I am in the planning phase of preparing all my dehydrated food for this spring 12 day trek. I’m wondering if anyone vacuum packs their dehydrated food and then reheats/rehydrates their meal in the same bag. If so can you recommend a good vacuum packer and bag combo? Thanks !

I vacuum pack, but I prepare the food in a soaking "jar". I don't like eating out of a bag and I don't like transporting a slimy bag the rest of the trip. A lidded jar is easy to clean by shaking. I use a Geryon vacuum sealer. I have used it trouble free for a couple years now. For vacuum sealing, you have to use bag with a rough texture on the inner surface to aid in air removal. The bags are safe for microwaving and simmering the bag food in a pot so they should be fine for adding boiling water.

I do this for all mine. I just at have a basic Food Saver FM2000 and I bought the accessory hand held sealer. Then I use the food saver bags with the Ziplock top and the seal port on the bag

So if I am doing peppers for example. I will weigh out the peppers before I dehydrate them. Then once they are done I will weigh them (to learn how much water was pulled out) and put them in the bag, Ziplock it and then vacuum seal it. That way in the wilderness, I can just open the Ziplock, put the amount of water that was pulled out and zip the bag back up--put it back in the food bag and bingo you have your rehydrated meal. I will write the amount of water needed on the bag.

It is slick because you can use the stuff for more than one meal or you can rehydrate in the morning--zip the bag up and put it back in the food pack and come back at the end of the day and the meal is rehydrated plus there is no animal attracting odor since you have rezip locked.

Does that make sense? It works great. Hand Held Sealer Vacuum Sealer Zipper Bag

Some foods get a little "pokey" when you suck out all the air. I have found that lining the bag with a paper towel will help to blunt the sharp tips and end up with less broken seals due to pinholes as a result.

I'm of two minds when it comes to eating out of the bag. It sure helps clean up when all you have to do is lick a spoon clean. OTOH, food residue left in the bag can be a little messy. I've found, though, that on canoe trips there is no shortage of previously used quart and gallon sized bags which become the "garbage" bag.

mirth: "Some foods get a little "pokey" when you suck out all the air. I have found that lining the bag with a paper towel will help to blunt the sharp tips and end up with less broken seals due to pinholes as a result.


I'm of two minds when it comes to eating out of the bag. It sure helps clean up when all you have to do is lick a spoon clean. OTOH, food residue left in the bag can be a little messy. I've found, though, that on canoe trips there is no shortage of previously used quart and gallon sized bags which become the "garbage" bag."

Just don't forget to remove the paper towel before rehydrating. I purchased some foil-type pouches one year and forgot to tell my trip partners about the paper towels. They got their share of fiber for the day.

Like Mirth says, I find trying to vacuum seal them gets pokey. I dehydrate my one food mostly now, and just use an ordinary Food Saver. I'll sometimes try to vacuum out most but not all of the air. I also find that when its a little loose in there, they can usually pack more efficiently. If I vacuum out all the air, the package gets pretty rigid.

Jaywalker: "Like Mirth says, I find trying to vacuum seal them gets pokey. I dehydrate my one food mostly now, and just use an ordinary Food Saver. I'll sometimes try to vacuum out most but not all of the air. I also find that when its a little loose in there, they can usually pack more efficiently. If I vacuum out all the air, the package gets pretty rigid. "

Good idea! Do you find that the longevity is similar when you leave a little air in? It seems like it would be?

mirth: "Some foods get a little "pokey" when you suck out all the air. I have found that lining the bag with a paper towel will help to blunt the sharp tips and end up with less broken seals due to pinholes as a result.


I'm of two minds when it comes to eating out of the bag. It sure helps clean up when all you have to do is lick a spoon clean. OTOH, food residue left in the bag can be a little messy. I've found, though, that on canoe trips there is no shortage of previously used quart and gallon sized bags which become the "garbage" bag."

I usually just rinse the used bag out when I’m done.

wxce1260: "

Jaywalker: "Like Mirth says, I find trying to vacuum seal them gets pokey. I dehydrate my one food mostly now, and just use an ordinary Food Saver. I'll sometimes try to vacuum out most but not all of the air. I also find that when its a little loose in there, they can usually pack more efficiently. If I vacuum out all the air, the package gets pretty rigid. "

Good idea! Do you find that the longevity is similar when you leave a little air in? It seems like it would be?"

I expect the longevity would be better if vacuum sealed as oxygen is one of the necessary factors contributing to food going bad, but Its always been good enough the way I do it - I have never had a problem with any food spoiling. I’ve packed food for up to 12-14 days for July/August trips when it’s really hot, and for 22-23 days in September. I do usually add a desiccant to reduce moisture.

I wrap all my sucked bagged meals in paper towels, one to stop the sharp items from breaking the seal, two, provides napkins for meal and cleanup after.

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