OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 201949esandina controlledenvironment.Thespicierofferingsdid
better,buttextureandsmellwerebothstillfactors.TheThai
andIndiandisheswereloved,whileanyattemptat sounding
fancy (e.g.,chicken piccata)was generallyconfronted with
scrunchednosesandunfinishedsamples.
EASEOFPREPARATIONFor preparation,we evaluatedhow
easy it wasto openthepackageand howmuchwater was
neededforrehydration.Thedehydratedmealstookthelon-
gesttomake,withsometakingaslongas 20 minutes.Asthe
GoodTo-Goinstructionssuggest,“Stirandreseal.Hangout
for 20 minutes.Think abouthowbigtheuniverseis.”That
resultedinsome wonderful conversation among our team—
goodadvice.
TESTINGCRITERIA
Weemphasizeda combinationofobjectiveandsubjective
criteria,witha weightingtowardtasteasdeterminedbyour
panelofjudges.Weselectedbrandsbasedupontheirreputa-
tionintheindustryandchosea broadrangeofoptionsfor
travelers withdiverse food needs.For the individual meal
choices,weusedbothREIandAmazonconsumerfeedback
rankingstodeterminetherecipesthathadthehighestoverall
ratingsforthemanufacturer.Therearecertainlymoreoptions
outthere,butit is ourjobtothintheherddowntoa manage-
ablefew.
Ontestingday,wegatheredfiveteammembersandone
dogtooureditorialsuitefora longlunchoftasting,banter,
andjudging.Fortunately,ourteamrepresentsa widerangeof
foodies,withsomebeingmoreinterestedintexture,others
beingmoreexcitedabouttaste,anda fewbeingmostinter-
estedinthenutritionofthemeals.Atlas,themalamute,was
anenthusiasticparticipantas well,andhedidlikesomemore
thanothers(beefstroganoffforthewin).Wepurchasedthree
ofeachselectionandpreparedtwoforthetrial.Thefirstwas
usedforsampling,andthesecondwasusedtovalidatecook
timeandtoassessplating,overallsmell,andpalatability.
ManagingEditorSarahRammboiledwaterinanelec-
tricpottoensurerepeatabilityandease,thenmeasuredthe
liquidpreciselytothemanufacturer’srecommendation.The
mealwasthenstirredasdirectedandlefttocookforthepre-
scribedtimeinour74°Foffice.Anyvariationstocooktime
wererecorded,withmostrequiringadditionaltimeduetoour
locale’s5,164-feetelevation.Themealwasservedin 12-ounce
papercups(newcupswitheachoption),andtheevaluators
madenotesandratingsontexture,flavor,appeal,temperature,
saltlevel,accuracyofhydration,andclosenesstoactualfood.
Additionalcommentswerenoted,andallofthescoreswere
aggregatedintoseparateoverallratings,weightedratings,and
thenan overall combinedscoring.Theevaluationwas cer-
tainlydynamicbutfilledwithcriticalcommentaryandim-
pressions.I believeit wouldbeimpossibletoaccuratelyand
appropriatelyevaluatethesemealswithout a quorum of over-
landers to balance individual biases.
Topfourphotosclockwise:Sarahpourspurifiedwaterinto the electricket-
tle to establisha boil. Not surprisingly,the foodthat lookedgooddriedtasted
better,too. Sometest participantsweremoreeagerthanothers.The Good
To-Gomealshad informativeand humorouslabeling.Bottomleft:Precise
measurementswerecriticalto the evaluationand properrehydrating.Bot-
tom right:Somemealsrequiredrehydratingor cookingin a pot, whichdoes
add to cleanupand waterusage.Openingpage:The optionsfor shelf-stable
meals are better than ever, and some are now even worth eating.