Hey fellow preppers, freeze-dried meals have been the most popular go-to option when stocking up for emergency. In today’s article, we will be doing a deep dive into Mountain House’s technology and products. This Mountain House review consists of its background, features and also their featured products.
With myriad choices, I have written a separate article about the best survival food companies in the market and what you need to look out for when selecting your next survival food kit.
Background
Started during the Vietnam Conflict in 1955, Mountain House’s parent company, Oregon Freeze Dry successfully won the military contract to create emergency food that taste better and weigh lighter than the usual C-Ration that consisted mainly of canned bacon or beef, hardtack biscuits, ground coffee, sugar, salt and tabacco with rolling paper.
Since then, Oregon Freeze Dry had been making freeze-dried food as long range patrol rations for the military and special forces. In 1969, they realized that there was great consumer demand for good tasting, easy to prepare freeze driend food and Mountain House was born.
Why choose Mountain House
With a brand history of over 50 years, Mountain house has been one of the top choices as freeze dried food for emergency preparedness and on-the-go adventures. Based in Willamette Valley of Oregon, just south of Portland, the meals are cooked and prepared here.
In 2016, Mountain House had raised the shelf-life on all of their meals to 30 years. With the added convenience of just adding water to your freeze dried meals, you can enjoy the original texture, flavor and nutrition in the food.
Here’s a quick introduction on how freeze dried food works:
- After cooking the food in large pots, the food are then placed in a giant freezer to freeze until solid
- Once frozen solid, the food are then placed into a large vacuum chamber to create a vacuum until the air pressure is equivalent to the air pressure 46 miles above the Earth surface
- A little heat is added at the bottom of the trays to remove the ice from the food. The low air pressure condition would result in the solid ice to vaporize into gas without melting (sublimation)
- 98% of the water vapor is extracted leaving the nutrients and natural enzymes in the food
This whole process of sublimation takes about 24 hours is the main contributor to the great-tasting Mountain house freeze-dried food with over 30 years of shelf life.
Variety of Meals
There are 3 main categories that Mountain House produces:
1. Adventure Meal Pouches and Buckets
Each pouch consists of 2 servings, these pouches are great for an on-the-go meal especially during your hiking and camping trip. Mountain House also offers Adventure Meal in buckets that contain 12 pouches or 22 servings which is suitable for emergency preparedness or extended camping trips.
2. Pro-Pak Pouches
Pro-Paks are focused on serving high protein and calories for you to achieve peak performance in any environment. Made to the exacting standards of the U.S. Armed Forces for Long-Range Cold-Weather patrols for military rations.
Each meal consists of one serving and does not sacrifice taste for high performance. Personally, I find these pro-pak pouches surprisingly convenient and suitable for on-the-go. With just 14 fl oz of boiling water per serving, you can enjoy a delicious meal on the trail in just 10 minutes.
3. Just in Case…#10 Cans
A #10 can is commonly pronounced as ten pound can. Mountain house meal pouches have 2 servings per pouch, while these #10 cans have 10 servings so you can feed a family of 5 with a can of this freeze-dried food. It is recommended to use within a week or store in freezer once opened hence it is more suitable as a 72-hour or emergency kit.
Quality and Taste
Mountain House fully cooks their meals in a large cookpot before freeze-drying. Backed by a 30-year taste guarantee, mountain house uses a freeze-drying process that is designed to lock in the nutrients and flavor making their products great tasting emergency food supply.
Here’s a taste-test on YouTube for all 31 Mountain House meals
Ease of Cooking
Since Mountain House meals are already pre-cooked, you do not need to cook the food from their packaging. The freeze-drying process would remove all the water content and all you need to do is add boiled water into the pouch or can.
Here’s a quick guide on how to prepare a mountain house meal:
- Open the pouch and remove the oxygen absorber
- Add the specified amount of boiling water into the pouch
- Stir and close the pouch, wait for about 10 minutes
- Enjoy your food!
In the event that you are unable to get boiling water, you may also use cold water to the freeze-dried food but it will take twice as long to re-hydrate the content.
Gluten-free and Allergens
If you want to avoid consuming gluten because you have Celiac disease for example, Mountain House offers a variety of freeze-dried meals that are certified gluten-free by GFCO. The gluten-free meals are easily identified by the Gluten-free logo on the front of the packaging.
