Fresh Eggs On The Trail

[weary]

I taken eggs out on the trail with out any problems other then some very scarely looks from other thru-hikers.

Before leaving town crack them open open into a wide mouth 1 litter soda bottle. At camp cook them up just as you would at home. They will last several days.

Wolf

The best containers for eggs are the ones nature provided. Fresh eggs are good for weeks during spring and summer, and even a week or more during the heat of summer. Eggs by nature are designed to withstand the two weeks it takes for a hen to gather enough for a clutch of chicks.

Cracking eggs and placing them in a soda bottle is a terrible solution to cooking eggs on the trail. Place whole eggs with their shells on in a safe place in your pack. I usually use the paper mache carton in which they came from the store, nestled in a zip bag, and sheltered by clothing or, better still, a soft sleeping bag.

If a shell cracks cook it first, but uncracked eggs last a long time before spoiling. Refrigerating eggs in grocery stores is a recent phenomenon. They used to be stacked in open shelves uncooled for many days at a time.

Weary

[Joshrm78]

you can buy one of these if ur scared of egg in ur pack
http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...cat=REI_SEARCH
I used a plastic egg carton i cut so it holds 6 eggs it was from the carton came from i belive egglands best eggs never had a problem

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

::: female dino drooling over Zelph's pics :::

[saimyoji]

::: female dino drooling over Zelph's toes:::

...........

[Topcat]

I read it on White Blaze, tried it and it works. Drop eggs in boiling water for about 5 seconds and they stay fresh longer and less likely to break. I do it every trip now.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

::: female dino wacks pervy Saimyoji with tail and then finds to her horror that he likes it ::::

[Grinder]

Sailors grease eggs in the shell to prevent spoilage. They carry them unrefrigerated in the topics. They last up to a month that way. After a month, it becomes a kind of lotto as to whether or not the egg will be bad.

I have also heard of waxing them. (i.e. dip in melted paraffin)

The back packing problem would be how to carry them shock free, so that the shell doesn't break or crush in your pack.

Tom

[weary]

I read it on White Blaze, tried it and it works. Drop eggs in boiling water for about 5 seconds and they stay fresh longer and less likely to break. I do it every trip now.

I've never done a scientific experiment. But it's my belief that eggs will last longer if they are not put into boiling water. Eggs are designed by nature to last without refrigeration for at least two weeks. I strongly suspect that a boiling water bath will decrease time before spoilage, not increase it.

A boiling water bath might decrease breakage by slightly cooking, or at least firming a layer of egg white. But with a bit of care, I've never found breakage to be a serious problem.

Food storage is rarely the problem that modern hikers in the era of refrigeration suspect. Humans stored food for hundreds of thousands of years before inventing ice boxes and then electricity powered refrigeration.

Hikers try many things, which if they don't do major harm, hikers interpret as helping, when in fact they simply don't do much harm.

Eggs have a natural coating that prevents the intrusion of decay-enhancing oxygen. A dunk into boiling water almost certainly damages that coating. I know my grandmother never washed the eggs she sold from a backyard hen house, and always warned her customers not to wash the eggs until just before they were to be used.

At the time I didn't think much of her advice, I mean selling eggs with chicken poop on the shells struck me as a bit gross. But upon reflection it now strikes me as wise.

Weary

[rafe]

Humans stored food for hundreds of thousands of years before inventing ice boxes and then electricity powered refrigeration.

A bit of hyperbole, Weary? First off, our species has existed for, at most, 200,000 years. And recorded history is far shorter than that, maybe eight or ten thousand years. And finally, you don't have a clue what those first humans ate or how they stored their food. Traditionally, meats have been cured with salt and spices, and that's still done and remains somewhat effective, if it's done properly. Fact is germ theory and modern medicine is maybe 300 years old at best, and before that, humans were plumb ignorant about how their bodies worked.

[Fannypack]

A bit of hyperbole, Weary? First off, our species has existed for, at most, 200,000 years. And recorded history is far shorter than that, maybe eight or ten thousand years. And finally, you don't have a clue what those first humans ate or how they stored their food. Traditionally, meats have been cured with salt and spices, and that's still done and remains somewhat effective, if it's done properly. Fact is germ theory and modern medicine is maybe 300 years old at best, and before that, humans were plumb ignorant about how their bodies worked.

if Weary had said "thousands of years", would that have been okay?

[rafe]

if Weary had said "thousands of years", would that have been okay?

