Just How Long Will Eggs Last While Camping?
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One of the most common questions we get is how to cook while camping.
Eating heartily is certainly a part of great camping, and starting off your day with scrambled eggs over the campfire or portable stove certainly packs plenty of nutrition for an active day. Then again, how long will eggs last while camping?
Eggs are usually something you refrigerate when at home, so how you do make sure they stay safe when you go camping? Keep reading to learn how long eggs last while camping, why refrigeration is necessary, how people check eggs for safety, why you might think it’s not, the health benefits of eggs, things you can do with them while camping and cooking, and an alternative you might want to consider.
How Long Will Eggs Last While Camping?
It depends on whether or not you keep the eggs refrigerated or not. Unrefrigerated eggs are only going to be safe for an hour or two before you can’t use them.
If you do keep them refrigerated, then you can expect them to remain healthy and safe for 1 to 3 weeks. If your camping is happening out of the back of a vehicle, you can achieve this by packing them in a cooler with the right amount of ice.
If your camping involves hiking and backpacking, then keeping them cool is going to be more problematic. You won’t want to carry the ice and cooler needed to keep the eggs safe to consume on the trail. Instead, you will need to either wait until you’re back home or use powdered eggs.
Why Eggs Have To Be Refrigerated
The biggest reason eggs have to be refrigerated is the risk of salmonella. Salmonella is an infectious disease caused by a bacterium of the same name. It is spread mostly through food preparation. It is considered one of the most common food-borne illnesses. The majority of Salmonella cases reported each year are associated with raw poultry or other seafood.
Those who are infected with Salmonella illness may develop an acute or chronic illness characterized by high fever, diarrhea, vomiting, or abdominal cramps. People with acute illness usually recover within a week. However, those who are more seriously ill should drink more fluids (especially if diarrhea lasts longer).
People who develop severe infections are required to remain at the hospital for several days. Acute infections usually involve groups of people, and it can be difficult to determine whether a particular person has contracted the infection. As a result, severe infections are more often fatal.
Abdominal swelling, indigestion, and loss of appetite usually occur with Salmonella illness. In some cases, there are no symptoms at all. A number of types of foods can cause Salmonella poisoning, including dairy products, meats, eggs, and vegetables.
If the infection is not treated, the symptoms may never go away. In addition, some people experience fever, headaches, muscle and joint pain, and soreness of the mouth, lips, and tongue.
If symptoms persist beyond a couple of days, a doctor should be consulted.
In the case of Salmonella, untreated diarrhea and vomiting can lead to dehydration and shock, which can lead to loss of consciousness, kidney failure, or even death.
It is important to quickly identify symptoms of Salmonella so you can properly treat them.
If you suspect that you have become infected with Salmonella, you should immediately wash all raw food surfaces in hot sudsy water.
In addition, you should immediately throw any food that has been infected with Salmonella into a sealed container. It is important to contact your local health department or the USFDA to report your Salmonella detection.
These organizations will provide information about reporting contaminated food and other types of food safety, including Salmonella symptoms, clean-up guidelines, and testing for Salmonella.
There are several risk factors that can increase the risk of developing Salmonella.
These include having a weakened immune system, such as having receiving chemotherapy, being a child, or having a chronic illness or injury. People who consume large amounts of antibiotics are also at a greater risk for developing Salmonella.
If you believe that you have developed Salmonella, you should visit your local healthcare provider.
Healthcare providers can perform various tests, such as stool and blood samples, to confirm if you have contracted Salmonella.
Once you have confirmation, you will be treated with a series of medications to stop any further spread of Salmonella. As a precaution, healthcare providers will usually recommend that you stay away from foods that may have been contaminated with Salmonella for a period of time.
Check out our article on the best coolers to take camping.
5 Ways People Check For Bad Eggs
There are five primary ways that people use to check for bad eggs, but not all of them work:
1) Check The Package Date: Your egg carton likely has a sell-by, expiration, or pack date to tell you if the eggs are still good. However, some eggs past their date might still be good.
2) The Sniff Test: This particular test is simple enough. Trust your nose, because it’s reliable in this matter.
3) Look At It: If an egg develops bacteria or mold, discoloration is possible. Not only check the shell but also the yolk and whites.
4) The Float Test: The older eggs get, the more likely they are to float because of an expanding air pocket inside of them. However, this test just tells you how fresh they are, not whether or not they’ve gone bad. Even a sinking egg can still go bad.
5) Candling: This particular technique is more complex, but again, it only reveals the freshness of an egg, not whether or not it’s gone bad.
They Don't Refrigerate Them In Some Countries!
Other countries, such as Britain, have stores that sell eggs, not in coolers. Nor do shoppers have to refrigerate their eggs when they get home. These eggs can last several weeks at room temperature, but this isn’t something you can do with American eggs.
Eggs sold like this in other nations are usually produced by chickens vaccinated against salmonella to start with.
Also, the eggs are sold unwashed, so their shells are more solid and at less risk of developing mold or bacteria.
