OWNER REVIEW – Just Tomatoes etc! Products

Richard Lyon

September 12, 2005

Product Details

Manufacturer: Just Tomatoes etc!
Website: http://www.justtomatoes.com/
Packed size: Varies
Weight: Varies
MSRP: Varies, here are some representative samples from the website (all dollar figures are U.S. dollars; metric conversions at the bottom):

Blueberries: 3/4 oz pkg. $2.30; 1 oz Zip-Lock "Snack Bag" $2.85; 2 oz tub $5.25; 1/2 lb tub $19.75
Pineapple:3/4 oz pkg "Snack Bag" $1.75; 3 oz tub $6.00; 1/2 lb tub $15.75
Roasted garlic: 4 oz Zip-Lock bag $5.75; 5 oz tub  $7.00; 1 lb bag $22.00
Organic peas: 3.5 oz tub $4.75
Tomatoes: 1 oz "Snack Bag" $2.15; 2 oz tub $4.00; 1/2 lb tub $15.75; 1 lb bag $27.00
(3/4 oz = 21 g; 1 oz = 28 g; 2 oz = 57 g; 3 oz = 85 g; 3.5 oz = 99 g; 4 oz = 113 g; 5 oz = 142 g; 1/2 lb = 227 g; 1 lb = 454 g)

Just Tomatoes, etc! sells a long list of fruits and vegetables that are "Just That" – each product is a dehydrated fruit or vegetable and nothing more.  From the website: " No Salt, No Sulfur, No Fat, No Sweeteners, No Preservatives." Again quoting from the website, the company prepares it products as follows: " JUST TOMATOES, etc! dehydrated fruits and vegetables are vine-ripened (or tree-ripened), hand-picked at peak condition, washed, cut and then placed in specially designed dehydrators and dried at low temperatures to preserve color, flavor and nutrients."

The website lists the following products.  I've used the ones marked with an asterisk in the field:

FRUIT

Organic: Cherries*, mango, peaches*, raspberries*, strawberries*, tropical fruit (banana, kiwi, papaya and pineapple).
Conventional: Apples, apricots*, bananas, blackberries*, blueberries*, cherries*, cranberries*, mango, peaches*, persimmons*, pineapple*, raisin, raspberries*, strawberries*, strawberries and bananas mix.

VEGETABLES

Organic: Carrot bits*, corn*, peas*, tofu, tomato bits*.  Also an organic mix.
Conventional: Bell peppers*, carrot bits*, corn*, roasted garlic*, mushrooms*, onions*, green onions, peas*, tomatoes.*  Also two mixes, one listed as "Just Hot Veggies."

Except for my closing comment, I'm limiting my review to use while backpacking or day hiking.  I have two regular uses for these products on the trail. 

I eat and serve both fruit and vegetables right out of the package (and not reconstituted) as a lunch course or a snack.  As snacks, the items with higher natural sugar content have the most and best taste.  Pineapple is sensational, and I also especially like apricot, persimmon, strawberry, corn, and peas.  The tart-flavored fruits -- blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, and raspberries – lack the flavor of a fresh product when eaten alone.  All items out of the package have a very pleasant crunchy texture; peas particularly are great munchies.  The texture is not always better than dried fruit (another lunch and snack staple), just different.  None has left an unpleasant aftertaste.  (Fear of aftertaste has kept me from trying the garlic or onions as snacks, even on solo hikes.)

I also use these products to supplement prepackaged meals. At breakfast I add the dried fruits to hot cereals, tossing them in boiling water simultaneously with the dried cereal, and allow them to steep and absorb water together with the grain.  Peaches and all berries really spruce up hot cereal, as steeping in hot water restores the strong taste that the fruit had when fresh.  As is true with many dried products (spices come to mind), drying seems to intensify the flavor.  Water can't replace natural fruit juice, so the texture differs from fresh fruit, and some of the crunchiness remains.  Not at all unpleasant, though.  The berries do have scores of tiny seeds just like their fresh counterparts.  In any event these fruits transform even the most tasteless oatmeal into a real treat.

At dinnertime I add the chosen vegetables to a pot or package of a freeze-dried meal just before adding the boiling water, similarly steeping them with the main course.  The extra vegetables have not added to the absorption time.  Though trained in gourmet cooking, I don't spend much time on backcountry menus, mostly because of my dislike of packing and cleaning pots and pans and general laziness once in camp.  Unless it's a fishing trip or I'm fortunate enough to have a trail chef in my hiking party, dinner is gorp, soup, or a commercially prepared freeze-dried meal.  Experience with the dried vegetables in my home kitchen led me to packing small amounts of the dried vegetables as a means to add piquancy to freeze-dried dinners.  The Just Tomatoes, etc! vegetables perk things up considerably, and to my taste improve flavor.  As with the fruits, after re-hydrating the vegetables tend to have a strong flavor that can overwhelm the blander taste of prepackaged food (not always a bad thing), so caution is advised in the quantities to be used.  I usually add no more than a scant teaspoon of bits or two or three individual vegetables per two-person serving.

I don't have recipes, but I generally use the vegetables as follows:

Mushrooms and corn work best with cream-sauce type dishes.

Garlic and onions are excellent with any stew or other beef or lamb product.  I am careful when adding garlic – it's very potent.

Tomatoes (another strong flavor) and peas add zest to just about anything.

Onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms work very well with soups or potato dishes

I cannot detect any difference between the organic and conventionally grown products.

Things I like:

Simple
Healthy
Strong flavor
Particularly for the berries with cereal, great taste

Issues

These products (particularly the berries) require some care in packing as they crumble easily.  I usually store them in Zip-Lock bags stashed inside my drinking cup or other non-compressible container.  If the hike is long enough, they may rate their own small tin.

All these products are expensive.  For this reason I haven't seriously considered using them in homemade trail mixes as dried fruits are much less expensive.

Two upscale grocery chains in Dallas stock these, but I haven't always been able to find them when traveling.  The website lists many retailers in trailhead cities, however.

Home Use

The dried fruits' highest and best home use is as part of homemade custards and ice creams.  They are available when a desired fruit can't be found or isn't flavorful, and unlike fresh fruit will not freeze solid when churned in an ice-cream freezer. 

Backpacking background:

Male, 59 years old
Height: 6' 4" (1.91 m)
Weight: 200 lb (91 kg)
Email address: rlyon AT gibsondunn DOT com
Home: Dallas, Texas USA

I've been backpacking for 45 years on and off, and regularly in the Rockies since I moved to Texas in 1986.  I do a weeklong trip every summer, and often take three-day trips.  I'm usually camping in alpine terrain, at altitudes 5000 to 13,000 ft (1500 - 4000 m). I prefer base camp backpacking, a long hike in with day trips from camp, but I do my share of forced marches too. Regardless of type of trip, I'll tote a few extra pounds to have the camp conveniences I've come to expect.