cheese

Go to "packaged cheese" section, not the Deli, and look for the 1 ounce "string" cheese stuff. At one time it was just mozzarella, but now there is a wide variety.

It may be a stretch calling it cheese, it suffices quite well in the woods. After a week of warm weather the "cheddar" will start to separate, but it is still quite fine. Same with the mozzarella and Jack, but not so much.

Step 1: eliminate anything labelled 'processed'. That is not cheese; that is … I dunno.
Step 2: avoid cheeses with blue veins or powerful smells. Nice, but only in small quantities.
Step 3: Buy and try.

Good stuff, GOOD cheese. Oh, and btw – cheese was developed a LONG tine ago as a means of storage for milk products by peasants in the field. If what you are thinking of buying says it has to be stored in the fridge, either put it back or ignore the label. Sometimes they write that just to avoid lawsuits.

Cheers

Pakitgourmet.com and World Market/Cost Plus both carry 1.75 oz. wedges of good cheese that is vacuum sealed. Keep them out of the sun and you're good to go.

I find that a good hard European cheese lasts a long time. Soft cheeses are good for a few days.

I also have a #10 can of cheese powder that I purchased 30 years ago, and I would not be afraid to open it and use it now.

–B.G.–

Pick any cheese you like. Cheese really is one of the original travel foods. Some think it was invented by people carrying milk in goat stomachs made into "water bladders". The rennet in the stomach linings caused the milk to turn to cheese. Somebody realized cheese doesn't go bad easily, so they started making the stuff on purpose.

If the daily high temps are cool, just about any cheese will keep fine for days if not weeks (even months). At higher temps, it's fine, but like Greg said, some might ooze a little. But they are perfectly edible. Generally, harder cheeses keep better than the softer ones. A little white dusty mold is OK too, just brush it off. I'm serious–read health or gourmet websites. Excellent cheese doesn't have to be strong. I'd urge you to try some really good mild cheese if you have a gourmet shop near you (they'll cut you free samples–just ask). Whole Foods and Trader Joe's are great sources. The grocery stores these days have some pretty good stuff too like Boar's Head. There are thousands of cheeses and thousands of opinions of them, so it's hard to recommend stuff–just try samples and pick a couple you like. Maybe use an OP sack for the odor if you are in bear country. Personally I like strong cheese, so you probably wouldn't like what I like.

Ditto on World Market, they have some other small shelf stable items too like mini summer sausages and hummus. Most cheese blocks found in your local grocery cooler is still good for a day or two at average temps.

"Step 2: avoid cheeses with blue veins or powerful smells."

Especially when travelling in bear country. That is called leading with your chin.

"Nice, but only in small quantities." Nice, period, just not in bear country. Yummmm! ;)

Try cheddar, colby jack, swiss, harder cheeses in general.
All have a pretty distinctive taste, though.

As far as oils separating, you can pack them in a piece of paper towel. When you are done with the cheese, it makes a good fire starter. Place the cheese in a small ziplock that can be packed out. Or, place a piece of a "wrap" around it and eat it at about the same rate as the cheese.

Cheese is high in calcium, many fat soluable vitamins (though not all,) proteins (again, missing a few amino acids) and calories. Cows milk is not human milk. Be a bit carefull about how much you eat, though. It has been known to cause constipation (as with most low fiber foods.)

If you do not drink much milk, you might not be able to digest the lactose (milk sugar) in it, leading to gas and diarrhea. Mammals can all digest this, but loose the digestive ability if it is not used, or, used rarely. The so-called alergy to milk is usually this loss. 1/2 cup of milk per day will let you maintain the ability to produce the enzyme required for digestion. (Adding milk to coffee for example.)If you have already lost this ability, a two week regime of gradually increasing ammounts (from 1tbs to 1/2 cup) will allow you to get this back without discomfort. Your body will remember, in most cases. In a few rare cases, the loss is permanent.

Anyway, cheese is a great food for hiking. It keeps really well, though it might develop a bit of mold (mold is not poisenous.) It's quite calorie dense and has a lot of minerals compared with a carbs and vegetables.

That is a search in the cooking/food section of these forums. We have had a number of threads on cheese :-)

Hi Bob

> I find that a good hard European cheese lasts a long time. Soft cheeses are good for a few days.

I find they all disappear in a few days… :-)
In France Sue was buying local Brie at a kilogram a time. Very cheap over there – but it didn't last very long at all … so she bought some more …

Cheers

While trekking in Nepal in 1983, I visited the Thodung Cheese Plant. The Swiss had been there years before and had taught the Nepalese cheese-making by the Swiss method. So, I got to watch each step of the process all the way out to the aging room. We purchased one kilogram of the stuff and presented that to the Sherpa cook on our trek. Little pieces of it then showed up in our lunches for a while. It seemed to get better each day.

–B.G.–

mmmm, min. 5 years of age is great!!! If you like really sharp cheese, that is. Goes great with a curred sausage too.

As others have said, hard cheese seems to be the ticket, especially in warmer conditions.

I've enjoyed blocks of Parmesan on the trail. I know it doesn't sound as appealing as cheddar or jack, but I found it quite good. Worked well enough with salami (and it encouraged me to keep drinking water).

I like to store it in a paper bag. This helps with "the sweats", and the cheese will be much more appetizing when you go to eat it.

If you need it to last for weeks in hot weather, go for hard aged cheeses in a block, not shredded. The standard Italian, Spanish, French or Mexican varieties pack small, have little moisture content, but do smell strong and often contain a lot of salt.

Great with pasta and/or dried fruit.

Cheese is gear? Perhaps this should be moved…