VOYAGER NUTRITION is a French freeze-dried expedition meals brand sometimes found in NATO nation military ration packs, writes Bob Morrison.
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The VOYAGER NUTRITION brand is produced by FALIERES NUTRITION of Captieux in Gironde, part of the French NutriDry Group, and is a sister company to Adventure Food BV of the Netherlands. In addition to Breakfast, Main Meal and Dessert pouches, plus snacks, FALIERES NUTRITION also markets seven-day, 10-12,000 kcal meal cartons for adventurers, with a dry weight of just 3.25kg. Naturally VOYAGER pouches tend to crop up in French and Belgian ration packs, but occasionally they can also be found as components in rations issued by other NATO nations.
NutriDry Group displayed various freeze-dried products from their different brands at SOFINS 2023, the French Special Forces expo at Camp de Souge, and as I had a little spare luggage space left I took away three samples representing their Breakfast, Main Meal and Snacks ranges. If one has access to clean water and a means of heating it freeze-dried, or lyophilised, foodstuffs are of course lightweight and low volume so ideal for those who need to carry their foods on their back when in the field for longish periods.
The VOYAGER Breakfast pouch I chose was Muesli Chocolat, one of several muesli packs but they also produce Raspberry Porridge, which can be reconstituted with either hot or cold water. Although this (flat) pouch has a net weight of just 100g it produces 387kcal of energy when 100ml is added. There is a water line on the outside of the pack, but I used a measuring jug to ensure the correct mix, and the results were a mix of cereal with little chocolate beads in a watery chocolate milk. I have had this VOYAGER breakfast pouch before, in both French and Belgian rations, and although I am not a great fan of most chocolate-flavoured desserts or cakes I actually quite like this one ~ especially when warm water is used.
For Lunch I opted for VOYAGER Pâtes et Poulet Épicé or Pasta with Spiced Chicken, which is one of a very wide range of dishes. Contained in a dished(convex) bottom and zip-locked pouch with a net weight of 130g, this meal generates 543kcal when reconstituted with 250ml of boiling water and allowed to stand for five to eight minutes. There are measuring levels printed inside the pouch but, as per normal, I used a measuring jug to ensure precise quantity before decanting into a Wildo Camp-A-Box bowl for photos. I find this dish, which I have previously sampled from ration packs, to be hearty, tasty and quite spicy; definitely in my Top Ten of freeze-dried meals.
Finally, we come to the Dessert or Snack. Labelled as Snack Craquant – Morceaux de Fruits Lyophilisés, or Crunchy Snack – Freeze-Dried Fruit Pieces. This pouch, which I understand is a new line and doesn’t yet feature in the company’s webstore, consisted of 15g net weight of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries producing a 55kcal energy and morale boost. I sampled this in dry form at SOFINS and as no pack instructions are given for adding water, I suspect it is intended for consumption straight out of the pouch. However I decided to put it in a glass and add 100ml of water to turn it into a dessert and this worked very well. Ideally I would probably add this to plain yoghurt for the perfect snack, but even if mixed in the pouch and spooned on its own I reckon it would make a good sweet and tangy ending to dinner in the field. I’m not to sure about eating it without reconstituting, not least because although there were plenty of reasonably large fruit pieces there was also a lot of ‘dust’ in the pouch, but if included in ration packs there would no doubt be precise preparation details to ensure maximum nutritional benefit for the soldier. Certainly something a little different
My overall impression of VOYAGER pouches is that they do not let down the French nation’s obsession with good food and I would be quite happy to find them included in any ration pack issued to me.
[images © Bob Morrison]
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