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OWNER REVIEW – Mountain House Freeze-Dried Scrambled Eggs with Bacon
BIOGRAPHY
Name: Jeff Jackson
Age: 29
Gender: Male
Height: 5’ 10” (178 cm)
Weight: 185 lb (84 kg)
Website: http://www.geocities.com/jwj32542/HammockCamping.html
Email: jwj32542 at yahoo dot com
Location: Monterey, CA, USA
Date: 23 Sep 05
Backpacking Background:
I have been backpacking for about eleven years. Starting as a three-season only hiker in North Georgia, I have since hiked in California, Colorado, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. Weather is generally mild (50-85 F / 10-30 C), although I sometimes hike in winter (~20 F/-7 C) as well. My current pack weight is roughly 30 lb (14 kg). When I go on a 2-3 day hike with my children (6 and 10), my pack may edge up to 40 lb (18 kg). I am most often a hammock camper, but I still use a tent when my wife comes along.
PRODUCT INFO
Mountain House Freeze Dried Scrambled Eggs with Bacon (Precooked)
http://www.mountainhouse.com
Product Description: A single-serving, just add water pouch of precooked scrambled eggs with bacon pieces.
Measured Package Size: 6” x 8” (15 cm x 20 cm)
Quoted Net Weight: 2.25 oz (64 g)
MSRP: US$4.49
FIRST IMPRESSION
I first noticed that the foil packaging appears very durable. It has a gusseted seam along the bottom that allows the package to stand on its own while rehydrating. The back of the package displays the nutrition facts, ingredients list, and directions. The directions appeared easy to follow and even included pictures of removing the oxygen absorber and adding boiling water.
USE DETAILS
When I first opened the package, I saw that the eggs were very light freeze-dried chunks. Following the directions, I added 8 oz (237 mL) of boiling water, stirred it thoroughly, and resealed the package’s zipper-lock. Then I simply let it sit to rehydrate. After the soaking time was up, I drained the excess water out of the package and started eating.
Even though the directions only called for “5-6 minutes” and I let it soak for over seven minutes, some of the chunks were still not rehydrated. More importantly, the eggs tasted horrible and had the texture of styrofoam packing material. I ate about five bites and threw the rest away.
The directions only specify four steps, and they are not difficult to follow. The water was at a rolling boil when I poured it in, and I stirred the package thoroughly enough to get all the little bacon pieces out of the corners of the bag (which took a bit of effort, so it was stirred well). I let it sit for longer than the listed time, and it still did not rehydrate properly. I do not think the poor performance was due to my inability to follow instructions.
WHAT I LIKE
- Convenience. Being able to grab an entrée from the shelf and stuff it into my food bag, then just add boiling water and eat out of the package with no dishes to clean at camp, is a significant benefit to my hiking style.
- Weight. Freeze-dried food is very lightweight. I tested the version with full packaging rather than Mountain House’s vacuum-sealed version, so I had a little bit more packaging weight than was necessary. I could have saved the packaging weight by repacking at home or by purchasing the vacuum-sealed version. The food itself is very lightweight, though.
WHAT I DON’T LIKE
- Taste. While Mountain House markets some tasty foods, the scrambled eggs with bacon are not in that category. I found this meal to be particularly distasteful. Since taste is subjective, others may find it palatable, but I could not eat more than about five bites.
- Texture. Even after following the directions, the eggs that were rehydrated became mushy, and the eggs that had not yet rehydrated felt like styrofoam in my mouth. This illustrated to me that the meal rehydrated unevenly. The bacon pieces had the texture of rubber.
- Extra water. The directions specify that before eating, I should pour out the “excess water” that had not soaked into the food. The package gave off such a strong smell of eggs and bacon that pouring this much greasy water onto the ground made me question how safe this procedure would be in bear country. I certainly would not want to do that near my camp.
- Cost. While not cost-prohibitive, for the price of this meal I expected much better taste and texture. With very little planning, I can create a good-tasting meal for a much lower cost.
SUMMARY
While I will likely use other Mountain House flavors in the future, I will never buy the scrambled eggs again. I may be able to fix the texture with some experimentation, but the taste was unpleasant enough to prevent a positive review of this meal.
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