‘Perfect Mash’ from Idahoan

There are a number of simple staple carbs to be cooked up (or simply soaked) on the trail- Noodles are probably the most used, rice and pasta are both popular also. Dried potato mash is an easily produced rich source of carbs too. This stuff is not gourmet cooking, not by a long shot. But it is lightweight and fairly high in calories. Add a bit of protein, and it more than suffices.

I have long been a fan of the Morrisons instant Bubble and Squeak Mash. An 80g pack provides 340 calories. Morrisons also have Cheese and Onion, or just Onion flavoured varieties. These instant mashes with a bit of added flavour are certainly less bland than the plain Smash type products. So I was interested to spot a few I hadn’t come across before, on the shelf at the local Sainsbury’s supermarket. Whats more, they were on offer too. So I picked up a selection and tried one out for lunch at home, a small tin of salmon was added, though I am not sure I’ll be taking one of those on a hike too often. I am sure I am coming late to the party with these, but hey! If its new on the shelves, its new on the shelves.

475ml of water was heated up with my new home-made alcohol stove set in my Caldera Cone.

Once water was boiling, powdered mash was tipped straight in, briefly stirred and that was it. In less than a minute, lump free lunch

Obviously you could eat anything with these instant mashes- cheese, dried meat, tuna pouch, the choice is yours. I was at home so added a small tin of red salmon.

The packs I came across were 109g in three flavours- Buttery, Butter and Herb and Roasted Garlic. Though I note that in the USA there is a far larger number of varieties available. Each of these avaialbe from Sainsbury’s gives three servings, so just right for a sole hiker! Each provides around 442kcal. There is also a Classic pack available in 180g size (for six people), so perhaps a little large for just one person, even if hiking all day. This provides 666kcal. All of these have around 24g of carbohydrate per serving, so about 72g for the whole of the smaller packs. And the salmon? A 213g tin provides around 286kcal and 45g protein.