Mountain House has been a mainstay in the outdoor community for decades. They’ve also crossed over into the preparedness world as well. Many preppers and survivalists have Mountain House meals stashed away in their pantries.
Food Prep the Mountain House Way
Recently, they debuted two new flavors – Cajun Style Jambalaya and Breakfast Fried Rice. They were kind enough to send me a sample of each. Over Memorial Day weekend, we had a small family get-together. I figured that was a great opportunity to let everyone check out the new flavors and see what they thought.
Cajun Style Jambalaya
There are two types of jambalayas – Cajun and Creole. The primary difference between the two is the presence or absence of tomato. Creole has it, Cajun doesn’t. With that in mind, technically, this is Creole jambalaya, as it has tomato paste as an ingredient. Pedantic, perhaps, but worth mentioning.
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The jambalaya rehydrated very well, with no noticeable crunchy spots discovered. It’s long grain rice, Andouille sausage, bits of chicken, tomato paste, and a bunch of spices. I was very curious about the sausage slices in particular, and they came out with a great texture as well as flavor. The rice was soft without being mushy, and there was no water left puddling in the bottom of the pouch.
It has a little bit of a bite to the spiciness. Not bad by any means, but noticeable. Overall, the jambalaya had a great taste. Everyone who tried it liked it.
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Breakfast Fried Rice
This one was interesting. It’s rice with scrambled eggs, veggies, and turkey sausage mixed in. Like the jambalaya, it rehydrated just fine. While the instructions indicate to open the pouch and stir it up about halfway through the rehydration process, I just picked up the pouch and shook and massaged it a bit every few minutes.
The eggs tasted like eggs; the sausage tasted like sausage. The texture of everything was as it should be. Nothing felt or tasted off, mushy, or nasty. This one was another hit with everyone. Nobody who tried the breakfast fried rice turned their nose up at it.
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And I can absolutely see this being a great way to start the day out in the field. One pouch is two servings, and while I could have finished the entire pouch myself, I feel like that would have been a mistake in the long run. It’s very filling.
The Verdict
Both flavors were well received. Something I really appreciated is that the food looks like food. It doesn’t just look like mush or paste. Sure, when you’re hungry enough, things like that don’t matter much. But I still prefer my food to be recognizable whenever possible.
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As with any freeze-dried meals, these aren’t exactly cheap. They run $12.49 each at the Mountain House site. Occasionally, you’ll be able to find them cheaper due to a sale or a package deal. As each pouch has two servings, you’re looking at about $6.25 per meal.
From a prepping standpoint, these meals aren’t something I’d consider my first line of defense in my food pantry. Instead, they’re a filler, providing some much-needed variety here and there. As for camping, they’re a great option for those who need a lightweight method of packing in calories.
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