Trail Food: Knorr Taco Rice

Another grocer, another load of trail food candidates. This trip netted us a good selection of "add hot water" products from Knorr, which we will be reviewing over the coming weeks.

Looking through our office larder we decided to go spicy and try Knorr Taco Rice. The package states that one bag contains two servings, so we poured out about half into a bowl and added the requisite amount of hot water. As we were using an uninsulated bowl, the liquid cooled down and was not completely absorbed by the rice. We took a few bites of the now al dente rice. It had a pleasing taste and after a full days hiking would probably have wolfed the rice down.

We then nuked the rice for 1-2 minutes in the office microwave. (Yes, I know there are no microwave ovens on the trail.) The additional heat caused the remaining water to be fully absorbed and the rice was soft and clumping. This time things tasted much better.

One blogger mentioned the Knorr rice products being too much to eat at one sitting, so he split the bags in half. He also added 1/4 cup of minute rice to each half and said that provided just the right amount to satisfy his hunger. So that will be out next experiment. Put the remaining serving in a freezer bag with 1/4 minute rice, add hot water, wait a bit, and eat. Watch for an update below.

By the way, we like Knorr Taco Rice and it made our menu for the upcoming section hike of the Appalachian Trail. Combined with the chipotle black bean dip and the vegetarian chili mix we reviewed earlier, we're thinking Mexican night along the trail somewhere. Hopefully, somewhere is near a can of cold beer.