Rating: | 8.3 / 10 |
Value for Money | 1.2 / 2.5 |
Taste | 2.3 / 2.5 |
Convenience | 2.3 / 2.5 |
Weight | 2.5 / 2.5 |
The Back Country Cuisine range of outdoor meals is probably the best known in Australia. However, for many people the range of desserts is not as well-known with hikers often foregoing this luxury on the trail. Back Country has five desserts in the range but it is rare to see all in any one store as most tend to pick the best two or three to sell.
The desserts come in twin serve sizes with no single serves available unlike the main course options available. They generally taste good and it is not hard to imagine eating the lot after a hard day. The desserts are high in calories compared to the main courses and are great for those us with a sweet tooth.
Taste wise the Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert is not as yummy as others in the range and I still think you can’t go past the apple pie. The Strawberry Ice-cream is more like a mousse than an ice-cream and the addition of the little cylinders of marshmallow make it very, very sweet. I have tried most of the Back Country desserts and this one is my least favourite. I am willing to be corrected by Tim on this (Tim says he really likes this dessert so personal preference I suppose). I do finish off my share when on the trail but that is more because I am hungry and need to support my sweet tooth!
We don’t eat dessert every night on the trail and instead will have dessert every two to three nights particularly on longer trips because we are starting to use up our excess body fat. We both enjoy dessert on cold days when we want something warm before going bed but I guess that’s another negative for the ice-cream dessert.
This meal is easy to prepare – you just add cold water and wait ten minutes. The meal comes in a bag that is well designed and the bottom opens out to provide a flat base for those minimalists who want to leave the bowl at home. You can tear the top off the bag to allow easy access to the food but you if you have a long handled spoon you won’t need to tear the bag. The other reason for not tearing the top off the bag is that you minimise any mess after you’re done because you can re-zip the zip lock – you discover days later this a major plus as your rubbish bag starts to increase in size and becomes very messy.
While the recommendation is to use 180 ml of water, I suggest you use just a bit less (about 10 ml less) which creates a thicker serving but that’s personal preference. Dehydrating desserts is one of those things that sounds like hard work to me so I prefer to use the pre-prepared products.
The normal price sits around the $12.95 mark. Most of the larger outdoor chain stores offer member discounts or have regular sales so it’s worthwhile looking around. These products do have a long shelf life so you can stock up during the regular sales.
If you’re not sure on the dessert front, then the Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert may not be the best place to start. Having said that, Tim loves it!
An easy to prepare dessert whether it be on a short or long trip for camping and hiking. When you’re feeling a bit flat after a hard day, it’s hard not to feel chirpy again after eating one of these desserts
You can purchase the Back Country Cuisine Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert online from Wildfire Sports
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Apple Pie
Three Fruits Cheesecake Dessert
Fruit Salad Trifle
Apricot Crumble
$13.90 AUD RRP
This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by the reviewer
Bottom of the bag opened out. Always open out the bag to ensure you get the dessert mixture evenly moist
Ice cream in open bag without water added. You can see the dried strawberry, marshmallow and chocolate pieces
Ice-cream dessert with water added. It has a melted ice-cream look
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