilderness medic** · 11-05-2014, 08:53 PM

Might have been adding that part when you replied. Trying to reply to everyone in one comment rather than multiple ones. Sorry.

Because it doesn't need to be cooked if you do it that way. I simply add boiling water like a cup of noodles. Or even cold water, it just takes a lot longer. Without cooking first you would have to boil the noodles and sauce for however long it takes to cook them.

Instant spaghetti. All the meals i'm making are that way. Food storage and practice for hiking the JMT next year with my jetboil, which it's recommended not to cook in, just heat water to a boil and shut off.

**hunter63** · 11-05-2014, 08:54 PM

Originally Posted by Rick

Why do you cook the spaghetti noodles then dry them?

So they aren't so straight....Yeah some how that part kinda confused me.......

.

**Rick** · 11-05-2014, 08:56 PM

Oh, cool. Noodles take about 12 minutes to cook so that would be a huge fuel savings. I've made a lot of spaghetti sauce making leather roll ups but I've never pre-cooked the noodles. I've have to try that.

How long on the chili?

**wilderness medic** · 11-05-2014, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by Rick

Oh, cool. Noodles take about 12 minutes to cook so that would be a huge fuel savings. I've made a lot of spaghetti sauce making leather roll ups but I've never pre-cooked the noodles. I've have to try that.

How long on the chili?

Yeah, if I can manage the fuel now it will drastically cut down on the need in an emergency, and even eliminate it for the food if i'm not in a hurry.

I tried the leathers with the sauce, then added it back to the noodles. Realized it was easier to just do it all at once, and easier too. Add the sauce to the consistency you want while it's still fresh rather than trying to guess how much leather to add to dried noodles.

I don't have a refrigerator or microwave so I make spaghetti, dehydrate it then put it all back in the glass sauce container. I have a couple jars of "just heat" spaghetti sauce and all.

How long on the chili to cook? Or dehydrate?
Dried the chili for about 10 hours. All depends on how thick you put it on, and how much attention you give it. I frequently break it up as it dries (frequently is actually just a couple times). Then I let it sit after for a while to kind of "even out" and draw any inside moisture to the outside, and give it another good hour. Since it's going to be stored I want to make sure I get every bit of moisture out I can.

**Rick** · 11-05-2014, 09:03 PM

Okay. I was more concerned about the beans in the chili than anything. The meat and sauce would dry pretty quickly but whole beans would take a lot longer.

**wilderness medic** · 11-05-2014, 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by Rick

Okay. I was more concerned about the beans in the chili than anything. The meat and sauce would dry pretty quickly but whole beans would take a lot longer.

I sample as I go. If it feels like a bean is going to break my teeth and is delicious, it's good to go.