Going Stoveless: The Pros and Cons of Cold Soaking

Everything was wet. I huddled in the doorway of my tent, trying to peel off my layers of smelly nylon without drenching my sleeping bag, wishing I could simply curl up in said sleeping bag and drift off to the sound of rain pattering on my tent. Unfortunately, I was starving. I left one side of the tent vestibule open for ventilation, assembled my fuel, stove, pot, water, and pasta, and waited for the water to boil while the trees dripped steadily outside my cramped shelter.

The reward? A hot and cozy dinner to lift my spirits on a chilly, drizzly evening.

I carried a stove throughout my Appalachian Trail journey. Two years later, I abandoned my stove and set out on the Pacific Crest Trail with a Talenti gelato jar. Instead of cooking meals, I rehydrated them on the go: a method known as cold soaking.

If you’ve never tried cold soaking before, it might sound crazy to give up nice, warm dinners, especially on days like the one described above—and it’s true that cold soaking has its drawbacks. But the benefits are certainly worth consideration!

The Benefits of Cold Soaking

Less To Buy (and Carry)

When you carry a stove—even a tiny MSR PocketRocket like mine—you also have to carry fuel and a cooking pot. The fuel is an extra expense and the whole setup adds weight to your pack. Compare this to the cold soaker’s popular backcountry kitchen tool: the lightweight, airtight Talenti jar.

Talenti is a gelato brand found in many grocery stores, making the plastic jars relatively easy to replace if needed (and providing a delightful frozen treat in the process). Once you have your Talenti jar, it’s a simple matter of putting your dehydrated dinner inside it with some water and waiting approximately an hour for the food to soak up the moisture and transform into an edible treat.

My AT Setup:

• MSR PocketRocket: 2.6 oz/$60
• GSI Pot: 8.6 oz/$40
• Fuel Canister: 7.4 oz/$6

My PCT Setup:

• Talenti Jar: 1.9 oz/$5

No Waiting for Dinner

Why wait a whole hour for dinner when you could cook it on a stove in significantly less time? Well, the beauty of cold soaking is that you start the rehydration process before you ever arrive at camp. Add water to your food an hour or so before you reach camp, and it takes care of itself while you’re on the move. By the time you finish setting up your tent, dinner is already prepared; all you have to do is devour it.

Easier Cleanup

Not only does cold soaking save time, but it also reduces the cleanup process. During my stove-carrying days, I spent a LOT of time cleaning my pot after dinner… especially after dinners involving copious amounts of cheese.

Have you ever tried scraping macaroni goo out of a pot with nothing but water and your fingers? Of all the things I expected to do during my hike, developing a fiery resentment toward Velveeta was not on the list, but it definitely happened. I ended up carrying napkins to help with the cleaning process, which worked but also gave me more trash to pack out.

Once again, the Talenti jar simplified things. All I had to do was put some water in the jar, tighten the lid, and shake it vigorously for a minute. This removed most of the food residue in a matter of seconds and ultimately preserved my post-dinner sanity.

Convenient

Cold soaking saves time on both food prep and cleaning, eliminates the need to buy fuel, and cuts down on pack weight. It also comes with another perk that must not be overlooked: the ability to eat in bed.

Had I cold-soaked my dinner on that rainy day in the Appalachian Mountains, I would have been enjoying my food in the warmth of my sleeping bag instead of crouching in my tent vestibule, trying to avoid getting dripped on while I managed my stove. Granted, I wouldn’t have been enjoying hot food… and that leads us to the inevitable downside of leaving the stove at home.

The Drawbacks of Cold Soaking

Learning Curve

It was my first week on the PCT. I sat beside a stretch of dusty desert trail, holding my water bottle poised over the mixture of Minute rice and mashed potatoes in my Talenti jar, frowning at the dry bits of food and wondering exactly how much water I ought to add. Well… maybe just a little for starters. Besides, water was easier to add than to remove, if necessary.

