MOUNTAIN HOUSE Mexican Style Rice & Chicken 5.4 oz, about 3 servings, $7.39

BACKPACKER’S PANTRY Mexican Rice with Beef 6.5 oz, 2 servings, $9.50

Sometimes you’re just in the mood for a different “type” of cuisine. As tastes become more sophisticated, there’s been some effort to make more “ethnic” flavors. In the freeze-dried or dehydrated world, making a dish “Mexican” seems to qualify, at least for now. But at least it’s beyond the way-too-typical chicken and rice.

I do not pretend to know a lot about Mexican cuisine, but I do know that Mexican-American food (Tex-Mex, New-Mex, whatever else is currently in vogue) is not the same thing. I also know that rice and beans and a few spices does not a Mexican dish make. Understandably, it might be hard to work into a dehydrated or freeze-dried mess the beautiful deep-green of a pablano, the brightness of a tomatillo, and the freshness of cilantro. But I wanted to know what some popular brands would do with what they had decided was “Mexican.”

So, on a 20-mile backpacking trip recently I took along Mountain House’s Mexican Style Rice & Chicken and Backpacker’s Pantry Mexican Rice with Beef to share with eleven other hungry hikers and see what they preferred. I modified my usual taste-test process (see my previous reviews on Stroganoff and Chili Mac for my at-home process on taste tests), dispensing with the neatly laid-out plastic cups on a well-organized kitchen table with appropriate sample labels. And let me say it was a little more stressful to hide in my tent cooking up two packages of food to product specifications while my boyfriend continuously lashed out instructions to not drip the Mexican food on our gear (the good news is I avoided making a mess of the sleeping bags; the bad news is that I had to work quite a bit to get the stains out of a mattress pad). I handed my two-spoonful servings of Backpacker’s Pantry in little plastic cups out the door of my tent to my eye-rolling boyfriend to hand out as quickly as possible to my eleven willing taste-testers. By the time that was ready, the Mountain House flavor was ready and I circulated those samples.

The Verdict: My tasters ranked this a close score, with six of eleven preferring Backpacker’s Pantry and the remaining five (plus myself) preferring Mountain House.

            100 Point Scale:

MOUNTAIN HOSUE Mexican Style Rice & Chicken = 65 (Mediocre)

BACKPACKER’S PANTRY Mexican Rice with Beef = 55 (No Man’s Land)

Those preferring Backpacker’s Pantry liked the fact that it had a “unique flavor” and found the kick in Mountain House too strong. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that no one commented on the fact that one product had chicken and the other one beef. I frankly don’t think anyone noticed. Meat seems to be such an irrelevant contributor to taste in outdoor meals, serving more of a purpose in texture and nutrition.  A missed opportunity, in my opinion, but we’ve got a long way to go to correct that issue and that is a story for another day.

In the author’s opinion, I’m not sure what BP’s Mexican Rice with Beef really has to offer in terms of “Mexican.” Scanning the ingredient list, its sauce (ingredient #2) is a sour cream sauce and there are indeed some “Mexican” ingredients like chili, coriander and tomato. But Mexican fare is known for gusto in flavor (even if I set aside Tex-Mex thoughts here) which is why I think Mountain House with its kidney beans, brown rice and various pepper flavorings, does a much better job. There is also a significantly higher fat content in the Backpacker’s Pantry product, and sodium is off the charts, so to speak. Adding insult to injury is it’s steep price.

RICHMOOR Turkey Tetrazzini 5.5 oz, 2 servings, $6.25

ALPINEAIRE FOODS Wild Tyme Turkey 6 oz, 2 servings, $8.32

I’m always happy when we sit down to Thanksgiving dinner and there’s a protein other than a turkey. No matter how good it looks coming to the table, it is always a disappointment. (That is, other than the first 15-pound turkey I made last Thanksgiving, which I accidentally cooked upside down, but that seemed to do the trick for ensuring a moist breast.)

I was surprised then, to discover that I had more excitement over freeze-dried turkey entrees recently enjoyed over a campfire. AlpineAire Foods Wild Tyme Turkey was particularly good and Richmoor’s Turkey Tetrazzini proved an adequate noodle dish.

The Verdict: If you’re into trying a grainy dish that has depth of flavor, AlpineAire is a very good bet. If you’re in the mood for the more standard fare that a noodle dish can offer, and you like peas, Richmoor’s dish might satisfy you.

