View Full Version : Foods without Refrideration
blackbird04217
12-09-2008, 13:32
I havn't been able to find much information, other than a few surprises in some threads I read about eggs and a few other foods that are typically refrigerated. Obviously the coldness would keep the food fresh longer, or keep it from spoiling too soon. So I am trying to think of some foods that can survive in whatever air you give them for 2 to 4 days. Say hotdogs for instance, how bad would it be to keep them in a locked ziplock bag for a few days?
Generally it is pretty easy to tell when you should not be eating a food due to spoilage, but has anyone attempted the things I am thinking or is this just out of the question? I don't care much about the weight, the benifits will overcome that, and this isn't my grocery list, I am just curious as to what modern society puts in the cooler that doesn't truly need to be there.
Thanks!
Gray Blazer
12-09-2008, 13:37
I'll take cheese in a ziplock and it will last a few days. Those prepackeged meats will last a few days. That's usually when I hike in the mountains of NC/TN and it's not really hot outside. I'm afraid to take a chance with, say, hoydogs.
Wrapping cheese in cheesecloth really does help mountains to keep it fresh.
I've done hotdogs for two nights, three days on the trail, but I didn't open them untill that third day, so I don't know how they would keep after opened. Bacon should keep pretty well though.
You can also try soy (fake) bacon and hotdogs. If you're pushing the freshness limits, I'd much rather eat some bad soy than bad meat. They taste pretty good too.
Blackbird I thought the same thing when I was planning my trip and I will tell you most of that stuff is heavy and its starts to be a pain if the food you have is starting to go bad. By the time I hit the smokies I was eating dried stuff just like everyone eles. But please by all means please dont take my word for it. Its your hike do what makes you feel comfortable.
budforester
12-09-2008, 14:28
Straight Forward: Temperature- abuse of hot dogs is a bad idea, especially if they have been handled or re- packaged. Cold- weather hikes may be “refrigerated” enough. It’s not always obvious that a food is unsafe; otherwise there would be no issue of food poisoning. We put many things in the ‘fridge unnecessarily. Condiments, in particular, come to mind. Food labels contain statements concerning refrigeration needs.
Gray Blazer
12-09-2008, 14:33
On the other hand, what if your fresh eggs freeze on a below freezing night? I assume they will be bad if they thaw out, but, what if you used them right away?
blackbird04217
12-09-2008, 14:34
Blackbird I thought the same thing when I was planning my trip and I will tell you most of that stuff is heavy and its starts to be a pain if the food you have is starting to go bad. By the time I hit the smokies I was eating dried stuff just like everyone eles. But please by all means please dont take my word for it. Its your hike do what makes you feel comfortable.
Yea I am sure more and more dried food and other things will start to take over. If that was to happen this would be more of a treat type of thing for coming out of town. I don't expect to carry this from town to town eating it all the time just to get ideas so that I can start off with more variety of foods and see how it goes :D I am quite a picky eater and fear that a lot of the trail foods I try I won't like too much. Course, a grumbling belly can yell at a tongue enough to ignore taste at times.
If you are just talking about carrying food out of town and eating it that night or during the day let it rip. Carry what ever food you want and make the other hikers jealous when you cook up a big steak and a couple of beers
I was quite disappointed with pre-cooked bacon. All the salt did not prevent the fat from becoming questionable after only 2 days. Pepperoni totes well for several days. If you like it you can bake it into pepperoni chips and carry it for even longer. The cheese works pretty well, too--the drier the cheese the longer it lasts.
Good luck
Frau
I like food when i'm on the trail and not a big fan of water and veggies ... with that said, i carry the weight because i choose to and the best are packaged tuna/chicken/clams/crab and now they got seasoned beef .... they are 8oz each ... mixed in with a set of ramon noodles "your own seasoning" unless you like all that salt in the packaged ramon ... also another good idea are cheetos and beef jerky in a zip lock .... mixed in with seasoned beef and ramon can make an amazing backcounty chili .... carry some deyhrated bacon/beans or veggies and you got yourself a meal for a man ... heh .. good stuff. For weekends or 4-5 day trips .... always eat the heavy stuff first ... for obvious reasons ...
bah, i also forgot to add in there my personal trail favorite and never leave home without is simply tortilla shells .... they last weeks .. add flavor and carbs ...
Johnny Thunder
12-09-2008, 16:57
Things I carried this summer (and how long I'd trust them in average 80 degree heat)...
Peperoni (10 days)
Sharp Cheddar (5 days)
Mild Cheddar/ White Cheese (3/4 days)
Squeeze Butter (7 days)
Frozen Steak (2 days)
Uncooked Bacon (2 days)
Pre-cooked Bacon (4 days)
Cold Cut Ham (3/4 days)
Cold Cut Turkey (2 days)
[trick with cold cuts is to buy the more expensive and less moist product]
Green Pepper (4 days)
Onion (5 days)
Feral Bill
12-09-2008, 17:19
I was leading a school group on a paddling trip. The night before we started paddling we had hot dogs, some of which apparently had escaped the cooler on the long drive to the put in. The results over the next 3 days were not pretty:eek:. Great team building in a horrible way, though.
