Product Review- Butter Buds

Product Review

Butter Buds are a powdered butter product that can add flavor to dried meals. Because dried foods need to be low fat (fat will go rancid), this product restores some of the taste that fat provides.


Butter Buds have been my favorite butter substitute for years, but if I'm honest, I can't tell much taste difference from other similar products. They are generally found in a sprinkle-top jar, about 2.5 oz for around $3.00

Things I Do Like:

The texture and flavor are good.

It combines well with dry ingredients and doesn't form clumps when rehydrating.

There is no problem with loss of flavor or spoilage.

Does not require refrigeration

Things I Don't Like:

Butter Buds can occasionally be hard to find without ordering.

Other Products in This Line:
Butter Buds in foil packets

Ingredients:

Maltodextrin, butter, salt, natural butter flavor, rice starch, soybean lecethin, annato, tumeric

Alternatives:

Molly McButter (contains milk products and must be refrigerated after opening)

Other bulk Butter Powders (I have not tried other products, and most come in a large container)

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Product Review- Dang Coconut Chips

Product Review

Coconut chips make a nice addition to fruit mixes and some salads. Here's my opinion of Dang Toasted Coconut Chips- Original



These coconut chips are toasted, so they are slightly brown. I am using them because they were less work and less waste than making my own, but I don't really like them very much.

Things I Do Like:

The size and shape are good. The texture and size of flaked coconut doesn't work well in fruit mixes.

It wasn't outrageously expensive. This 3.17 oz bag was $2.50 and contains about a cup of chips

Things I Don't Like:

There is added sugar and salt. These aren't really necessary, and they are very sweet.

I don't like that they are toasted golden brown. There would be more coconut flavor if they weren't so crisp.

Other Products in This Line:
Lightly Salted Coconut Chips
Caramel Sea Salt Coconut Chips
Chocolate Sea Salt Coconut Chips

Ingredients:

Coconut, cane sugar, salt.


Alternatives:

When I have the time, I prefer to buy a fresh coconut and use a vegetable peeler to peel off flakes of the white flesh. These can be dehydrated, but they don't keep very well. I once got violently ill on some spoiled coconut that I'd kept too long.

Organic food stores may carry dried coconut "flakes," which are about this size. These are often sweetened, too, but not toasted.

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Tuna Rice Curry

Hot Meal

Medium weight, moderately easy to prepare, filling

2 servings of tuna- ready to dehydrate


See How to Dry Meats

Cooking before packaging - none
Dehydrate before packaging - tuna
Cooking in camp - boil water and simmer or let sit

At Home:
This recipe is for one serving

Dehydrate one 4 oz. can of WATER PACKED tuna per serving. Do yourself a favor and get better quality white albacore tuna. The cheap tuna tastes really fishy when dried.

Package in one baggie, size depending on how many you are feeding:
the dehydrated tuna

Package in another baggie, size depending on how many you are feeding:
1/2 c. instant rice (white or brown, although brown takes longer to cook and doesn't ever really get soft)
3 T. powdered milk

Package in another baggie-- I like to seal the spices in a scrap of sandwich bag.
1/2 t salt
1 t. curry powder

Add a small slip of paper with the in-camp directions. You will thank yourself later.

the packets for tuna-rice curry


In Camp:
Make a paste of the spices and a little water.
Add the spices and tuna to 1 c. water for each serving and boil
Add the rice and milk, cover simmer for 6-8 minutes or remove from heat and let it sit covered for 8-10 minutes
Fluff and if the rice is done it's ready to eat.

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Red Sox Salad

It's red and it will knock your sox off!
Salad, lightweight, different and refreshing



See How to Dry Citruis Fruits
See How to Dry Finely Cut or Small Things

Cooking before packaging - must cook beets
Cooking in camp - none

At Home:
This recipe is 1 average serving (increase cabbage or beets if desired

Wash and cook beets until soft but not mushy. Cool.

Dehydrate per serving:
Use one 3-4 oz. beet (about 3.5 oz dried). Grate on large grater or julienne slice- picture is grated beets before drying
Use a 1 1/2 inch wedge of a 5" diameter head of red carrot. Slice thinly (about 3 oz raw or 1.5 oz dried)
1 tangerine (or other tart orangy thing like a Clementine, or minneola)

photo of grated beets:


Package in a baggie, sandwich to quart size, depending on how many you are feeding:
the beet shreds
the cabbage shreds
the citrus fruit pulled from the rind and possibly cut into smaller pieces if desired
package separately, 1 t. sugar-included lemonade mix (I seal this into a small piece of a sandwich bag)



Add a small slip of paper with the in-camp directions. You will thank yourself later.

In Camp:
Remove the lemon pack from the baggie. Add about 1/4 c. water per serving and allow to rehydrate. If you can remember to do this a couple hours before the meal, great. If not, just knead it a little when you add the water and it will be OK. Just before eating sprinkle on the lemonade mix.

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Easy Gravy Potatoes

Hot Meal

Very lightweight, very quick to prepare, surprisingly satisfying



See How to Dry Herbs
See How to Dry Onions

Cooking before packaging - none
Cooking in camp - boiling water

At Home:
This recipe is 3 main dish servings

Package in a baggie, sandwich to quart size, depending on how many you are feeding:

1 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes
1/3 cup powdered milk
6 T. Butter buds
1 T. dried parsley flakes
1 T. dried onion bits
1/2 t salt
pepper
3/4 of a powdered brown gravy packet (these usually are around 0.9 oz foil packets. Use less or more depending on how strong you want the gravy flavor)
1/2 cup bacon bits (you can use real bacon, but you will need to use the meal within about a week or the bacon goes rancid. Fake bacon bits keep better).

Add a small slip of paper with the in-camp directions. You will thank yourself later.



In Camp:
boil 1 c. water for each serving (eg. for the recipe above you would boil 3 c. water).
Add the mix, remove from heat, stir and let it sit a few minutes. Stir again to fluff and serve. Add a little more water if too dry.

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Easy Cheesy Potatoes

Hot Meal

Very lightweight, very quick to prepare, surprisingly satisfying



See How to Dry Herbs
See How to Dry Onions

Cooking before packaging - none
Cooking in camp - boiling water

At Home:
This recipe is 3 main dish servings

Package in a baggie, sandwich to quart size, depending on how many you are feeding:

1 1/2 cup instant mashed potatoes
1/3 cup powdered milk
6 T. Butter buds
1 T. dried parsley flakes
1 T. dried onion bits
1/2 t salt
pepper
1 powdered cheese packet from a cheap box of macaroni and cheese
1/2 cup bacon bits (you can use real bacon, but you will need to use the meal within about a week or the bacon goes rancid. Fake bacon bits keep better).

Add a small slip of paper with the in-camp directions. You will thank yourself later.

In Camp:
boil 1 c. water for each serving (eg. for the recipe above you would boil 3 c. water).
Add the mix, remove from heat, stir and let it sit a few minutes. Stir again to fluff and serve. Add a little more water if too dry.

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How to Dry Yogurt

This is a general how-to page. The information here applies to all recipes that call for dried yogurt.

Dry only low-fat yogurt. Commercial or homemade yogurt works fine.

In the past I tried dehydrating thick slabs of leathery yogurt to be eaten like candy. They tasted great but were very difficult to chew. Now, I suggest spreading the yogurt a little thinner, about 1/4 inch thick, on saran wrap or teflon.




When this is dry it will come off in flakes rather than a slab, but the pieces rehydrate easily in the mouth. Shown here packaged with dried fruit, ready to eat.

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