Rating: | 8.1 / 10 |
Value for Money | 1.6 / 2 |
Taste | 1.6 / 2 |
Convenience | 1.7 / 2 |
Versatility | 1.6 / 2 |
Weight | 1.6 / 2 |
The Back Country Cuisine range of outdoor meals is probably the best known in Australia. These meals are stocked by the majority of outdoor stores and many people consider them the staple meal choice for outdoor activities. Back Country Cuisine has a huge range of meal choices and many stores seem to select a ‘top ten’ so you are unlikely to find the full range in any one store. Reviewing the Back Country Cuisine Easy-cook Scrambled Egg has been on our ‘to do’ list for a while. Usually Tim and I do the meal reviews together however he is not a fan of egg unless its disguised as a cake! So I got the job of doing this review.
Based in Invercargill, New Zealand Back Country Cuisine has been producing freeze dry meals since 1998. It expanded from freeze-dry for military and commercial use into a large range of meals and accompaniments for outdoor adventurers that meet low weight and high nutritional needs. Back Country tag the scrambled egg as an accompaniment which I guess it is but the size of the individual serve (five tablespoons of dry mixture) was way too generous for me as an accompaniment.
I feel the need to get the obvious bits out of the way. This meal contains egg, dried cheese, whole milk powder (e.g. milk), salt and chives. As such it is not for those who are allergic to these ingredients. I know this seems obvious but I was at a cafe once when I overheard a patron asking the staff if the ‘Almond Slice’ contained nuts – really! This scrambled egg meal does well when it comes to protein with a generous 9.1 grams per 100 grams – great for that much needed protein boost on multi-week hikes.
Preparation is very easy – measure out the dry amount you want (five tablespoons for an individual serve) and place in your cooking container, add the required cold water (120 mls for an individual serve), mix and then heat slowly. Cooking only takes a few minutes depending on your pot size and your stove type. It is as easy as that. Make sure you stir the mixture so the egg doesn’t stick to the pot – it definitely will if you’re too impatient.
And it does taste like scrambled egg! I found it to be a little on the salty side but that’s just a personal thing – I don’t add salt to my meals and cut down salt when cooking. You can taste the cheese and the chives but they’re not overpowering. If you are an egg connoisseur it may not suit but I always find most things taste good when you’re in the middle of nowhere and need some warm food!
The pack contains 160 grams of mixture so if you don’t want to use the whole pack for one meal, just measure out what you need and adjust the water accordingly.
And ‘no egg’ Tim did participate in the taste test and said he would consider including Back Country Cuisine Easy-cook Scrambled Egg in his multi week breakfast rotations. The combination of the cheese, chives and salt made it taste almost omelette-like. That’s a big thumbs up! Likewise I will include it for breakfast or possibly lunch.
An easy to prepare breakfast or lunch accompaniment for short or long camping and hiking trips
You can purchase the Back Country Cuisine Easy-cook Scrambled Egg online from Snowys, Wild Earth, or from Wildfire Sports
Disclosure: We may earn a small commission, at no additional expense to you, if you click through and make a purchase. Please note that our affiliations do not influence, in any way, the independence of our reviews. If we don’t like a product, you’ll hear about it from us!
AUD 19.99 RRP
Back Country Cuisine Easy-cook Scrambled Egg as purchased
Bottom of the packet -opens out for standing
Back Country Cuisine Easy-cook Scrambled Eggs before cooking
Back Country Cuisine Easy-cook Scrambled Egg ready to eat
We tested how well these scrambled eggs went in the microwave and it worked well making it an easy meal option when you’re at home
This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker
3/12/2023