OVERLAND JOURNAL FALL 201951F
orover 60 years,Backpacker’sPan-
try has been producing camping
meals,theirfirst effortsinspiredbya Girl
Scout tripgone awry.As a company,it is
still a privately held,family-owned brand
thatmakesthemealsinBoulder,Colorado.
Theirrecipes are madefrom both freeze-
dried and dehydrated ingredientswith an
estimatedshelflifeofupto 10 yearsforthe
packagedoptions,and 25 yearsfortheir#10
cans.We found it somewhat curious that
thelotwereceived hadalready satunsold
fornearly fouryears.Thepackage itself is
durableand sturdy,arguably themostro -
bust(butalsothelargest)ofthetest.This
ruggednessmadeopeningthepackagedif-
ficult,butclosureforcookingwassimple.
Cookingrequires2 cupsofboilingwa-
terand 15 minutesofdwelltimeafterstir-
ring.When served,it looksappealing and
home cooked. The pasta kept its shape,
andthedishsplashedwiththecolorofthe
capers. Chunks of chicken were present
throughout,which resultedina highpro-
teincontent,complementedbythefatfrom
theoliveoil.A fewpeoplenoteda chemical
smell, but everyone was excited about thePROS
10-yearshelflife (freeze-dried)
Highprotein
Sturdypackaging
“I lovedthe flavor,nice and lemony.
The capersare almostas goodas
the normal canned ones.” -SarahCONS
Chemicalsmell
Preservativesand artificialadditives
Higherthanaverageretailprice
“No,thankyou, it smellsreallybad,like
chemicals,and I don’twantto eat this.
The capersare not helpful—strange
flavor.” -StephanieThis is a better option for emergencies than camping.BACKPACKERʼS PANTRY | CHICKEN PICCATA WITH TAGLIATELLE PASTA
capers.However,flavorreports wereeither
listed asmediocre,orinthecaseofSarah,
amazing.Sheexpressedherloveforchicken
piccataandfoundthelemonflavoringand
capersto beperfect,butshedidcomment
afterhavingleftoversthenextdaythatthe
mealupsetherstomach.Anotherevaluator
foundit inedible,whileI foundthetasteas
beingmiddleoftherange.It is importantto
notethatthisproductdoes use several addi-
tivesandpreservatives.
560 CALORIES| 36G PROTEIN| $11, TWO SERVINGS |
BACKPACKERSPANTRY.COM