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Linda Frederick Yaffe
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Backpack Gourmet: Good Hot Grub You Can Make at Home, Dehydrate, and Pack for Quick, Easy, and Healthy Eating on the Trail Kindle Edition

by Linda Frederick Yaffe (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 134 ratings
• Over 160 recipes for soups, stews, pasta, casseroles, and breakfast and snack ideas
• Potato Soup Parmesan, Seafood Stew, Sweet and Sour Noodles, Spicy Chicken
• Tips on drying food in a dehydrator or oven
Meals on the trail can be as delicious and varied as meals prepared at home. You can create meals to suit your tastes or diet--vegetarian, low fat, Asian, Italian. Meals prepared and dehydrated at home are compact and lightweight, perfect for the backpacker, and safer than packing perishable foods. The author shows how to prepare the meals so that they will travel well and will be easy to reconstitute in camp. The easy step-by-step instructions detail how to cook and dry lightweight, satisfying meals at home and then prepare them easily in camp--truly complete, instant meals.
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  1. Print length
    162 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Stackpole Books
  4. Publication date
    December 1, 2002
  5. File size
    1.2 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Yaffe, a librarian, camper, and author of High Trails Cookery, offers more than 150 recipes for hikers seeking an alternative to the expensive, often boring, freeze-dried prepared meals that are sold in stores. Most of them are for dishes that are completely cooked at home and dried in an electric dehydrator (or an oven), then simply rehydrated with boiling water, requiring no further cooking at the campsite. There are also trail snacks and other no-cook recipes, as well as cookies, muffins, and other baked goods. Some of the recipes are vegetarian, while others offer vegetarian (or vegan) options. For larger collections and others where camping and hiking books are popular.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The more adventurous camper will turn to Linda Yaffe's Backpack Gourmet. She offers fish jerky as well as the beef variety, and she leads her band of outdoorspersons into an elaborate world of breakfasts, snacks, and dinner dishes. She insists that complex-sounding dishes such as crab fettuccini and portobello curry need not be beyond the reach of the backwoodspeople. For the less sophisticated frontier cook, hot dog stew and peanut butter fudge make satisfying outdoor meals. There are also recipes for fruit leather and similar easily transportable snacks. She also offers guidelines on choosing cooking equipment for campers and on techniques for ensuring all-important freshwater supplies in the backcountry. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001GIPF6O
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stackpole Books; 2nd edition (December 1, 2002)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 1, 2002
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.2 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 162 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 134 ratings

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Linda Frederick Yaffe

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
134 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this backpacking cookbook offers great recipes for dehydrated food, with one review noting veggie-friendly options in every chapter. Moreover, the book is easy to follow, with one customer highlighting the simple instructions for dehydrating meals. Additionally, customers appreciate the guide to dehydrating any meal, with one mentioning that entire meals dehydrate to very little pack weight. Customers find the book informative, with one review noting it's particularly helpful for beginners, and they consider it affordable and fun, with one mentioning it's fantastic after a long day hiking.

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38 customers mention "Recipes"38 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the recipes in this cookbook, particularly those for dehydrated food, and find them tasty and satisfying. One customer notes that each chapter includes veggie-friendly options.

"...I liked the choices, the ease in preparation, and the reconstituted flavor and texture (mostly)...." Read more

"...Veggie friendly options or recipes in every chapter. The dehydrator I bought because of this book, has literally paid for itself many times over...." Read more

"...Breakfast casseroles, delicious spaghetti for dinner, tuna and bruschetta spreads at lunch, and none of it had that preservative-laden flavor that..." Read more

"...Totally delicious, and such an easy meal to put together at the end of one of those "can't find the trail head" days...." Read more

30 customers mention "Information quality"28 positive2 negative

Customers find the book to be a great resource with good information, and one customer mentions it provides lots of camping advice.

"...I found it a valuable addition to my bookshelf." Read more

"...at home for when the apocalypse happens (heh), this is a great reference book." Read more

"...Even great for car camping if you want to keep things basic and don't have refrigeration...." Read more

"...I found it to be very informing to beginners. Its great and good to get kids to eat apples when they will not eat them normaly...." Read more

13 customers mention "Ease of preparation"13 positive0 negative

Customers find the book easy to follow and well written, with one customer noting that all the preparation work can be done at home.

