Desserts

Featured review by JRinGeorgia

Food is an area where backpackers often have to make substantial compromises, and dessert is an area where this tradeoff is especially pronounced—there aren’t too many dessert choices that won’t melt or spoil or that don’t require elaborate efforts in cooking, ingredients, and preparation. Now you can have delicious crème brûlée on the trail with little effort and only needing to add water to dry ingredients. You’ll think you’re camping on the Champs-Élysées!

This is a review of Backpacker’s Pantry Crème Brûlée. Food is an area where backpackers often have to make substantial compromises. Sure, there are plenty of choices to provide basic sustenance, but what about flavor and enjoyment? And dessert is an area where this tradeoff is especially pronounced—there aren’t too many dessert choices that won’t melt or spoil or squish or that don’t require elaborate efforts in cooking, ingredients, and preparation. So what if I said you can have delicious crème brûlée on the trail with little effort and only needing to add water to dry ingredients? Yes, you’ll think you’re camping on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées! Um, well OK, no you won’t, but you will have a delicious dessert! Crème...

Read more: Backpacker's Pantry Creme Brulee reviews (2)

Reviewed by LoneStranger

Mountaineers, hikers, and other adventurers have long known the magical properties of good dark chocolate. Rejuvenating to both body and spirit this Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate is great for a mid-day snack or campsite treat. It travels well even on long hot days.

The Trader Joe's Pound Plus 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate is a very usable, no frills, imported chunk of chocolate. As the name implies it weighs in at 17.6oz or a nice round 500g, though maybe I should say square since it is easily divided into smaller squares. I've cut into a square in this picture to give you an idea of the type of chocolate in terms of texture. At 72% it finds a nice balance between bitter and sweet with little of the creaminess one finds in a milk chocolate. You can see the pressure of the knife shattered rather than melted.

Read more: Trader Joe's Pound Plus 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate review (1)

Reviewed by Amanda D'Elia

This meal is yummy and fast to make—though it's basically warm jam. I'd recommend it to satisfy a sweet tooth on the trail.

I tried this meal as a member of another site in exchange for a review while at Lodgepole Overflow Campground in Lake Alpine. This meal was very easy to make and filling and had a lot of flavor. It is an excellent backpacking choice because it's lightweight and delicious. A huge benefit is that it cooks quickly with minimal equipment. All you need is boiling water, a measuring cup (key to perfectly cooked meals), and a utensil to stir and then eat the contents right out of the pouch! This meal consists of raspberry sauce with chocolate cookie crumbles.

Read more: Mountain House Raspberry Crumble review (1)

Reviewed by Sheila Bergin Goss

We have not reviewed camping meals before. We kinda buy them to have as an easy take along for canoe camping, and we usually use brands that are common and well-known. Recently, I used this item as an 'add-on" to a Sierra Trading Post order. I had never heard of this company, since they specialize in jerky and meats, which we do not eat. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of this apple dessert (or breakfast).

When canoe camping, we often use freeze-dried entrees, since we often head out on a whim, and we can just grab the packets we need from the gear room, add some fresh fruit, or other goodies. We rarely use freeze-dried, pre-packaged desserts, since frankly, we have been unimpressed with their quality. I had never heard of Hi Mountain Seasonings company, as they appear to be primarily distributed in the Western states. So when I saw this dessert, at a sale price ($5), reduced from msrp of $7.99, I decided to give it a try.

Read more: Hi Mountain Hot Caramel Apple Crunch review (1)