Backpacker's Pantry Rocky Mountain Scramble

In the continuing search for the perfect potato-based breakfast, this had so much promise. Promise which it sadly fails to live up to.

Once again, I ordered up a meal that looked on paper like a potentially solid replacement for my long-lost standard, the discontinued Baco-Cheddar-Mashed Potato of yesteryear. And once again I have eaten something that is...fine.

Preparation

Per package instructions, I added 1 cup of boiling water, stirred, waited 8 minutes, stirred again, waited another 7 minutes. Everything rehydrated well - no crunchy or even chewy chunks, even with a solid whack of cubed potato in the package.

Nutrition

Values are consistent with this kind of meal. Eggs contribute a lot of cholesterol, as expected (275mg 92%). Sodium is moderate (780mg 34%).  15 grams of fat from the milk products; 20 grams of carbs; 19 grams of protein - so a decently balanced source of energy. But that energy - only 310 calories. That's not going to be enough on its own to fuel a day of hiking.

Taste and Satiety

And here, once again, that single-serve packaging just kind of fails. There is no way that this package on its own is going to satisfy. It's not nearly enough bulk to get one going in the morning, let alone fuel you up for that first grunt of the day before lunch. Two packs together might do it?  Or better yet, mix this with something else.

Because there's another problem area. This is one intensely peppery meal.  Overwhelmingly peppery. You can see the real cheddar cheese stretching out between your spoon and the surface of the meal, but you can't taste it. What a tease! You can see chunks of potato, but you receive no flavor from them - just texture.

And between the rather loose texture of the potato flake — not quite mashed potato consistency, but thicker than a potato soup — and the expected softness of reconstituted freeze-dried eggs, it's not exactly a satisfying mouthfeel. In spite of the firm, chunky potato cubes.

Recommendation

One word sums up my recommendation of this product: "conditional."  It's not bad.  But it could be so much better.

I picked this up as part of a sale from Backpacker's Pantry. I was going to trail-test it, but seeing that it is available as a CyberMonday deep discount I decided to test it this morning in case I needed to tell EVERYONE to get some NOW. Well, I can't definitively tell you to do that.

It is decent. And it can fill a place in the backpacker's rotation. But it's not amazing. It's not an absolute must-have. I'm not going to be ordering up multiple cases of this meal.

Again, this meal isn't at all bad. You could do a lot worse for a breakfast on the trail. I'm just not convinced that it's right for me. (Maybe this becomes genius when mixed with Good-to-Go's Breakfast Hash?)

Background

Joshua has been hiking, backpacking, and car-camping for more than four decades. He is based primarily in the Pacific Northwest, but has hiked throughout the US, with forays into Hawaii and New Zealand.