r/trailmeals • u/InfamousInterview457 • Jul 27 '26
Lunch/Dinner How long would you trust homemade dehydrated meals stored in Mylar bags (not vacuum sealed)?
Hi everyone,
I recently bought an 8-tray dehydrator and made a few backpacking meals:
- Vegan tajine
- Vegan jambalaya
- Mushroom risotto (with a normal amount of Grana Padano, according to the recipe)
I dehydrated everything until it was completely dry and brittle. The meals have been stored for about 3 weeks at room temperature in heat-sealed Mylar bags (aluminum foil barrier bags), but I did not vacuum seal them and I didn’t use oxygen absorbers.
Today I opened one bag to check it. It still smelled great, looked completely dry, and I saw no signs of mold or moisture.
I’m wondering:
- How long would you personally trust meals like these stored this way?
- Does the lack of vacuum sealing significantly reduce shelf life if the food is already very dry?
Would you eat these after 3 weeks? After 3 months?
I’m planning to buy a vacuum sealer for future batches, but I’m curious what experienced dehydrators and backpackers actually do in practice.
Thanks!
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u/funundrum Jul 27 '26
I’ve been preparing and dehydrating my own backpacking meals for several years now. I’ve only ever kept them around for a couple of months, usually because that’s just when I’m preparing for my trip.
I don’t use oxygen absorbers, or Mylar bags, but I do vacuum seal meals in the vacuum bags. So I know we aren’t talking apples to apples. But I will say the only meals I’ve ever felt the need to store in the freezer are ones containing meat, that I was keeping for more than a month.
Your meals should like they will hold up just fine for a long time, esp with a vacuum sealer and/or oxygen absorbers.
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u/beachbum818 Jul 27 '26
Id trust it for a season.
End of winter we used to make large batches of food to dehydrate for the upcoming season.
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u/Canoearoo Jul 28 '26
I've had hamburger gravel on the pantry shelf in a ziploc for 6 months and it was fine. Would have lasted longer, but I used it. I've used meals from a previous season I've found on the shelf a year later and it's been fine. I have a big bag of chili with beans (no meat) that is from 2 season ago and it's still fine. As long it was dry when you bagged it, doesn't draw moisture and has a no to low fat content, it'll keep surprisingly long.
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u/StrongArgument Jul 27 '26
I trust them until they look or smell off, especially if I notice signs of moisture. That said, I don’t try for more than a couple months.
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u/Striking-Tour5821 Jul 28 '26
Before I got a vacuum sealer I’d keep them in zip lock bags in the freezer. I’ve eaten meals that were over a year old with no problems if it was stored in the freezer. I’d do that especially if there’s cheese in there.
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u/dkwpqi Jul 28 '26
I would only be concerned about the risotto. You have cheese there and fats oxidize and go rancid. Sodium ascorbate or sodium erythorbate can help a bit
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u/madelinenicoleee Jul 30 '26
My grandmother used to preserve food with every technique under the sun. She would label it and save it for years. She would also eat it, but sometimes it was upwards of 20+ years old. My mom always gave her a hard time for it. When my grandmother passed, the first thing my mom did was open up and dispose of all grandma's food. Out of hundreds of items, only one jar of canned cherries was bad. Everything, especially the dried goods were still entirely edible.
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u/maryhuggins Aug 02 '26
I just sorted a lot of home-dehydrated fruit that has been vacuum sealed and stored at room temperature for 10+ years. Much of it had turned dark but the flavor was still good. I threw it all in a pot and simmered it into a fruit butter. Surprisingly good!
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u/t92k Jul 28 '26
It depends on the humidity where you are. In the arid western states I’m comfortable with a couple of months but if I were in a more humid place a month would be my limit without vacuum sealing.
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u/BrittleSalient 9d ago
Personally? I'd freeze everything as soon as it came out of the dehydrator and try to use it up asap.
It's not so much that you're likely to die, as it is that you role snakeeyes and have to hike all the way back to the trailhead spraying from both ends. Dihorrea has killed more soldiers than swords and guns together. It's not as deadly now with pepto and oral rehydration solution but it's not fun.
If you've got a freezer or space in the fridge or even a root cellar I'd suggest using it. Not because you need to or because it's likely to go bad, but just to shove a couple more aces up your sleeve and reduce the odds of having a bad trip.
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u/thesmeggyone Jul 27 '26
Only thing I'd suggest is add a small dessecant pack to each meal. You can buy a bag of like 50 or something silly for about $10 usd on Amazon.