How to: Cook a Ration Pack

Are you going on a lightweight expedition soon? Taking ration packs can be a great way to carry less weight (and do less washing up). Here is our guide on how to cook a ration pack:

There are two types of ration pack you could take with you on your adventure: ready to eat, or freeze dried.

Ready To Eat Ration Pack:

These are brilliant for any expedition, the beauty behind them is you can eat them hot or cold. This makes them perfect for summer expeditions, or if the weather dictates that lighting up a stove may not be the best idea, or equally where you might just want a quick meal, not necessarily hot. However, if you do want to have a nice and warm meal, they are easy to heat up:

• Set up your stove, Trangias are brilliant, but so are simple gas rings!
• Fill a pan up with water.
• When your water starts boiling, fold your ration pack in half, this means it will be fully immersed in water, making it quicker to heat up.
• After a while (see your meals individual instructions for exact timings) your meal should be ready, remove it from the water, open the top and eat straight out of the foil.
• You are left with a pan of boiling water, this is great to make a hot drink, or even as it’ll now be purified you could drink it cold later on! (We do recommend the use of water purification and filtering, just to be sure!)

Freeze Dried Ration Pack:

These are great if you are worried about weight. They weigh a lot less than ready to eat ration packs, meaning you can carry a lot more. They take a little longer to cook, but again they are super easy to cook:

• Set up your stove, Trangias are brilliant, but so are simple gas rings!
• Fill a saucepan up with water.
• When your water is boiling, fill up the packet with your meal, to the water line.
• Give it a really good stir, making sure you get all the corners and leave to stand for around 5-10 minutes (check the pack for its individual timing).
• Stir once more and then it’s good to eat straight out of the packet.