In the past I have purchased freeze dried tuna and chicken from Adventure Foods which is now out of business. I used this to make tuna or chicken salad by adding mayo and relish. this made a great lunch. In searching I have not found a good source for tuna but several hits for FD tuna cat treats at about $10 for 4 oz. The ingredients show just tuna. Any thoughts on whether this could be used for human consumption? As I understand it pet food standards are nearly as strict as human food. Thoughts?
Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
Grumpy Gourd-
Do you have a dehydrator?
I haven't used freeze-dried tuna, but have had great success home-dehydrating canned tuna salmon, as well as frozen mock crab, then later making them into salads and other dishes on the trail.
Canned chicken may turn out similarly.
I do recommend extra-careful packaging for fish. Another backpacker complained to me that her pack "smelled like cat food" when she carried dehydrated tuna. It seemed to me that tuna, and some other foods, dry into pieces with little points. These make tiny holes in plastic bags. I have better luck if I either use washed and dried mylar snack bags (like from popcorn, chips, etc.), or wrap the dried fish in some sort of paper, whether wax, plain writing paper, towel, brown paper bag, etc., and THEN put the closed up packet into a plastic bag. (Hint, the mylar bag is much easier...)
You might ask Sarah at www.PackitGourmet.com if they can get it for you. They have so far added freeze-dried chicken to their roundup of items. They carry many of the items that Adventure Foods carries <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Otherwise, drying does work - though do it on a day when windows can be opened <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
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I do have a dehydrator although I do not use it much. I have found that purchasing from places like Just Vegetables is much easier and much more tasty than what I can do myself. Also I am a little hesitant to dry fish due to the botulism problem. In the past using FD tuna and chicken made for a good lunch option. Finding chicken is fairly easy and pouches of tuna are not that much heavier so I may just stick with that. I will try contacting PackitGourmet.
Much of the lower end cat foods (and dog ) are ground up animal body parts, including tumors. Don't expect a tuna treat to be that fresh tuna you think it is, either. My guess it's made from a tub of all tuna parts mushed together.
There are the packets of tuna that you could take along. I use them and place the mayo directly inside the packet, mix the tuna or chicken, and eat it with crackers, or pita bread. Freeze-dried is much lighter than these things but just a thought. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />
I hadn't thought about the "tuna parts" issue. Maybe I will stick with the pouch. I have also used the packs which have tuna-chicken-seafood salad and crackers. They work OK for short trips but are too bulky for extended trips.
They do....but fair warning: the stuff at Asian stores isn't very "Americanized" in taste <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> They sell many types of fish that are shredded and dried. Some though are pretty much brined in hot chili <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
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Registered: 08/24/08
Posts: 45
Loc: Sydney, Australia
Quote:
The stuff at Asian stores isn't very "Americanized" in taste <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> They sell many types of fish that are shredded and dried.
Oh yes, I will never forget the look on the face of the Quarantine Officer at Sydney airport when we declared bags of dried fish stomachs. He seemed to not appreciate how much of a delicacy dried fish stomach is. For that matter neither did I. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
But on a serious note. Check out asian grocery stores as they usually have a range of dried products. Some interesting and some that are hard to believe that people actually eat that stuff.
Remind me not to read this forum before my breakfast. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
Having eaten cat food on a dare, I will tell you that it is completely safe - but not necessarily palatable. Typical tuna cat food has guts, bones, heads - basically all the parts that we usually don't eat - mixed in with remnant meat. Yes, they still can call it all "tuna". The heat of canning sterilizes the whole mess (the same way heat sterilizes cow poop used to grow mushrooms, making the bits of poop stuck to the mushroom safe to eat). Your cat actually prefers the guts (it would be the first part of the fish eaten). You, on the other hand, might not appreciate some of the ingredients, especially the bones and the occasional fly.
My friend in Iceland used to send me dried Cod. Its pretty good and you cook it up. or eat it raw. Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.
Registered: 10/30/03
Posts: 4963
Loc: Marina del Rey,CA
Many years ago, when I lived in Hawaii, I had a Japanese girfriend for a while. She would eat anything that came out of the ocean, and I mean pretty much anything. If you have a good Asian grocery near you, you can find all sorts of amazing dried foods. Dried cuttlefish, dried squid and octopus are all good.
You may also see all kinds of what in Hawaii, they call "crack seed," Chinese snacks made from various seeds and dried fruits that are had to find anywhere except an Asian market. A lot of times, these are packaged in small packages, so if you want to experiment, you can do so pretty cheaply.
I did see Ahi Tuna jerky online, but it's expensive at $5 for 2 oz. which works out to $40 a pound. The tuna in the foil packs is much cheaper if I remember right.
We've been adopted by and have fed a "feral" cat that crawls around the marina fence and hops on the boat for dinner each night for 3 years now. Last month someone gave us a few cans of store-brand tuna cat food to feed it -- and even our feral cat (that, BTW, we named "Sh*thead) sniffed it, gave me a dirty look and refused to eat it.
[i]Sh*thead (named after Steve Martin's dog in The Jerk) in one of her better moods.
The lesson learned, GrumpyGord, is NEVER eat something an ungrateful feral cat would reject. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Finally went to an Asian market last night. Lots of stuff but most of it is written in a language I cannot read. Eating something with only Chinese instructions and names would probably take more courage than eating cat food.
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