Expedition Foods

Vegan Mushroom Risotto

£8.99 150g

high energy for weight and cost, quick to rehydrate

flavour and texture not the best

Calories: 800 Calories/100g: 534 Calories/£1: 88.99

Time to hydrate: 5 minutes Vegetarian/vegan: vegan Allergens: none listed expeditionfoods.com

Expedition Foods has every base covered: a wide variety of breakfasts and main meals, and in many cases a choice of 450, 800 or 1000kcal packs. You can also buy its meals in bulk, making them a good option for extended trips or multi-person expeditions. Expedition Foods tends to offer an extremely high energy-to-weight ratio, and its vegan mushroom risotto (I tested the 800g version) is no exception, with an unmatched 534kcal/100g. This is a long way above the next best meal tested – a clear choice for energy-intensive stuff such as high-altitude trekking or Scottish winter mountaineering. Rehydration is incredibly fast too.

Although I’m partial to a mushroom risotto, the taste and texture of this one didn’t thrill me. The mushroom flavours were somewhat overpowered by onion, and the mushrooms themselves lost their definition, leading to a homogenous texture.

A plus point: the packaging is excellent. There’s the usual tear point at the top, just above the seal, but another tear point about a third of the way down, which you can open up for ease of eating. Although priced higher than some of the other meals, the calories-toprice ratio is best in test, making it excellent value.