If you live or camp in one of these countries, then some of the information and warnings in this content might not apply to you. However, camping with eggs store above room temperature in warm weather might expedite their decline and jeopardize your health if you eat them.
Health Benefits Of Eggs
Have you ever wondered about the health benefits of eggs? It’s a fact that many people love to eat eggs, especially breakfast. But do they really have any nutritious qualities? The truth is that eggs are one of the most nutritious foods available in the modern diet. In fact, there are so many nutrients in egg yolks that they can easily be considered nutritious foods themselves.
Eggs contain good amounts of protein and healthy fats. Protein is the building block of muscle, and the body uses protein for building, repairing, and replacing tissue. Egg protein has been shown to increase lean muscle mass and decrease body fat.
Eggs are a good source of vitamin D, which is essential for healthy bones and teeth. Vitamin D increases bone strength and helps prevent osteoporosis. Eggs are also a good source of vitamin B12, which helps regulate blood sugar levels. Deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause rickets and osteoporosis. Eggs are a good source of vitamin K, another mineral that helps prevent certain cancers and other diseases.
An egg contains many nutrients, including vitamins A, D, and E, as well as potassium and magnesium. All of these nutrients are important for overall health. However, the minerals found in the egg contain many more nutrients than just those listed above. For example, the egg contains more vitamin A than carrots, more iron than spinach, and more phosphorus and magnesium than whole wheat.
Another health benefit of eggs is the large egg yolk. The large egg yolk contains important dietary fats and cholesterol. The cholesterol found in eggs is called high-density lipoprotein or HDL. This is the ‘good’ cholesterol.
Egg yolk is an excellent source of choline. Choline is needed for smooth muscle and nerve function. Because one egg contains about 45mg of choline, one egg may help lower the level of bad cholesterol in the body.
Things You Can Do With Eggs
The eggs you eat can have a lot of different uses. In fact, eggs are used for lots of different things in the kitchen.
So, how do you cook an egg? If you want to make sure that the eggs are cooked safely and don’t end up with scrunched-up eggs in your food, then you’ll need to make sure that you use the right tools. First of all, be sure that you’re using a frying pan that’s large enough to handle the eggs that you’re going to cook. Large pans make sure that the bottom doesn’t dry out before the next egg is dropped in.
Of course, if you want to cook an omelet, you’re going to need eggs. For the most simple omelets, just drain out the yolk and use a pastry strainer to extract the egg white. You can then use this egg white in your favorite chili recipe. Of course, you can always just drain the yolk and use it as a puree in a recipe. For those who prefer their eggs white, you can always buy them whole and eat that way, instead of using the egg yolks in their recipes.
In addition to their many cooking uses, eggs are also used in various dessert recipes. For instance, if you have a hard time making chocolate eclair, you can substitute an egg for the sugar and water in the recipe. This makes the egg almost a pure sugar substitute. In addition, if you are trying to lose weight, or cut down on your cholesterol, you might be able to accomplish your goals by using egg substitutes. Egg whites are also great in curries and soups.
Use Powdered Eggs
A powdered egg just like a regular egg can be used in many cooking recipes. A powdered egg basically is a dehydrated egg, which has been mixed with water. It is used for its nutritional value rather than its cosmetic value. Powdered eggs can be made easily at home and it is an extremely cost-effective way of getting protein, calcium, vitamins, and other minerals that your body needs.
You can either make your own or use store-bought powdered eggs. Powdered eggs made with the wet-dry method are just as healthy as whole eggs, but they have a much lower fat content. The main benefits of powdered eggs over whole eggs are the longer shelf life and the significantly lower weight per gram of egg substitute.
The best way to make powdered eggs is to first purchase a good powder for dehydrating and then go about making your own. However, if you are not too knowledgeable when it comes to home remedies, you may not want to take this route. Fortunately, you can just buy powdered eggs.
You can dehydrate the egg whites. To do this, you simply have to put the whites into a bowl of cold water and then wait for it to become curdled. Once it has become curdled, you can remove it from the water and place it into a container.
Another option for making powdered eggs is to use a wet-dry method. This is the more traditional method and involves using water and a food dehydrator. You can purchase a food dehydrator from most kitchen supply stores or even online.
Whether you use retail freeze-dried eggs or make your own powdered eggs, this is a great way to pack eggs for camping that wouldn’t require a cooler. If you’re hiking or backpacking, then this also spares you a lot of needless weight so you expend less energy on the trail while still packing some serious protein.
Final Thoughts
Consider how you want to use your eggs. If you’re just looking for hard-boiled eggs as a pick-me-up snack while camping, you should still refrigerate them to keep them safe.
Many DIY enthusiasts, notably ‘preppers’, have DIY content online about storing pickled eggs. However, you should note that these methods aren’t surefire ways of keeping eggs safe and healthy. Also, even pickled eggs only have a shelf life of a month or more, so it’s hard to know when they are no longer safe to consume.
