Posting this for others in my situation. My plan was to bring in Mountain House meals for camping, which are pretty standard wilderness backpacking rations in the US and Canada. They are dehydrated meals that you just add hot water to in the bag. Very light and convenient for hiking or even if you can’t find a restaurant open, and super easy to clean up. [https://mountainhouse.com/collections/pouches](https://mountainhouse.com/collections/pouches)

I contacted the Norwegian customs service yesterday ([Toll.no](https://Toll.no)) and they confirmed that even heavily processed (pre-cooked and freeze dried) meat is forbidden, except from EU countries, and even then less than 10kg. Details: [https://www.toll.no/en/goods/food/regulations-for-meat-milk-cheese-and-other-foods/](https://www.toll.no/en/goods/food/regulations-for-meat-milk-cheese-and-other-foods/)

My question is this, are XXL Real Turmat meals similar to Mountain House, where you just boil some water to add then eat out of the bag? [https://www.xxl.no/search?query=real+turmat](https://www.xxl.no/search?query=real+turmat) Are there other varieties from other stores available like Biltema, Clas Ohlson, or grocery stores?

6 comments

  1. Having not tried mountain house, I can’t speak to quality, but yes, real turmat pretty much works like that. Boil water, add contents, wait. I have never made it in the bag, but I’m pertty sure you can.

    You can find a few different selections at xxl (or other sporting goods stores like sport outlet, intersport, etc…). Most grocery stores have Gilde turmat which comes in limited selection (I think they have 2 or 3 types) and some grocery stores (usually coop) in smaller cities/areas have a small selection of real turmat or similar.

  2. I have had both Mountain House, multiple other brands and Real Turmat. There is absolutely no comparison to Real Turmat. Real is the best freeze dried meal out there. And yes, it is mixed and eaten straight from the pouch.

  3. Real Turmat is the same type as Mountain House, Real makes field rations for Norwegian military and the “Turmat” version is made for the civilian market. They have really tasty meals, and yes, you pour hot water in the bag and wait X minutes and it is ready to eat.

    Travel shops and sporting goods stores like XXL are the most common places to buy it, but I have seen some sold at regular grocery stores aswell, not the Real brand, but Gilde https://www.gilde.no/produktserie/turmat

  4. Yes almost anything from the EU tends to be restricted and subject to high fees when you try to import it to Norway, it’s a major source of frustration for many people.

  5. Don’t know Mountain House, but Real Turmat is great. They make field rations for the military, I believe at least both in Norway and Sweden, potentially other nordic countries as well. And I’ve eaten a lot of them through the years, both in the army and the home guard, and when hiking myself.

    A decade ago or more there were some variants that were less tasty (and which the army incidentally had far too much of), but now I don’t think there’s any reason to shy away from any of their meals. And they aren’t just an indistinguishable stew, e.g. the creamy salmon has proper pieces of salmon.

  6. Yes, the Real Turmat meals are basically exactly like the Mountain House meals in concept. Quality is waaaay better though.

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