Optimal way to carry many eggs on long hike?

In the past I've carried eggs (already cracked and without the shells) in a Nalgene bottle. They usually last a while unless it's hot out. I think after a while you have to go to the freeze-dried eggs (if your trip is very long).

It'll be interesting to see what others suggest …

BTW, I'm just converting to light packing, so my suggestion probably won't be the lightest.

I've heard raw eggs last longer than boiled. I would want to take one of those plastic containers made just for eggs.

You can carry them in a cardboard container, well wrapped. Fresh will always be the best choice, in the shell. The shell is what protects them from spoiling.

Personally? http://www.packitgourmet.com/Ova-Easy-Egg-Mix-p285.html The best egg powder on the market, it doesn't taste like dried eggs and is shelf stable, light and easy to use – in any recipe.

seems like a very inefficient way to get your proper nutrition. yes eggs are great … but low in calories, plus the extra weight of the packaging.

if you must have eggs try powdered eggs … like Sarah just recommended above.

I've used some type of egg powder for decades now. The trick, during preparation, is to make sure that you add some olive or canola oil into the mix. Otherwise, it ends up a bit like a pancake rather than an egg.

Another egg product is Deb El "Just Whites." For those of us on a low-cholesterol diet, this is a pasteurized egg white powder, and it is packaged in a cardboard can with three ounces net inside.

–B.G.–

inefficient or no, nothing beats a fresh fried egg in the morning, or french toast made with fresh eggs.

I normally use one of the 12egg carriers, some of these are lighter than other, depends on the plastic. Although for larger quantities, wrapped in newspaper works stuff inside anything you have. I bet you could make a white nylon stuff-sac and wrap them in newspaper, and securely fasten the sack to the outside of your pack for warmer times..

Here's one big big trick though. If you want them to last, buy non-refrigerated farm fresh eggs. If you're old enough, you'll recall the days that people didn't really refrigerate them in the first place, just like butter on the counter.

Once they've been refrigerated they seem to go bad faster once removed from that environment. That's also the only way I've ever known anybody to get salmonella from eating raw eggs.

Mayonnaise is the same way, if you don't refrigerate it in the first place, it isn't nearly as likely to spoil at warmer temps.

Some people use sil-nylon dry bags as pillows. Blow them up and seal them off and they can support the weight of your head.

Do the exact same thing, but put eggs, bread, etc. inside to keep the item from getting crushed. It will probably take a little trial and error with the placement in the pack and the amount of air, but you should be able to provide some good lightweight protection. Be mindful that the item could still bounce around inside the bag too.

I seem to recall that long-distance sailors, who sometimes store eggs for long periods unrefrigerated, say that the eggs must not be washed or they lose something on the shell. You have to get them from a farm where they agree not to wash them.

Eggs will last longest if they are a) fresh, b) well washed in hot water, and c) then coated in thin mineral oil to replace the protectant you just washed off. It really is better to wash them as this gets most of the bacteria off. Then seal them in mineral oil. We find just taping two pieces of flat egg crate together is good enough to carry the eggs, and you have something to burn as you go.

I second the drybag idea, I've blown up a ziploc slightly before sealing to keep chips or crackers from getting crushed. As long as you don't use gorilla style compression on your pack, the air cushion works.

But if I were wanting to take that many eggs on a long trip, I'd use the powdered, as much as I prefer fresh. That's a lot of water weight.

We use either Lay's or Pringles containers.

We get our eggs unwashed, unrefrigerated from a local farm. We've kept them for over a month without any issues. It was the same when I was a kid growing up. Eggs were never refrigerated.

Anyway, the containers work great. Better than eating Packit Gourmets egg powder, or anyone else's for that fact. YUCK!

Thanks everyone for your commentaries!

I plan to resupply every 5 or 7 days so getting eggs from farm might be difficult. Quite interesting to know about the concept thought.

Which makes me thinking I have left some eggs out of the refregirator for 1 week and a half and there are still good. I bought them at the market here in Hong-Kong, they were unrefregirated initially.. well at least on the street. I am thinking how long would eggs last from most US store, giving that they are in the refrigerator when you guy them. As my trip will be in the US.

Eggs might not be very calorie efficient however you can keep them for a long time, I am trying to rely more on unprepared food.

We have used standard store eggs before when we have run out of farm eggs. We've carried them up to a week without issue but I wouldn't ant to push it much farther than that.

If you have to do store eggs try to get ones free ranged, organic, with a natural diet. They will be far better than regular commercial eggs

Lynn,
As I understand it the shells are porous so be careful about using mineral oils on them. I know boyscouts use Vaseline. I would use bees wax to be on the safe side.

"As I understand it the shells are porous so be careful about using mineral oils on them."

Yes, the shells are porous. The mineral oil merely blocks the pores. The molecules in mineral oil are many times larger than the largest pores on an egg, so won't absorb through the shell. Vaseline and beeswax will also work, but both require a thicker coat and may melt in high temps.

Whatever you do, make sure you cook the eggs well. The baddest bacteria in the world is made harmless by thorough cooking. Avoid soft boiled or poached eggs, and anything with a runny yolk. And of course, if it smells bad….

It is for these kinds of spoilage reasons why I never carry fresh eggs except in winter. In summer, I carry dried egg powder of one form or another. It's much safer. It took me a season or two of cooking eggs for a group before I became adept at hiding the "dried" quality.
–B.G.–