Australian Hiker

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Back Country Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert Review

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!

We Like

• Three-year warranty which means you can buy these when you see them discounted thereby reducing the price. You also know the desserts will always be edible
• Minimal preparation time. All you are doing is rehydrating the Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert by adding cold water and waiting ten-minutes so minimal effort
• If you eat from the bag there is only the spoon to clean up. In fact, you may not even need to carry a bowl at all thereby limiting the weight you carry
• A variety of desserts in double serves from which to choose so it’s unlikely you will become bored unless you are on a really long hike
• No artificial flavours and preservatives
• Freeze dried. This takes much of the weight out of the meals and helps to limit the impact on your body

We Don't Like

• The Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert is not my favourite. Be sure you take the leap of faith and try it on the trail rather than sitting in your lounge room – you will appreciate it more on the trail
• The main negatives of any commercially pre-prepared dehydrated / freeze dried meals is the cost. The Back Country Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert works out at $6.95/person
• Twin serve only. I hope you are hungry!

Best Uses

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

Buy One

You can purchase the Back Country Cuisine Strawberry Ice-cream Dessert online 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!

If you have tasted the Back Country Strawberry Ice-cream dessert or have questions, we’d like to hear from you. Post your comment or question below

Other Versions

Apple Pie
Three Fruits Cheesecake Dessert
Fruit Salad Trifle
Apricot Crumble

Investment

$13.90 AUD RRP

Disclaimer

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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