233. How Freeze-Dried Food Became a Backpacking Staple with Mountain House

Freeze-dried meals are a backpacking staple, but their story began long before they landed in outdoor gear stores.

In this episode, we explore how freeze-dried food evolved from an innovative preservation technology into one of the most recognizable categories of backpacking food.

We trace the history of Oregon Freeze Dry, the company behind Mountain House, and examine how military contracts, space exploration, and a growing outdoor recreation market helped bring lightweight, just-add-water meals to backpackers.

This episode kicks off Season 2 of Would Eat Again, a made-for-YouTube show where we're taking a closer look at one backpacking meal brand at a time.

This season, we're putting Mountain House under the microscope, exploring its history and testing its newest releases and best-selling meals to see whether they live up to the brand's legendary reputation.

Would we eat it again? Follow along this season to find out.

Revisit Season 1 of Would Eat Again, where we blind taste-tested backpacking meals and put popular trail food to the test: https://www.youtube.com/show/VLPLevAczyyeDKY?sbp=QAE%253D

Read OPB's reporting on freeze-dried food and its Oregon roots: https://www.opb.org/article/2025/05/23/freeze-drying-food-oregon-backpacking-meals-prepping/