Eating well is important under any circumstances. You can be outside the city on a picnic, by a river or lake, in the forest or high in the mountains. But food for a tourist is an important component of any form of recreation.

Eating well is important under any circumstances. You can be outside the city on a picnic, by a river or lake, in the forest or high in the mountains. But food for a tourist is an important component of any form of recreation.

But there is also the reverse side of the question - it is the weight of food in a backpack. Everyone likes to eat well, but no one wants to carry a heavy backpack.

Previously, tourists took porridge, canned food with them, and dried semi-finished products at home on their own. But all this is weight in a backpack. And then, already at the break, all this still had to be cooked, to stand by the fire, to control that it did not overheat, that there was enough heat and that the food reached its condition.

Another problem was that there are no storage facilities in derivative life. Products perished quickly and often became unsuitable for cooking.

All these inconveniences contributed to the fact that the gastronomic trend of derivative cuisine began to develop strongly. And today, the food distribution has decreased in weight several times. The use of new types of drying and sterilization made it possible to reduce the weight of products and extend the shelf life.

Types of tourist food

Today, tourist food takes up a minimum of space in a backpack, its weight is reduced to the maximum, it does not spoil for a long time (here we are talking not about days, but about years of storage), it is quickly prepared.

Many producers are leaning towards the fact that wherever you are, on a cliff or on a bike trip, your food should not only be nutritious, but also tasty. That is why more and more manufacturers are developing their lines of ready meals. After all, this type of food:

  • Has a low weight;
  • Takes up little space in a backpack;
  • Does not require cooking skills;
  • Does not take much time to prepare.

There are several types of food processing for tourism:

  • Drying;
  • Sublimation;
  • Sterilization.

Each of them extends the shelf life of products in hiking or climbing conditions. But extending the shelf life is not all. After all, food should also be tasty. Vegetables and meat dried at home lose their original taste and aroma. Ready-made food loses some of its nutrients and does not bring as much pleasure and benefit as one would like.

Drying or dried tourist food: pros and cons

Drying products for a trip is the most budget-friendly option. The moisture contained in the food or in individual ingredients is removed using high temperatures or blowing. This allows you to reduce weight and extend the shelf life as much as possible.

The process of dehydration (removal of moisture) is the simplest and oldest of the methods. Individual products (fruits, vegetables, meat, mushrooms) and ready meals can be dried. In order to prepare food from dried ingredients, you need to pour hot water over them and let them absorb moisture. Next, you can prepare full meals that you are used to at home.

Some manufacturers have gone further and, in order to make life and living on the trip as easy as possible, offer ready meals that have undergone dehydration. Meals packaged in portioned heat-insulating bags just need to be poured with boiling water and wait a few minutes. In this way, porridges, soups, and complex dishes are "prepared".

Advantages of dried food

  • Light weight;
  • Compactness;
  • Minimum cooking time;
  • Low price.

Disadvantages of dried food

  • Such food loses its taste and smell. Manufacturers add various additives to compensate for this. Even if there are natural ingredients in the composition, their taste qualities are lost.
  • Reduced nutrition and caloric content. This is due to the peculiarities of the drying process. As the moisture evaporates under the influence of temperature or air flow, the structure of the ingredients is destroyed.
  • Availability of flavor additives. Manufacturers use them to enhance the taste of the finished dish. Or the reverse side - dried tourist food does not have a bright taste, it is fresh, you want to dilute it with something.

Sterilization: pros and cons

Sterilization allows you to extend the shelf life of products and ready-made food as much as possible without removing moisture.

Food spoils under the influence of bacteria that enter into chemical reactions with products. The rotting process begins. To prevent this, a sterilization process is used. Ready-made dishes undergo processing, in which all types of bacteria are completely destroyed. Sterilized food can be stored for 2 to 5 years without losing its taste.

It is the sterilization process that Adventure Menu engineers and chefs use when making their ready-to-eat meals. When creating ready-made food, they are guided by the rule that it should be not only nutritious, but also tasty. After all, the pleasure of eating is one of the components of a good rest. For a long time, they were looking for the optimal type of processing of ready-made dishes in order to extend the shelf life without losing taste qualities.

Today, their line of Ready-To-Eat Sterilized Meals is represented by dishes of various complexity, here you can find soups, stews, and side dishes with the main dish. They also have dishes for vegetarians on their menu. It is worth noting that the cooks use only fresh or chilled products for cooking. There are no convenience foods or frozen ingredients on their menu. Adventure Menu is convinced that delicious food can be prepared only from quality products.