On the other hand, Mountain House also prides themselves with their products that do not contain any artificial flavors or colors. This is because all the food are sourced and cooked in-house which gives them full control of the manufacturing process.
Allergens that are present in Mountain House facility in Albany, Oregon are milk, soy, wheat, eggs, crustaceans, tree nuts (coconut), fish and peanut.
Shelf Life
Mountain House has been well-known in the survival food industry for having the longest guaranteed shelf life and taste guarantee of 30 years from the date of manufacture. After the 30 years shelf life, the food does not go bad but the quality will start to diminish and you may notice a change in flavor or texture.
To maximize mountain house food shelf life, store mountain house products under dry and clean conditions. Avoid prolonged exposure to temperatures above 75°F and you can be assured that you will have great tasting emergency food when you need it.
Top Mountain House Products
Mountain House 14-Day Emergency Food Supply Kit
Rating – 4.8/5.0
What does it contain – The variety of food contained in this Mountain House Emergency food supply is huge. There is a total of 8 types of food contained in this kit
a. 5 pouches of Breakfast Skillet – it contains Hash browns, scrambled eggs, minced pork and onions, suitable for breakfast
b. 4 pouches of Biscuits and Gravy – it is buttermilk biscuit with pork sausage gravy, suitable for breakfast
c. 5 pouches of Granola with Milk and Blueberries – contains dried fruit, fiber and unsaturated fats
d. 5 pouches of Beef Stroganoff with Noddles – Made with natural beef, mushrooms, onions and noodles with some sour cream sauce
e. 5 pouches of Chicken Fried Rice – Long grain rice, chicken, scrambled eggs, chopped onions, mushrooms, green & red peppers and diced carrots
f. 8 pouches of Creamy Macaroni & Cheese – Macaroni noodles with cheesy sauce
g. 5 pouches of Chicken & Dumplings – Chicken, vegetables, and dumpling bites in creamy white gravy
h. 5 pouches of Mexican Style Adobo Rice & Chicken – spicy rice, beans and chicken seasoned with tomato, peppers and olives
Due to high demand for the 14-day emergency food supply, the product is almost always out of stock. For avid preppers who enjoy mountain house meals, I would recommend checking out the 2-day emergency food supply kit. However, the menu is considerably fewer compared to the 14-day kit and only contains Breakfast Skillet, Granola with Milk & Blueberries, Creamy Macaroni & Cheese and Mexican Style Adobo Rice & Chicken.
Personally, I would rather purchase the classic 4-pack pouch that contains 3-servings per pouch (12 servings per purchase) so that I can get the best value for every dollar spent and choose my preferred recipe.
Mountain House 2-Serving Pouch
| Product Image | Product | Protein/Pouch | Fat/Pouch | Sodium/Pouch | Calories/Pouch | Overall Rating |
 | Mountain House Chili Mac with Beef | 24g | 12g | 1520mg | 460 cal | 4.7 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Beef Stroganoff with Noodles | 24g | 23g | 1570mg | 560 cal | 4.7 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Lasagna with Meat Sauce | 23g | 12g | 1190mg | 440 cal | 4.7 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Spaghetti with Meat Sauce | 19g | 6g | 1120mg | 470 cal | 4.7 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Biscuits & Gravy | 22g | 20g | 1730mg | 560 cal | 4.7 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Granola with Milk & Blueberries | 15g | 18g | 120mg | 520 cal | 4.7 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Breakfast Skillet | 28g | 24g | 1580mg | 510 cal | 4.6 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Chicken Teriyaki with Rice | 23g | 4.5g | 1420mg | 480 cal | 4.6 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Chicken Fried Rice | 26g | 19g | 1600mg | 600 cal | 4.6 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Chicken & Dumplings | 33g | 25g | 1780mg | 600 cal | 4.6 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Spicy Southwest Style Skillet | 20g | 17g | 1500mg | 490 cal | 4.6 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Mexican Style Adobo Rice & Chicken | 30g | 15g | 970mg | 570 cal | 4.6 / 5.0 |
 | Mountain House Scrambled Eggs with Bacon | 23g | 23g | 860mg | 350 cal | 4.3 / 5.0 |
Summary
Hopefully this in-depth review on Mountain House has provided you the necessary information to make an informed decision on whether to purchase their freeze-dried food meals. Do leave a comment down below and let me know which Mountain House meal is your personal favourite!