Last month Thrive Life announced it had freeze-dried shrimp and I was on the fence about it. Would it be good? Or weird? So I bought a can to try out. Because…why not? Finding freeze-dried shrimp is not an easy task. The Pantry size can is perfect for hiking meals. Small enough you will use it up quickly. The big #10 cans are great for prepping, but for using in a hiker’s pantry, I love the smaller cans – I can use it up and not waste any.
The shrimp isn’t cheap, it is 9 servings in a can. It retails for $38.49, which is $4.28 a serving – which puts it at the same cost for a can or pouch (though pouches are hard to find now). If you buy $99 and up and want to try out the monthly delivery, the price drops to $32.72 a can (no commitment required). (Disclaimer: I love Thrive Life freeze-dried ingredients so much I became a consultant. They make some of the highest quality freeze-dried ingredients out there.)
It is very shrimpy smelling when you pop the can, but once prepared it really does taste like fresh shrimp. You’d not know it’s freeze-dried. It was well worth the fun of trying it out, and it’s something I will have in our hiker pantry from now out. Having said that, once you open a can up, use it up within 30 days for best results.
In the past I would have used canned tiny shrimp (pouches used to be available but are apparently no longer made). The cost of a can of shrimp isn’t cheap, this is it locally sold at $4.45 a can, and it can cost over $5.50 a can. The shrimp in it are tiny, and often turn to mush in cooked recipes. Each can weighs 4 ounces, and most shrimp brands don’t have pop-tops, which for cooking in the outdoors means you must have a way to open the can, and that means more weight and junk to pack.
And here’s another thing to ponder…why the long ingredient list? Why does it need more salt? When it’s naturally salty. And sugar? Is it too bitter naturally?
While the serving size is double in the can, I can tell you that the freeze-dried shrimp is far higher in quality. It’s bigger shrimp. And it contains 1 ingredient: Shrimp. No preservatives. And you are not hauling extra weight. ½ cup freeze-dried shrimp is a tiny amount of air.
The two recipes we redid with the shrimp. Enjoy!
With a tiny pinch of heat to warm you up on cool days and cold nights. Remember the shrimp flavored cup o’ noodles where you got like 3 or 4 tiny shrimps? Here you get a ton of shrimp!
Savory, yet sweet from the raisins and apples, this is a protein packed meal. It’s very satisfying.
~Sarah