Australian Hiker

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Back Country Back Country Pasta Vegetariano Review

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 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.  I guess hikers must be meat eaters on average? In addition to the large variety of single serves (entrée size/single person), the company also has twin serves although the single serve options don’t seem to have as large a variety at least as far as the stores I visit.  The Back Country Pasta Vegetariano offering is one of the more common offerings catering for vegetarians who seem to miss out on a big meal selection. I’m still working my way though the very large range but I am finding this adventure is a bit hit and miss. But then again, everyone’s tastes are different!

The taste of this meal offering is pretty good overall and I would be happy too eat this anytime that it was on offer. The mix of vegetable and pasta is good and the flavouring is also something that while neutral will please just about anyone apart from the most ardent meat eater. As is the case for most freeze dried pasta dishes you really need a spork or a fork to eat them as straight out spoons just don’t manage the spiral pasta very well. With many of the Back Country Cusine freeze dried meals I would recommend reducing the amount of water added as the recommended amount of water often leaves the meals a bit on the wet side. However in this case the water recommendation was spot on. I would however suggest increasing the rehydration time to around 12 minutes rather than the recommended ten minutes.

The normal price sits around the AUD $12.99 RRP mark for a single serve pack which works out to be more cost effective than the twin serves that usually cost around AUD $19.99 RRP. Most of the larger chain stores offer member discounts or have regular sales so its worthwhile looking around.  These products do have a long shelf life so you can stock up at the sales come in anticipation of an upcoming trip.

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. The option exists to tear the top off the bag to allow easy access to the food but you if you have a long handled spork/fork you won’t need to tear the bag. My other reason for not tearing the top off the bag is that you minimise any mess and after you’re done, you can re-zip the zip lock for clean disposal.

So what is the final verdict? While not  likely to make my top five the Back Country Pasta Vegetariano is worthwhile adding, particularly for vegetarians. While I won’t necessarily add this to my meal rotation on short trips but it will make it into my meal choices for longer trips.

We Like

• Three year warranty which means you can buy these when you see them discounted thereby reducing the price. You also know the meals will always be edible
• Minimal preparation time.  All you are doing is rehydrating these meals so once you add boiling water there’s only a 10-12 minute wait
• If you eat from the bag there is only your eating implement to clean up. In fact you may not even need to carry a bowl at all thereby limiting the weight you carry
• A very large variety of meals from which to choose both single and double serves so it’s unlikely you will become bored unless you are on a really long hike
• Freeze dried. This takes much of the weight out of the meals and helps to limit the impact on your body
• Single serve option provides just the right size for solo travellers on a short trip. Twin serves are great for couples or for big eaters

We Don't Like

• The main negative of any commercially preprepared dehydrated/freeze dried meal is the cost.  These meals are cheaper/serve when bought in the twin serve size than the single serve entree size
• Single serves can be a bit small after a couple of weeks on the trail. Having said that I will usually pack a mix of single and double meals on longer trips as my need for calories increases

Best Uses

• Great for those vegetarians out there
• An easy to prepare meal whether it be on a short or long trip for camping and hiking

Buy One

You can purchase the Back Country Pasta Vegetariano meal online from Macpac, 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!

Other Versions

Back Country Cuisine makes a large range of meals with something for everyone. To see our top 5 go here

Investment

AUD $11.99 RRP

Back Country Pasta Vegetariano as purchased

Meal bag with the base folded out

Back Country Pasta Vegetariano unrehydrated

Back Country Pasta Vegetariano rehydrated and easy to eat

Disclaimer

This review was done with product purchased from a retail store by Australian Hiker

Last updated

3/12/2023

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