How long food keeps

[Mike M.]

Extra sharp cheddar cheese will last for 3+ weeks at Alpine elevations. Buried in your pack, in the heat of the day, it still stays cool. And, of course, at night when temps dip close to or below freezing, it enjoys a refrigerator-like environment.

I am a big fan of Gallo dry salami -- it too will keep for 3+ weeks in the backcountry. I only bring the kind that is packaged in its own rind -- not the pre-sliced variety. I don't care for summer sausage -- too high a water content and too little taste.

Fig bars are a good staple for breakfast -- they pack a lot of energy and don't ever seem to go bad. Rather than cook in the morning, I pair four fig bars (like Newman's Own) with a packet of instant Carnation breakfast (mixed together with water and dried milk). It's tasty, provides a lot of energy, and does not leave you too stuffed (like pancakes might).

Tuna and chicken are both available now in resealable foil packaging, which don't need any special storage until opened -- they have a long shelf life. Brother Van likes to hike with these; I don't like the smelly waste and potential to attract bears (especially the used tuna packages). But his dinners definitely have more variety than mine.

Mike

[fishmonger]

Yeah, but it's kind of tough to keep Twinkies from being squished.

top of the bear can - we shipped a few to the Muir Trail Ranch in our canisters inside a bucket - didn't seem to hurt them. We ate them right away, so we didn't go far beyond the "shelf life." I suppose there's more life that follows the shelf life before they turn into a diarrhetic

[fishmonger]

These are my favorite "sausage bullets" now:

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They are 7 oz. They are sealed, so they don't rot on long trips. I can bring as many or few as I need. A little spray cheese or fresh if I have it, a sourdough roll (yeah, kind of old school, but we still do it), and a lunch fit for a king.

These are fantastic for longer trips

http://www.zubersmeats.com/landjaeger.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- eat with bread or crackers, cut into whatever you're cooking. Dried, so you aren't carrying too much needless h2o along, and never turned bad on me, even after months on the shelf, or weeks sitting in a resupply location. They are small per piece, so easily to separate for each meal or person in the team.

Around here, they sit right next to your usual high salt beef sticks on the shelf at the super market

Add a few Laughing Cow Cheese triangles (been eating that stuff since the early 80s when I started mountaineering in France) and you have "real food" with real calories in your pack.

http://www.thelaughingcow.com/products/ ... amy-swiss/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I stay away from their "Light" versions - pointless.

[fishmonger]

one of my all-time favorites that keeps multiple seasons until you feel you need to eat it:

http://www.germandeli.com/4001743034013.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Scho-Ka-Kola was created by the firm Hildebrand, Kakao- und Schokoladenfabrik GmbH in 1935 and was introduced at the 1936 Summer Olympics as a "Sport Chocolate." During World War II, it was referred to as the "Flyer-Chocolate" as it was provided with Luftwaffe rations."

"Scho-Ka-Kola is a brand of German chocolate that contains additional caffeine from cocoa, roasted coffee, and cola nut. The chocolate is divided into triangle-shaped pieces held inside of a round metal canister. The design and recipe have changed very little since the original creation."

and I just found out that this has become the "red bull" of the chocolate industry due to youtube:

http://vimeo.com/1265007" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[paul]

I've had good luck with salami in general. For snow trips, I take the good stuff - no preservatives, herb crusted, so much flavor you can smell it outside the pack. Lasts 8 or 9 days no problem in April or May at 10,000 feet. In the summer I don't bring that stuff as I'm afraid every bear for ten miles would be attracted by the smell, and in the warmer temps it wouldn't last as long. Instead I go for something drier and with some preservatives - I figure that little bit of Sodium Nitrate won't kill me. That sort of salami, especially when stored intact in its original plastic packaging, has lasted me over three weeks no problem.
White flour tortillas will last pretty well, but whole wheat only a couple days. Gives you an idea how much more potency the whole grain has.