Correct amount of water for Freezer bag meals

[Cub10]

My upcoming coues hunt is just around the corner and I'm experimenting with some freezer bag meals to take out with me. I bought some of those Knorr pasta and rice pouches to see what I like best to pack with me. Last night was the first time trying a couple pasta ones out but I added too much water!

I boiled up the water and used the pouch itself to add the water into. Rolled up the top and let it sit for about 15 min. Pasta was cooked but I added too much water. One package called for 1-1/2 cup water so I added 1-1/4 and the other called for 1-1/4 cup water and I added 1 cup. Still was too much.

Is there a rule on how much water to add to these pouches? Would love to get this down before my hunt in a couple weeks. Any info is appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Ray]

Those are not really "freezer bag" cooking items. They require constant heating and cooking either stove top or in a nuker. Letting them sit in cooling down boiled water will not let the water vapor steam off, and it will not cause the pasta to absorb the water. The instructions require nearly 2 cups of fluids - 1.5 cups water and .5 cups milk for the pasta sides, and then 8 minutes of boiling. During cooking these dishes the water volume reduces through steam loss and absorption. Using your method the pasta will not be forced to hydrate through constant heating and you trap all the water vapor. This gives you the appearance of too much water.

 

[Cub10]

I've read that a lot of people were using these type of pasta sides and rice sides for backpacking and putting the water in the pouch itself. So I wanted to try it myself. Videos on YouTube showed them using the pouch itself or dumping the contents into a freezer bag and doing the same. Most all of them had good reviews on them working well. The pasta was fully cooked in the ones I made just that I think I added too much water.