            100 Point Scale:

ALPINEAIRE FOODS Wild Tyme Turkey = 80 (Very Good)

RICHMOOR Turkey Tetrazzini = 60 (Mediocre)

Assessment

I expected (correctly) that AlpineAire’s product would be better than Richmoor’s since that is Katadyn Group’s higher-end line. I would not have expected to describe a dehydrated or freeze-dried meal as “complex” but AlpineAire’s Wild Tyme Turkey managed to do what so few dehydrated or freeze-dried meals have done. It had a textural, color and flavor diversity that was really unexpected; sometimes it was the rice and grains that you tasted, other times the turkey and carrot shone through, still others the Parmesan cheese was most noticeable. So often with outdoor food, regardless of whether you bite into the beans or the meat, it all kind of tastes the same. That was not the case with this meal at all. A quick glance at the ingredient list lends some explanation to the complexity: brown and wild rice, bulgar, barley flakes, sunflower seeds and almonds. (By the way, there is no thyme in this dish.)

In Richmoor’s dish, you primarily taste the sour cream sauce and the peas. The pasta is adequate but flavorless and soft, as freeze-dried pasta tends to be. The peas are prevalent but not overpowering and add a good amount of freshness to the dish. Unfortunately, the mushrooms are not at all noticeable, nor is the sherry flavor, which is disappointing considering this is a “tetrazzini.”

AlpineAire’s turkey dish has a higher than average vitamin content, and the complex grains makes the quality of the carbohydrates very good, in contrast to the simple carbs that come from white pasta. As in all of its products, AlpineAire advertises that it has no preservatives, artificial flavors, colors or MSG. Richmoor cannot make such a claim and, also like it’s other products, Turkey Tetrazzini has no resealable bag, which is a bit of a headache even if it is not of great consequence.

Carrying on from the “Chili Mac and Beef” review (see that review for the taste test process and tasters), I conducted a taste test on the following beef stroganoff recipes:

WISE Noodles and Beef in Savory Mushroom Sauce (5.6 oz, 2 servings), $7.09

NATURAL HIGH Beef Stroganoff (5.62 oz, 2 servings), $7.00

NATURAL HIGH Beef Stroganoff with Wild Rice (5.87 oz, 2 servings), $6.75

ALPINEAIRE Beef Stroganoff (5.5 oz, 2 servings), $8.32

RICHMOOR Beef Stroganoff (5 oz, 2 servings), $5.80

MOUNTAIN HOUSE Beef Stroganoff with Noodles (4.8 oz, about 2 servings), $7.39

MOUNTAIN HOUSE PRO Beef Stroganoff with Noodles (4.06 oz, about 2.5 servings), $6.69

BACKPACKER’S PANTRY Stroganoff Sauce with Beef & Noodles (5.7 oz, 2 servings), $8.50

Comparisons are potentially difficult. Is it fair to compare one recipe that uses rice with another that uses noodles? I can eat pasta every day but I easily tire of rice and I therefore have a natural inclination towards a noodle dish. Nonetheless, when a brand is going to call something “beef stroganoff,” the customer will have an expectation for what we know as beef stroganoff. And, according to Wikipedia, those recipes vary. Wise advertises a “mushroom sauce” but mushrooms did not make an appearance until much later than the first known recipe found in Maria Jesusa de Jose’s Classic Russian Cookbook of 1861, which did not feature mushrooms. Through the evolution of beef stroganoff, different recipes featured rice or noodles (or neither). In this case, I concluded that any product called “beef stroganoff” or any variation thereof was fair game. Note that Natural High makes two recipes, one with noodles and one with rice. All other products tested were noodle-based dishes.

A quick note on product ownership: Katydyn North America (a US subsidiary of Katydyn Group) owns Richmoor, Natural High and AlpineAire (and Gourmet Reserves). Each of the three product lines represents a different segment of the market, from Richmoor’s “lower end” to AlpineAire’s more sophisticated one (at least that is the intention) and you will see that reflected in price.

The Verdict: Who knew such a retro dish would incite such diverse reaction? On taste, there was no clear-cut winner.