Whatever. Just because something's "been done" for long time doesn't mean it's smart or should continue being done. Five hundred years ago humans were still burned at the stake for heresy or apostasy.

[Fannypack]

Whatever. Just because something's "been done" for long time doesn't mean it's smart or should continue being done. Five hundred years ago humans were still burned at the stake for heresy or apostasy.

I read Weary's post (& other posts) as saying that eggs can be taken on the trail for days w/o spoiling (simple as that). I don't read into his post that we shouldn't embrace change. But each to their own opinion. Later.

[rafe]

I read Weary's post (& other posts) as saying that eggs can be taken on the trail for days w/o spoiling (simple as that). I don't read into his post that we shouldn't embrace change. But each to their own opinion. Later.

I don't have any opinion to offer about eating eggs on the trail. I just had to get a word in about Weary's "history" of human dietary habits. I'm not saying he's wrong about the eggs... but his "history" stinks.

[weary]

A bit of hyperbole, Weary? First off, our species has existed for, at most, 200,000 years. And recorded history is far shorter than that, maybe eight or ten thousand years. And finally, you don't have a clue what those first humans ate or how they stored their food. Traditionally, meats have been cured with salt and spices, and that's still done and remains somewhat effective, if it's done properly. Fact is germ theory and modern medicine is maybe 300 years old at best, and before that, humans were plumb ignorant about how their bodies worked.

Somehow, I think the human race matured and prospered because most people figured out how to store their food without massive die offs of their friends, relatives, and neighbors.

I do Know something about the sturdiness of eggs. As a kid and as an adult I watched my four hens go broody from time to time. Because they were mostly "free range" critters, my hens used to hide their eggs from us human critters. From time to time I would find clutches of a dozen or so eggs.

Whenever that happened, I would bring the eggs all back and put them in my refrigerator and eat them one or two at a time until they were all gone. This stragegy worked, summer and winters, so I suspect the same strategy would work on the trail.

For decades I've heard the report that boiling eggs for five seconds makes eggs last longer on a trail. To date I've seen zero evidence that this is so. Since I've yet to hear that anyone got sick from the practice, I suspect it doesn't do much harm.

The evidence is inconclusive about whether it does any good. Since no one has reported to my knowledge that the practice has made anyone sick, I'm willing to concede that the practice is mostly harmless, at least for short term storage of eggs.

Knowing what I do about eggs and hens, I strongly suspect that the practice of boiling eggs for 5 seconds greatly reduces unrefrigerated storage times.

But I certainly await any evidence you may have to the contrary.

Weary

[Gray Blazer]

Eggs will freeze (and I assume they are no good after that). I know from personal experience that those thermal bags they sell at grocers will keep your fresh eggs from freezing.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

My grandmother had free-range chickens and I echo what Weary has said. Eggs are fine out of the fridge for a long time. I've found hidden clutches and eaten them as well. Egg shells have an oily substance on them that keeps air from permeating the shell and is removed by washing - so unwashed eggs last longer. The old sailors' method of dipping them in wax worked on the same principle. You could certainty oil eggs at home or at hostels - and this is what some of my old hiking buddies used to do before going into the woods with fresh eggs.

Eggs sold in Europe are rarely in the fridge - they are on store shelves. This is possible because they are not washed prior to being sold. The opinion of Europe's equivilent to the USDA on egg washing

[zelph]

[quote=terrapin_too;328408]I don't have any opinion to offer about eating eggs on the trail. I just had to get a word in about Weary's "history" of human dietary habits. I'm not saying he's wrong about the eggs... but his "history" stinks. [/quote]

I like what weary says about eggs.

If you don't have an opinion to offer about eating eggs on the trail I suggest you send a PM to Weary to let him know how you feel about his dietary habits. Please keep my thread focused on eggs, Thank You.

Zelph

[Joshrm78]

I dont understand what all the concern is for how long u can keep ur eggs fresh. How long do u feel like humping the same dozen eggs? I know for me i go through a dozen eggs in about 4 days max myself. By this point its time ussally time for a resuply so i just get more eggs.

[saimyoji]

I dont understand what all the concern is for how long u can keep ur eggs fresh...

Yep. Welcome to WB.

As hikers, we are socially maladjusted and when we have too much time on our hands, we argue about just about anything....

Give the MinnesotaSmith thread a read.

[mudhead]

Or maybe not.