Hotdog substitution = Spam+Soft shell tortillas with packets of ketchup .. salt/pepper .. good stuff .. http://www.minimus.biz/ .. this website is insanely good for getting those very small items you don't wanna carry down, but hate leaving at home ... 9 cents for small jelly! =P
blackbird04217
12-09-2008, 17:51
Thanks for all the great ideas darkage and the info you worked up Johnny Thunder. That will certainly be helpful!
String cheese is one of my favorites! Along with hard salami, pickles and pita bread (that last one is probably pushing is, as I don't think it really needs to be refrigerated to begin with but some might disagree).
Cheese can be carried for long periods if it is real cheese (ie...cheddar or similar). It will get soft and oily but is fine. You can get shelf stable cheese as well - be it good old Parmesan cheese in a jar to many fancy ones from Laughing Cow and online (check Minimus and Packitgourmet.com for them).
Eggs in shell carry well.
With things such as shelf stable pepperoni and bacon they carry great - just once opened you want to consume the package in a day.
As for deli meats? No thanks on that! I'll stick to canned and pouched meat or use TVP subs (or freeze dried meat).
You can freeze just about any meat you like in a ziplock bag (portions for each day), roll it up in a closed cell foam pad (or a section of one - make your own cooler), and stuff a pair of socks or something similar in each end. Just about anything should keep for a long weekend in just about any weather that way.
Plodderman
12-10-2008, 19:39
I have had people hike in as I was on AT with hot dogs and other things on a weekend and enjoyed the harvest with them. But for me everything is pre-package.
buff_jeff
12-10-2008, 19:41
Sausage (even normally refrigerated ones) and cheese stay fine. Of course, they can be heavy as hell, but they're totally worth it. I loved to pack out string cheese.
Jack Tarlin
12-10-2008, 20:15
Very informative post by Johnny T.
We recently field tested some stuff at Trashgiving, and surprisingly, all sorts of things were just fine for awhile without refrigeration.
Except maybe Scrapple.
48 hours is pushing the envelope on that one.
Jim Adams
12-10-2008, 20:40
I tend to take more "exotic" trail food with me when I'm canoeing rather than backpacking but this is just an idea that I thought I'd pass on to those that don't mind just a little weight.
When canoeing I use one of those little worm / bait boxes made from styrofoam and held together with elastic (10" x 8" x 5"). I place that inside a soft cooler that is the perfect size just to fit (6 pack cooler). I fll it with a gallon ziploc filled with ice cubes and bury it deep in my food bag or backpack. The result....2 ice cubes per evening for my martini shaker FOR A WEEK!
It works great.
geek
Wise Old Owl
12-10-2008, 20:56
I tend to take more "exotic" trail food with me when I'm canoeing rather than backpacking but this is just an idea that I thought I'd pass on to those that don't mind just a little weight.
When canoeing I use one of those little worm / bait boxes made from styrofoam and held together with elastic (10" x 8" x 5"). I place that inside a soft cooler that is the perfect size just to fit (6 pack cooler). I fll it with a gallon ziploc filled with ice cubes and bury it deep in my food bag or backpack. The result....2 ice cubes per evening for my martini shaker FOR A WEEK!
It works great.
geek
Exotic??? do tell - What????
Blissful
12-10-2008, 20:56
I would not take luncheon meats (ham and turkey, for instance) myself on the trail ever, but that is my own preference. But you can't go wrong with summer sausage, pepperoni, canadian bacon, lebonese bologna and any hard cheese.
And hikers, check out after Christmas sales on Hillshire farms type deals to stock up on sausage, etc.
Slo-go'en
12-10-2008, 22:17
Speaking of Christmas, stock up on fruit cake - good stuff for weekend hikes. And nothing quite beats a cold burger and a warm beer for dinner the first night out of town!
mkmangold
12-10-2008, 23:06
Blackbird: I found this (https://frontiersurvival.net/item--Real-Canned-Butter--DTB-1.html while doing research for you. Problem is, I'm not sure how well it keeps after opening the can. At home, we leave one stick of butter out anyway for spreadability.
And poke around that website: they have some other very interesting items.
River Runner
12-10-2008, 23:15
I've taken a pack of hot dogs or smoked sausages on summer weekend hikes and they were fine for the second night. The key is keeping them buried deep inside the pack, maybe against a water bladder so they will stay cool.
If you were solo hiking, finding a buddy to split a pack of the Oscar Mayer brand that have 5 in a sealed package with 2 packages bundled together would be ideal. I would not trust them for long once I opened the package.
blackbird04217
12-11-2008, 00:06
Blackbird: I found this (https://frontiersurvival.net/item--Real-Canned-Butter--DTB-1.html while doing research for you. Problem is, I'm not sure how well it keeps after opening the can. At home, we leave one stick of butter out anyway for spreadability.
And poke around that website: they have some other very interesting items.
Thanks for the find. If others are having trouble with the link try this out to get to the main page and explore around. http://frontiersurvival.net (https://frontiersurvival.net/item--Real-Canned-Butter--DTB-1.html) Yes, some interesting things are on there. :D How feesable would it be to by some ice and keep a mini-ice box, say, a very small lunchbox cooler. That should keep things good for a bit longer even if opened. I obviously don't want to go too crazy with weight, and a cooler with ice might start making the idea of treats of this such less than possible. I'd say use a ziplock back for the cooler, but it doesn't exactly hold its temperature very well for those purposes. Anyways, I'd like to thank all that have helped me and will continue sticking around if the topic continues!