"...I liked the choices, the ease in preparation, and the reconstituted flavor and texture (mostly)...." Read more

"...while they all have good things, this one trumps all others due to its ease, deliciousness, and reliability! Linda you are truly a genius...." Read more

"...Leave all of that at home. Yaffe's approach is simple and elegant, and I'm quite honestly shocked that more people don't do it this way: You make..." Read more

"...Totally delicious, and such an easy meal to put together at the end of one of those "can't find the trail head" days...." Read more

12 customers mention "Dehydration benefits"12 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's guide to dehydrating meals, with one customer noting that entire meals dehydrate to very little pack weight.

"...It is easier to get started dehydrating with this than with Mary Bell's Bible...." Read more

"...Entire meals dehydrate to very little pack weight. Yaffe's recipes create very generous servings...." Read more

"...The hydrated food was similar but different from the original...." Read more

"This is the best book on dehydrating food I have ever seen I've been dehydrating my food for over 20 years for backpacking...." Read more

7 customers mention "Value for money"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book affordable, with one mentioning it makes back packing cheaper.

"...The meals are so much better and affordable than buying from the commercially dehydrated food that has so many unwanted additives and GMOs." Read more

"...essential for energy, and this is a good way to attain both for a reasonable price." Read more

"...Making your own M.R.E.s is more economical and ..... frankly, more fun!" Read more

"I was so impressed with this book, a great way to store your food at a low cost and longevity.a must have for any backpacker or prepper!" Read more

5 customers mention "Variety of recipes"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the variety of recipes in the book, with one mentioning seven different pasta dishes featuring fish.

"...I actually own both the paperback and the Kindle version. I liked the choices, the ease in preparation, and the reconstituted flavor and..." Read more

"...There are seven different pasta recipes that have fish, one with chicken and one with beef. There are also tons of uses for couscous and quinoa...." Read more

"Wide variety of menu items that will satisfy anyone's taste, and they won't bankrupt you. Easy to find ingredients at your local grocery store." Read more

"...There are so many good options available that make the foods we cook taste better and not just yukky backpacking food. Good book." Read more

4 customers mention "Fun"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book fun to read, with one mentioning it's fantastic after a long day of hiking.

"...Her recipes make cooking quick and easy at camp which is fantastic after a long day hiking...." Read more

"...The recipies were tasty and satisfying. A large two person meal dehydrated down into a lunch baggie...." Read more

"...Making your own M.R.E.s is more economical and ..... frankly, more fun!" Read more

"fun and easy meals that does not make eating more like work when you kitchen is 5 miles from civilization!! Fun book, great recipes!..." Read more

3 customers mention "Ideas"3 positive0 negative

Customers like the ideas in the book.

"...Great ideas and easy ingredients. Her recipes make cooking quick and easy at camp which is fantastic after a long day hiking...." Read more

"...and they absolutely love this little book for it's great recipes and ideas." Read more

"Good ideas and information included" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Diane C. Howard
    5.0 out of 5 stars Easy, tasty. Suitable for vegetarians
    Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    I'm not a camper or a hiker. I got this out of my library about half a dozen times for myself, and later to make dehydrated meals for a vegetarian family member going through rough times. She loved everything I made, including the stuff I did not like. One soup that I mentioned I disliked, she told me it was a better dip than a soup. It was! As a dip it was wonderful, as a soup, not to my taste. Some of the meat meals were easy to substitute tofu or tvp, or just leave out the meat altogether.
    I really hate cooking. My ideal house has no kitchen at all (hey, I lived 9 years in the barracks, with chow hall personnel cooking and cleaning up). Dehydrated meals where you just add water was exactly what I wanted. I actually own both the paperback and the Kindle version.
    I liked the choices, the ease in preparation, and the reconstituted flavor and texture (mostly). It is easier to get started dehydrating with this than with Mary Bell's Bible. If you are an old hand at dehydrating meals, this may not be to your taste. Do what I did and borrow it from the library. I found it a valuable addition to my bookshelf.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Samstew
    5.0 out of 5 stars This food goes straight from stomach to heart!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    This book changed my backpacking life!
    You'll look forward to every meal you cook from Linda's book, and all the hard work is done at home, NOT on the trail.
    No bottles of oil, or other heavy things that spill to bring, or complex mixing to do at camp when you're brain's gone along with your energy after a hard day's hike. Add water and cook and it comes back to life just like you left it before being dehydrated! One pot, no extras, and so flavorful and delicious!
    I guarantee whom ever you invite to share the food with you on the trail will think you're the bomb!
    Not one bad recipe and I've tried over 20 of them. Veggie friendly options or recipes in every chapter. The dehydrator I bought because of this book, has literally paid for itself many times over. I've bought many other backpacking cook books, while they all have good things, this one trumps all others due to its ease, deliciousness, and reliability!
    Linda you are truly a genius. We just returned from backpacking Rim to Rim in Grand Canyon, and that old saying "a way to a man's (or woman's) heart is through his (her) stomach" keeps being true for me on the trail when my husband looks skeptically at a bunch of flakes in a bag, and then exclaims about how delicious my breakfasts, lunches and dinners on each of our trips time and time again!
    P.S. Linda's wisdom that you can just cook any recipe you like using small chopped up ingredients, and dehydrate it all in one step and serve in the back-country, has allowed me to expand my backpacking menus to my favorite recipes from many other cook books, or dehydrating the leftovers from meals I make through the year (like lasagne). Recently I make a Bulgar lentil salad from Moosewoood. Dressing and all, just plopped it into the dehydrator (minus feta cheese, doesn't rehydrate too well). Added water and dehydrated for lunch, no extra dressing to add, it tastes just like at home. The recipes keep for 2-3 years in a dark bag in fridge, we just ate one from 2010, and it tasted great! I bought this book for a wedding present, a thank you gift for our latest trail angel who lent us their fuel filter pump when we forgot ours on a 5 day trip! Hoping to spread Linda's wealth and wisdom to a wider audience!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Felicia A. Sullivan
    4.0 out of 5 stars I heart this book so hard
    Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    And I am not even a backpacker. In fact, I stay as far away from the woods and mountains and trails as I can possibly get. If there is not a Starbucks within shouting distance, I am just lost, city girl that I am.