            100 Point Scale:

MOUNTAIN HOUSE PRO Beef Stroganoff with Noodles = 65 (Mediocre)

MOUNTAIN HOUSE Beef Stroganoff with Noodles = 60 (Mediocre)

ALPINEAIRE Beef Stroganoff = 58 (No Man’s Land)

NATURAL HIGH Beef Stroganoff with Wild Rice = 55 (No Man’s Land)

NATURAL HIGH Beef Stroganoff = 48 (Poor)

RICHMOOR Beef Stroganoff = 40 (Poor)

WISE Noodles and Beef in Savory Mushroom Sauce = 40 (Poor)

BACKPACKER’S PANTRY Stroganoff Sauce with Beef & Noodles = 35 (Not Recommended)

The Taste Test

Three people (plus the author) strongly preferred the taste of Mountain House to all other brands. Three preferred AlpineAire (with what seemed like less enthusiasm than the Mountain House fans), one preferred Natural High (here again the preference was without much enthusiasm) and one strongly preferred Natural High’s rice package (and preferred Mountain House if she could not choose the rice dish).

One person described Wise’s product as “good” and the only other good thing that anyone had to say about Wise was that they had nothing to say. The worst is that it would be suitable if one was starving (figuratively or literally, apparently). I hated it, finding a “lard” flavor that I didn’t understand (there is no lard in the ingredient list, although there is some beef fat and TVP). Ironically, Wise advertises on its package that its stroganoff has “Great taste with real meat.”

Richmoor’s product confused most tasters and it was downright terrible to me, and clearly to the others that actually uttered “yuck” upon tasting it. Have these product developers tasted this recently? If it was a wine, I would put it in the “chemical” category and, I am not sure if it is possible for something to have too much seasoning and not enough salt – but, if so, this was a good example. Interestingly, the Backpacker’s Pantry stroganoff was described as either “bland” or downright bad. I thought one taster put it best by describing it as having a “rotten milk” taste. I disliked it as much as I disliked Richmoor’s.

The worst anyone had to say about Natural High’s product is that it was “average” or “ok” but the majority of tasters thought it was good. (I found it average, at best. As in, if I was starving after a long day’s hike and that’s all I had to eat, and I wasn’t able to scrounge up any wild edibles, I could appreciate it.)

AlpineAire’s fare was generally found to be flavorful and seriously disliked by only one taster. Several of those who enjoyed it did comment that the meat was tough. I agree with this assessment but that is likely the result of AlpineAire making an effort to give us larger chunks of meat that are not infused with TVP (as in the case of Richmoor, Wise, Natural High (and Natural High Rice) and Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein in Mountain House and Mountain House Pro, or Hydrolyzed Whey Protein in Backpacker’s Pantry).

Nutrition and Packaging

Once again, Backpacker’s Pantry’s two 12-ounce servings do not hold up on calories. Its entire package of two servings amounts to 420 calories, while Wise’s two servings produce 700 calories (and more carbs, protein and fat). Mountain House, Wise and Natural High take the prize for highest sodium levels while Richmoor and Natural High (Rice) do a good job of keeping that low.

Mountain House Pro offers a vacuum-packed package that cuts down some of the bulk. Otherwise, the recipes are the same and there is a negligible difference in nutrition. A quick note on package sizes generally: they are generally all pretty close (see sizes marked below) with Mountain House Pro being smaller than all others. All products can be cooked in the package and all, except Richmoor, are re-sealable so that the pouches may be sealed more easily after boiling water is added. Richmoor’s larger package can be closed “enough” to allow cooking to occur as prescribed, but it is just not as convenient.

The ratio of carbs to protein is highest in Wise at 3.14 with the remainder as follows: Mountain House Pro 3.0, Natural High (Rice) 2.94, Mountain House 2.9, Richmor 2.73, Natural High 2.44, Backpacker’s Pantry 2.18 and AlpineAire 2.06.

* The only other difference between Chili Mac Pro and Chili Mac regular (other than the vacuum-packed package) is that the regular has one more gram of fat and one less of carbohydrates. The recipe is the same.

Package Sizes

One’s taste-buds will never be the same as another’s. Still, taste-tests are an age-old technique used in test kitchens everywhere. Besides, I thought it would be a fun way to test some of the more staple outdoor food varieties (feel free to replace “staple” with “tired and boring”, but that is a story for another day).

I conducted taste-tests on (1) Chili Mac and Beef, and (2) Beef Stroganoff (see the next review). I invited eight willing and hungry tasters to participate in my experiment. Of the eight adults, two were experienced outdoorsmen and very regular backpackers, four were otherwise very sporty and active people who engaged in outdoor activities quite regularly and the remaining two did not participate in outdoor activities at all (one of which was a French Culinary Institute trained chef). Food was prepared to package directives in a corner of my kitchen behind the refrigerator and where packages were out of sight to my guests. I designated a sample name to each sample (for instance, Wise’s Beef Stroganoff was designated as “Sample A”). Samples were served out quickly to preserve temperature in unidentified plastic cups and placed on a prearranged table under their designated “Sample” name. All samples of Chili Mac and Beef were served at once and when the taste test was completed and my notes recorded, I prepared the samples of the Beef Stroganoff and followed the same process. My guests were instructed to tell me which of each category they liked best and were free to share comments as they pleased without restriction (or filter, which made things much more entertaining.

