[pct-l] Resupply package - freshness

[Steve McAllister]

I think I may have been generalizing too much when I said that fat
tends to go bad quicker than other ingredients.

There are ways of giving fat a very long shelf life. Dried sausages
and many other dried fatty meats do in fact keep well. This depends on
the process.

Salt and many other preservatives can be added to extend the storage
time of fat.

Traditional dried meats are often preserved via lactic fermentation
and/or high sodium or acid content.

Acids, like tomato, citrus, ... can extend the shelf life of fat. So
maybe that meat and tomato pasta sauce could keep OK?


On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 10:12 PM, Ellen Shopes <igellen at comcast.net> wrote:
> Along the line of fatty foods spoiling quicker, my tentative plan is to
> dehydrate some of my meals that I will ship without the meat in them.  I can
> have sent from the company, or include the can in my box, any commercially
> dried meats.  I kept some of these products on my shelves at home for months
> without problems.
> Ellen
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve McAllister" <brooklynkayak at gmail.com>
> To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 2010 5:26 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Resupply package - freshness
>
>
> What I've found:
>
> 1) Fat goes bad much quicker than carbs or protein. When dehydrating
> dishes, exclude all fat from the recipes and add the fat when you
> prepare the meal. The ever popular home dehydrated pasta sauce will
> last much longer if you keep it as lean as possible until you prepare
> it on the trail.
>
> 2) Seal all bags that you suspect will need a long shelf life with
> some form of desiccant to keep the moisture out.
>
> 3) Nuts go bad faster than you think, especially in the heat. Ever had
> your gorp go bad:-( Pick up nuts on your town stops instead of storing
> them. Freezing or refigeration extends storage time of course.
>
> 4) The moisture content of dried fruit determines how long it will
> store. Over-dried fruit will last longer but will not be so tasty
> unless reconstituted.
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 5:55 PM, Paul Mitchell <bluebrain at bluebrain.ca>
> wrote:
>> I'm also wondering about freshness of ingredients in boxes that may be
>> sitting for six months before use. I've used JustTomatoes products before,
>> for example, and after enough time, moisture, etc they lose their charm.
>> I'm wondering if we make any trail mixes that include breakfast cereals,
>> etc, if we should expect them to not be fresh & crispy after a few months
>> in
>> bags in the box.
>>
>>
>>
>> Any tips on what does, doesn't work?
>>
>>
>>
>> P178
>>
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> ... when your feeling blue, and you've lost all your dreams, there's
> nothing like a campfire and a can of beans!
>   -- Tom Waits
>
> http://kayakbrooklyn.blogspot.com
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-- 
... when your feeling blue, and you've lost all your dreams, there's
nothing like a campfire and a can of beans!
   -- Tom Waits

http://kayakbrooklyn.blogspot.com