With a mental shrug, I poured a moderate amount into the jar and screwed on the lid.

Fast forward a couple of miles, and I sat in my tent in the gathering dusk, poking my spoon at the dubious concoction inside my Talenti jar. It wasn’t pretty, but I was ravenous. I placed a tentative bite in my mouth and instantly experienced a minor emotional crisis as my teeth sank through what felt like a wad of crunchy trail dirt.

Cold soaking, for me, took time to master. In the beginning, I managed to turn some of my dinners into soup, while others met the same fate as my rice and potato mixture. When I finally did get the hang of it, I found it preferable to cooking—for the most part.

Sometimes You Just Want Hot Food

There were some cold, wet occasions toward the end of the trail when I sat with my numb fingers wrapped around a tortilla full of cold Spanish rice, gazing with a kind of desperate fascination at my trail family as they enjoyed their piping hot dinners. At one point, one of them offered me a bite of Mountain House chili mac, and believe me, I savored it like it was the last bite of food on earth.

Cold soaking isn’t for everyone. Sometimes that hot meal at the end of the day is the morale boost a person needs after a tough hike. I met plenty of hikers who found enjoyment in the cooking process and considered it well worth the extra time and pack weight.

Food is one of the most important aspects of a thru-hike, and there is no right or wrong when it comes to the preparation method. The important thing is to figure out what works best for you.

A Stove Offers Versatility

When deciding between cooking or cold soaking, it’s important to note that certain foods do not rehydrate properly without heat. Mountain House freeze-dried meals are a perfect example of this. Noodles, rice, and beans that haven’t been precooked won’t work. Certain dehydrated vegetables, like corn and mushrooms, can be problematic. While I haven’t tried it myself, I’ve heard that cold-soaked meat is downright awful.

A stove, on the other hand, can cook all of these things without a problem.

Water and Warmth

Not only that, but a stove can also provide some safety benefits in a pinch. In the event that a water filter is lost or broken, a stove can be used to boil and purify drinking water. In winter conditions, it can melt snow to provide water.

A stove is also a source of warmth. During my early, snowy weeks on the AT, I looked forward to cooking for the chance to warm up my hands, and my comfort item was a 16-ounce Nalgene bottle that I could fill with heated water and place inside the foot of my sleeping bag.

No matter how you put your stove to use, it’s important to remember that it should never be used inside a tent; the enclosed space creates a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Final Thoughts

While a stove provides a wider variety of rehydration options, there are still plenty of delicious options for the creative cold soaker. The following is a list of my favorite cold-soaked meals from my PCT adventure:

• Near East pearled couscous (favorite flavor: roasted garlic) with a pouch of chicken mixed in
• Brown Minute rice mixed with Idaho mashed potatoes and pepperoni
• Knorr rice sides (especially Spanish rice) added to a tortilla with cheese
• Ramen noodles (I craved these in the desert)
• Instant oatmeal with honey and raisins

READ NEXT – 100+ Backpacking Food Ideas for Your Next Hike

Finally, while it’s not a meal, I have to mention my absolute favorite thing to drink out of my Talenti jar at the end of the day: a packet of chocolate Breakfast Essentials with two instant coffee packets. (No, the caffeine didn’t keep me awake. Yes, my trail family thought I was weird.)

That being said, meal preparation on the trail doesn’t always have to involve rehydration. Going stoveless taught me to be imaginative and led to the discovery of some amazing trail dinners that can be made without cooking or cold soaking.

My favorite dinner was a jalapeno-cheese bagel (found in the bakery section of many grocery stores) topped with salami, avocado, and mustard. I also made a chicken salad wrap by mixing dried cranberries, salt, and mayo with a pouch of chicken on a tortilla. I kept a generous supply of condiment packets on hand to spice up any meal.

Don’t be afraid to get creative!

Featured image: Photo by Rachel Shoemaker. Graphic design by Zack Goldmann.