Question concerning freeze dried meat/etc

[Ken Andersen]

Going to the Bahamas this spring. Expect to be there for 3 to 4 months.
Has anyone an opinion about Wise freeze dried products, especially their meat?
If not Wise, some alternatives.

[Stray-Cat]

I was curious to the quality
When I think of freeze dried, I think of doomsday preppers that are just basically hoarders and may never need to eat what they stock up on

I went to their website
Under
Testimonials

“We recently tasted a sample from Wise Company and it was delicious. My husband said it tasted better than my cooking. We have ordered our first grab and go kit. Next month we will certainly buy more.”
- Tracy

Thats a strong endorsement...unless Tracy is just a bad cook LOL

Anyway they have samples available

[ohdrinkboy]

I ordered a free sample from them. They sent me fettucini. It was decent, not as good as fresh made. Let us know if you try the meat.

[shipofools]

been using thrive (shelf reliance) for a while. happy with the product, taste, and price.

[witzgall]

We purchased some freeze-dried vegetables from internetgrocer.com for our Bahamas trip last winter. Broccoli, green/red peppers, green beans, corn, peas. All were excellent. We did not use them as side dishes, but added to other foods. The broccoli, for instance, is not florets, but small pieces of broccoli.

We also bought canned meats from them. They all were fabulous. We especially liked the beef, it is like brisket.

Chris

[Dockhead]

Can't you buy groceries in the Bahamas? One of the joys of cruising for me has always been eating the local produce, and I particularly loved buying fresh things in the markets in the Grenadines when I was cruising there a few years ago.

On a long ocean passage, freeze-dried foods don't really have any big advantages over regular canned stuff that I can see, except perhaps in a very weight-sensitive catamaran which has a watermaker so that the you're not just carrying the water separately.

I have never seen how the cost of freeze dried foods could make much sense on a sailboat. It seems to me that they are made to solve a different problem than what we have -- how to spend a week or more hiking in the wilderness and feed yourself with no more than what you can carry on your back. Most of us can carry a few hundred pounds, even, of cans, without any big problem.

[witzgall]

Yes, you can buy groceries, and that is what we did when they were available. It was nice, however, to have the FD veggies to supplement, and use when fresh veggies were not available. The boat with the food only comes so often, and sometimes they would not have much, in some locations, like much of the Exumas except for Georgetown. We found the groceries in the family islands to be much better stocked.

The canned meat was great - the meat selection in the Bahamas is lacking, and having something you could grab and cook was helpful. Impromptu dinners with guests were something we could do, the meat was great on spaghetti!!!!

Chris

[Ken Andersen]

Thanks all for the feedback. Just the information I'm looking for. Having spent a week in the Exumas I remember that shopping was limited and rather expensive, not that good quality freeze dried isn't.

Ken