What "refrigerate" after opening products hold up well on the trail?

[RITBlake]

Talk about what foods people might be suprised to find out don't really need to be refrigerated (unlike the package might suggest) and that can still be ok to eat after a couple days.

[RITBlake]

On our shakedown hike this summer, I noticed quite a few thru hikers had bags of the hummel, pre cut, pepperoni. Except for being a little oily they were still good even after several days on the trail.

[Brock]

I have found precooked chicken in sealed packages that only required to be heated were pretty good. They were in the tuna isle in kRoger or Meyer.

[stupe]

Good old SPAM, out of it's can and into a zip lock lasts three days in all but the hottest weather. As long as it has it's healthy pink hue, I think it's ok.

[The Cheat]

....
butter

[SGT Rock]

Summer sausage, itallian dressing, block of cheddar, hot mustard.

[saimyoji]

Jalapenos, peperoncinis...

[Nightwalker]

Thin-sliced meat. There's enough preservatives there to keep 'em for 2-3 days.

[java]

Most people think eggs need to be refridgerated, but they don't (not for a few days at least). And they're really not as breakable as most people think either. Plus, the cardboard carton makes good fire starter once your eggs are eaten.

[Tha Wookie]

CHEESE!!!! Carry a block with you for at least 3 days. Trust me, it's been gone, but it's never gone bad.

[Doctari]

Most people think eggs need to be refridgerated, but they don't (not for a few days at least). And they're really not as breakable as most people think either. Plus, the cardboard carton makes good fire starter once your eggs are eaten.

My granny used to keep them for weeks (14+ days) until she had "enough", then she would incubate them for a new batch of chicks. Or, we would eat them, depended on what the needs were that week. Usually she had a 90% hatch rate, which was pretty good for the incubators of the day, & none of the grandkids ever got sick from eating them & granny lived to be 95.

Doctari.

[Just Jeff]

Most people think eggs need to be refridgerated, but they don't (not for a few days at least). And they're really not as breakable as most people think either. Plus, the cardboard carton makes good fire starter once your eggs are eaten.

If you drop them in boiling water for a minute, they'll form a layer just inside the shell that will make them more durable and will last a bit longer. Just take them out before they're actually boiled.

I read that somewhere, anyway...never tried it.

[MadAussieInLondon]

egg shells are porous, but hard boiled eggs will last longer than not. a couple of days probably...

i liked the little bags of pre-cut turkey-peperoni, that was goood stuf!

[YerbaJon]

Egg storage without refrigeration is something well discussed in literature, most of it is literature that is over 80 years old. Still, I post the following information from http://www.alpharubicon.com/primitiv...ragereport.htm. It involves an 8 month test. Although 8 months storage is not needed for a hiker, one could adopt some of these stratagies to help themselves feel better about eating unrefrigerated eggs.

Scientific American Cyclopedia of Formulas copyright 1910 by Nunn & Co., Inc. {Due to the age of this book and the state of technology when it was printed, this writer makes no assurances as to the suitability or safety of the following information. Use of the following information is at your own risk!!} One condensation of methods comes from a set of experiments made by Director Strauch, of the Agricultural School, in Neisse (Germany), with various methods for keeping eggs fresh. At the beginning of July (the year was not given) 20 fresh eggs were treated by the same method, and examined at the end of February (an 8-month test). The results are given below:
o Kept in brine: all unfit for use; not decayed, but unpalatable from being saturated with salt.
o Wrapped in paper: 80% spoiled.
o Kept in a solution of salicylic acid and glycerin: 80% spoiled.
o Rubbed with salt: 70% spoiled.
o Packed in bran: 70% spoiled.
o Coated with paraffin: 70% spoiled.
o Painted with a solution of salicylic acid and glycerin: 70% spoiled.
o Immersed in boiling water 12 - 15 sec.: 50% spoiled.
o Treated with solution of Alum: 50% spoiled.
o Kept in a solution of salicylic acid: 50% spoiled.
o Coated with soluble glass: 40% spoiled.
o Coated with collodian: 40% spoiled.
o Coated with varnish: 40% spoiled.
o Rubbed with bacon: 30% spoiled.
o Packed in wood ashes: 20% spoiled.
o Treated with boric acid and soluble glass : 20% spoiled.
o Treated with Potassium permanganate: 20% spoiled.
o Coated with Vaseline and kept in lime water: all good.
o Kept in soluble glass: all very good.

See above link for more information, more links, and to read some more studies.
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I would think that just some vaseline rubbed on the egg shell would reduce the pourousness of the shell and allow it to go a number of days with little concern. I would also add that the above links discuss ways of determining if an egg is going or has gone bad; perhaps as important as storage is recognition of problems.

[SGT Rock]

I had heard of the boil for 15 second treatment, looks like it is only 50% effective.

[Pencil Pusher]

Hmmm, vaseline and eggs... perhaps this is one thought I shouldn't post...

[Nightwalker]

Hmmm, vaseline and eggs... perhaps this is one thought I shouldn't post...

Thank you ladies and gentlemen! And for my next trick...

I guess that this is as good of a lst-post-for-awhile as any. I'm back to the trail tomorrow. See y'all at Trail Daze.

[Topcat]

boiling was only 50% effective, after 8 months....may be a quick fix for a week or more. Very interesting thread. I always carry eggs for the first morning but never longer. I might change my mind now

[Kerosene]

On our shakedown hike this summer, I noticed quite a few thru hikers had bags of the hummel, pre cut, pepperoni. Except for being a little oily they were still good even after several days on the trail.

I concur. Add a packet of Gulden's Brown Mustard, stuff into a pocket pita, and it's a great tasty lunch!

[Tin Man]

Hmmm, vaseline and eggs... perhaps this is one thought I shouldn't post...

I know it sounds funny, but my uncle did this when he was sailing across the Atlantic and they kept for over 6 weeks.... I think a supply town on the trail might come up sooner.