WISE Chili Mac with Beef (5 oz, 2 servings), $7.09

MOUTAIN HOUSE Chili Mac with Beef (4.8 oz, about 2.5 servings), $6.79

NATURAL HIGH Chili Mac with Beef (5.62 oz, 2 servings), $6.50

BACKPACKER’S PANTRY Chili Macaroni & Beef (5.2 oz, 2 servings), $8.50

The Verdict: Everyone, including the author, strongly preferred the taste of Mountain House’s Chili Mac.

            100 Point Scale:

MOUNTAIN HOUSE Chili Mac with Beef = 70 (Good)

NATURAL HIGH Chili Mac with Beef = 50 (No Man’s Land)

WISE Chili Mac with Beef = 44 (Poor)

BACKPACKER’S PANTRY Chili Macaroni & Beef  = 30 (Not Recommended)

 The Taste Test

The far and away favorite of all eight tasters (and the author) was Mountain House, all of whom found it most flavorful. Its sauce was richer, not only in color, but certainly in flavor, seemingly by the addition of some tomato and cayenne and kidney beans, adding that anticipated “chili” punch that delivered on customer expectations. It is the only one of the four brands that seemed to offer anything close to “chili.” Ground beef does not a chili make, right?

One of eight people judged Backpacker’s Pantry “better” than her least favorite and otherwise it was a clear loser by all remaining tasters (and the author). I’m not sure what the BP product developers were thinking when they decided to form their beef into perfectly miniaturized cubes, but that decision might have been the direct result of several tasters’ use of the term “dog food” to describe what I had fed them. Other notable adjectives used to describe this mess were “playdough-like” and “gamey” (I have nothing against gamey; in fact, I love it. But chili mac and BEEF should not yield gamey under any circumstances).

While a few of my guests indicated they thought Wise was “better” than Natural High, it was generally a toss up as to which was most bland. Frankly, that type of fight is a lose-lose in my book. Natural High also chose to use a short “spaghetti”-like noodle that just didn’t hold up to the meat and other ingredients. Wise had a weird taste that a majority of tasters found bland (and I found downright unpleasant). It was hard to pinpoint what the problem was but I do note that Wise is the only one of the four brands that injected textured vegetable protein (“TVP”) into its recipe (note also that Mountain House uses hydrolyzed soy protein, a form of hydrolyzed vegetable protein or “HVP”). Both TVP and HVPs are recognized as MSG (monosodium glutamate) and are used as flavor enhancers. Much has been written about MSGs and it is food industry standard to use TVP and HVPs as a way to “clean label;” they add MSG without having to say they’ve added MSG. More on this topic another day.

Nutrition

While Backpacker’s Pantry advertises that it makes two 12-ounce servings, cooking that product to specifications resulted in a meal closer to soup than solid so the advertisement is somewhat disingenuous. Perhaps the best way to assess the size of the meal (other than trying them all to find out which one fills you up best) is to check nutritional content with a glance at the serving size. For instance, Wise’s 680-calorie package (340 calories per serving times two servings) is higher than the 540 calories yielded by two servings of Backpacker’s Pantry.

Natural High advertises “Lower Sodium” and it delivers on this promise with a significantly lower sodium level than the other brands (and for commercial freeze-dried / dehydrated meals generally). The USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans suggest reducing daily sodium intake to 2300 mg, and 1500 mg for those ages 51 and older and those of any age who are African American or have hypertension, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. Wise and Backpacker’ Pantry sodium levels will do a quick job of getting their customers to the USDA’s daily maximum in only one meal (because you know that no one is going to limit themselves to one serving … and if you are, you probably aren’t doing much exercise out in the woods).

Wise is the only product with trans fats. Backpacker’s Pantry notably has no saturated or trans fats and Natural High only a small amount of saturated fat. As for the ratio of carbohydrates to protein, Natural High is highest at 3.71 with Backpacker’s Pantry at 3.42, Wise at 2.76 and Mountain House at 2.58.

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