Having had to rehydrate pasta while hiking to save on fuel as a beginner backpacker, I can confirm it does work.

Still, I now only bring semolina and polenta on multiple days hike. Both can be eaten fine after an hour of soaking in cold water.

This is a standard way of food preparation in the backcountry and is called cold soaking. Pasta, grains, beans can be prepared this way.

Should work fine. I only cold soak these days. Saves a lot of weight and is actually faster (my food is “cooking” while I hike, so it’s ready immediately after I stop for the day.

Other things you can use this on than pasta? Are there recipes for this kind of low-effort camping meals somewhere online?

There are many things you can do this way, the terminology “cold soak” used in the parent comment is a good starting point, there are lots of resources online with ideas and techniques for cold soak backpacking meals: https://sectionhiker.com/cold-soak-no-cook-backpacking-meals...

I am an avid backpacker and have heard a lot of folks talking positively about this, but haven’t given it a try myself just yet.

I typically take a mix of things, cold soaking is only one element. Couscous, instant oatmeal, ramen — stuff with flavor packets in general work well. I’ve also done bulk buy and added my own spices for a change - it just depends on how much prep time I have for the trip. I also eat salami, cheese, and a home-made trail mix with a lot of dried fruit and good amount of nuts and chocolate chips. A few bars for emergencies, backup water purification system plus a Sawyer Squeeze as my primary filter, and I’m good to go. The Talenti jars work great for me, and my kids enjoy having to “make” me a clean one every now and then.

I’ve backpacked with people who bring a lot of fresh food — avocados, eggs, bread even, plus the normal dehydrated food plus stove and fuel. I obviously swing all the way to the other extreme, eating like I do at home is not the point for me. Long days with lots of mileage and elevation gain make almost anything taste good, so why not save a few pounds, simplify your trip, and save a fair amount of money in the process. In general my backpacking systems are all moving in this direction as I get older and get more trips under my belt — with the one exception of a Garmin InReach, which has saved my ass a couple times now (with weather reports, not rescues needed).

I once had a pasta salad backpacker meal (forget which brand) that was pretty much this method exactly (except we rehydrated it in its original bag). Some of the freeze-dried veggies still had a little bit of crunch, but the pasta was good and it was quite enjoyable for camping food. I haven't seen it available since, though.

Huh, I guess Backpacker’s Pantry quit making it. I still have one on the shelf I should probably check the expiration date on.