    That said, I totally am a prepper-ish type, and this book is awesome for that. Prepared dehydrated meals that you can purchase come from God knows where and contain God knows what. If you prepare and dehydrate your meals yourself, you have much more control over the ingredients.

    I tried a few of the recipes for bars and veggies, and all were just fine. I have stocked some things in the freezer and some in glass jars in the pantry...have been pleased and the kids even ate the stuff, which is the deciding factor for me.

    What I unfortunately did NOT get to do, that I REALLY want to do, is try some of the complete meals (soups, stews, etc.), and dehydrate them myself. I do not think I have the right dehydrator for that. I have a home use Nesco type (the round kind) and I think to dehydrate liquid meals I need the pull out tray kind, and I have not yet purchased one. So bummer on that score, because I can't wait to try some, but i need to get a different dehydrator first.

    Overall, even if you keep yourself off the trails but still plan and prepare at home for when the apocalypse happens (heh), this is a great reference book.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • thehat
    3.0 out of 5 stars camping food
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    the book was a good guide to dehydrating food but found the old decimal measures out of date more for the usa market
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  • Darryl Perrett
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Source for Backpacking Recipes/Ideas
    Reviewed in Canada on July 21, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent guide with some interesting recipes for backpacking. Used mostly as a guideline and modified the recipes to accomodate my own tastes, but certainly some delicious ideas in there as well!
    Report
  • Michael McRae
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on October 18, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Great Book.
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  • nicholas viscomi
    4.0 out of 5 stars mmmmmmm!
    Reviewed in Canada on January 23, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    some really tasty recipe's in here! snacks too. well written and very identifiable to the backpacker. make sure you have a good dehydrator!
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  • Northern Hiker
    2.0 out of 5 stars Some good concepts, but recipes were not our kind of food
    Reviewed in Canada on April 5, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    We're experienced backpackers and canoeists, and we take the time to plan and cook really good meals when we're on the trail. There are good concepts in this book for drying and combining foods, but I found most of the actual recipes disappointing. I buy these cooks for the cooked lunch and supper recipes, not for the "cold meals" or "baked goods" that I can find in any regular cookbook. No disrespect to the author intended, here...if you're OK with the "nutrition first, taste and texture second" approach, then you'll be fine with these recipes, and to be fair, many people are perfectly happy with this approach. I found though that the cooked meals tended to be the consistency of porridge, and many of them were just variations of the same recipe. For example, nearly all of the stews are based on tomatoes, and many breakfasts involve frying up a "hash" of eggs and other ingredients, then drying them and reconstituting by adding water and bringing to a boil. The Complete Book of Trail Food and A Fork in the Trail contained recipes that we use all the time and I would recommend those to people looking for something a little extra in their food packs.
    One person found this helpful
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