Fully prepared food just needs to be heated. For this, they suggest using metallized bags, in which the products are packed, and boiling water. You need to lower the bag with food into boiling water for some time and the food is ready. The range also includes survival kits that include everything you need to reheat food without fire: a reusable zip-top bag and a flameless heater. In the process of the chemical reaction of the heater and water (which is also included in the package), a large amount of heat is released, which heats up the food.

The line of Ready-To-Eat Sterilized Meals is an excellent solution for those who do not count every gram of gear during their trip. The weight of one portion of ready-made food is 350-450 grams, which is too much for climbers and mountain tourists. Therefore, such food is preferred at camping sites, in base camps, during car or motorcycle trips.

Advantages of sterilized food

  • The taste and aroma are preserved - such food is no different from homemade food, which everyone is used to;
  • Calorie content and nutrition remain at the same level, as if the dish was served on the table just from the kitchen;
  • Variety of menus. Ready meals give you the opportunity to diversify your hiking menu;
  • Only the best natural ingredients. Manufacturers do not need to use chemical additives to improve taste.

Disadvantages of sterilized tourist food

  • Large weight and portion sizes in the package. But food retains all its original characteristics;
  • The cost of a portion is higher than that of drying, due to the technology of food processing.

Sublimates: pros and cons

Sublimation is the process of removing moisture from products at low temperatures. During freezing-thawing, the structure of the product changes. Do you all remember the products from the freezer that were frozen several times? This is due to the fact that when moisture changes from a solid (ice) to a liquid (water) state, it also changes the structure of the product. During sublimation, the process of moisture freezing takes place without the transition of moisture into a liquid state.

Sublimation technology includes two processes: freezing and drying. The process of evaporating ice is quite time-consuming, but it allows you to preserve the maximum benefit in food. Thanks to this, tourist food remains tasty, healthy, and retains its original smell. At the same time, sublimates do not spoil for a long time, have minimal weight and volume.

In 2019, Adventure Menu started using vacuum sublimation for its products. They experimented for a long time with methods of reducing the weight of their dishes, since sterilized food was not suitable for tourists and mountaineers. The weight of the portion was too much to enjoy the meal in the highlands. But after engineers came up with vacuum sublimation, this issue was resolved.

Today Adventure Menu has a separate line of dishes - Light Weight Vacuum-Dried Meals. It is based on ready-made meals packaged in portioned bags. The dishes of this series have a minimum weight and package size. They have preserved their taste, energy value and aroma, but at the same time their weight has been reduced to the maximum.

Adventure Menu sublimates are popular with tourists, climbers, fans of Fast and Light style, when every gram in the backpack is important. It is a great solution for cycling trips, climbing and mountain hiking. But the most important thing is that such food does not require special cooking conditions. You just need boiling water and five minutes for the contents of the package to steam.

Advantages of sublimate

  • It's delicious. Sublimates retain their original taste;
  • The original aroma of the dish is preserved;
  • Compact. Sublimated food takes up minimal space in a backpack;
  • Minimum weight is achieved due to complete removal of moisture;
  • Long storage periods (some sublimates can be stored for up to 10 years);
  • Conserve nutrition and caloric content;
  • Variety of menus during the trip;
  • Ease of preparation - you just need boiling water and a few minutes.

Disadvantages of sublimates

  • High cost of production

Snacks on the hike

Between main meals, it is important to support your body with snacks. A variety of bars and nuts will help to prevent hungry grumbling in the stomach or fatigue on long transitions. Light snacks on the go are a great solution for hiking in bad weather or on difficult terrain when there is no possibility to cook or stop for a rest.

Most often for a snack they use:

  • Dried fruits and nuts;
  • Dried meat (jerky);
  • Mixtures of dried fruits, nuts and meat.

Adventure Menu has two options for this case:

  • Jerky is a high-quality jerky. It is cut into thin slices and dried. Such a snack is not only nutritious, but also very tasty. In addition to hiking, jerky can be taken with you on walks, gatherings with friends, it is a good alternative to snacks. Different types of meat are used for their preparation, there are packs of 25 and 50 grams.
  • Trail Mix is a nutritious mixture of dried fruits, nuts and meat. Takes up minimal space in a backpack or jacket pocket, and saves you from hunger in any conditions, regardless of whether you are on top of a mountain or just in the forest.

With the development of technology, it is no longer necessary to carry canned food and stew with you on hikes. And on a trip, you can diversify your menu and not give up your favorite dishes.

The wholesale company SMG is a direct representative of the Czech Adventure Menu brand in Ukraine.

Our warehouses offer the most complete assortment of sublimate products and ready-made food from the European brand.

You can familiarize yourself with and buy the Adventure Menu for the hike in stores.