Carrying nut butters and oils safely and efficiently

[John D]

Re the recent excellent post on gear skeptic’s food and nutrition video, could I solicit member views on the best way to carry nut butters and oils?  For nut butters, the main issue seems to be carrying a largish store bought plastic container that may have more than you want for a 5 day resupply.  I’ve seen suggestions about loading up the old coghlan’s tubes, but since they didn’t work well for me in the 1970’s, I doubt they will now.  A second general idea is a bag within a bag ziplock strategy.  Has anyone with a food vacuum tried making individual packs? I guess the main issue is shielding them from unintended in-pack explosion.

For oils I found a nice soft pack avocado oil at Whole Foods.  It’s a bit big for 5 days, though.  There have been recommendations for squeeze packs on amazon, anyone have any better ideas? I’d like to have a container for about 5 days on a thruhike scenario, refillable from time to time.

 

[Todd T]

I gave up and bought a bunch of these:

Two packets of each plus a tortilla make a dandy PBJ sammich.  I’d love to find a better way, so I’ll be watching the responses here.

[David Thomas]

My most common messy item is olive oil for making tabouli.  I’ve never had a mishap by putting it in 8-ounce disposable water bottles.  Not the off-brand crinkly ones, but the sturdier Dasani ones I snag in First Class or at business conferences.

Buying a whole flat of such water bottles at Costco is probably cheaper than any similar empty containers would be.  The small 8-ounce ones are little if any wasted volume and several of them let my take a few different types of oil.

Not ideal for nut butters – I’m not sure how you’d get the last 20% out of that narrow mouth.

Vac-packing works on solids.  With liquids, they get sucked into the sealing area and spoil the seal.  But if you can freeze it in a tupperware or ice cubes trays, then you can vac-pack those chunks.  We do that with pesto which is 1/3 olive oil.

[David Thomas]

For name-brand peanut butter, these single-serving packets are an option. Once licked clean of peanut butter, there isn’t much weight to the cup or foil lids.
Buy them at the supermarket if you have to or score them from breakfast buffets if you can.

[Philip Tschersich]

I’ve used these. 6 oz per packet is 2-3 servings. They are durable and have a good cap. My only issue is that they added a bit of sugar which is unnecessary and it creates a slightly grainy crystalline consistency. They make a lot of different nut butters including a no sugar almond butter. With a pastry tube and some warm peanut butter you could probably refill these fairly easily.

[Joshua B]

For repackaging nut butters, my wife and I use some small snap-lock containers with rubber seals, looks something like these.

For oils, we usually just pick the size needed from one of these.

[Roger Caffin]

I tried using Nalge containers for sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil plus herbs: round, 1 or 2 oz capacity, large neck 50 mm (2″). This was not really safe.

Despite the claimed ‘leak-proof’ Nalgene seal at the neck, bottling at sea level and then going up 2,000 m caused enough pressure inside the container that the olive oil slowly leaked out of the large cap. It seems that oils will leak where water will not, and that the Nalge seal is not rated for pressure.

Small caps, like on Coke bottle, seal against a much higher pressure (eg fizzy Coke) and are reliable. But getting stuff out of such a small neck is ‘difficult’.

I found that double-bagging was the best I could do. Alternatives are sought.

Cheers

[Matthew / BPL]

I’m pretty sure Yumbutter makes an almond butter without sugar in that container. It might be a different brand. I have purchased it at Whole Foods.

[Mark Verber]

I actually have had good luck with the coghlan’s squeeze tubes. We often fill them with joe’s moosegoo

For oils… <3oz we re-use containers other products came in after they have been cleaned. easytravelerinc.com sells a variety of small containers. When we wanted to carry a larger supply we used to use platy’s little nippers + BPLs lids but these haven’t been made for years. When our last one was lost we switched to some soft flasks.

[Michael B]

Would something like these serve your purposes? We use similar ones for making homemade smoothies for the kiddos, but I’ve thought about using them for the purposes you describe.

WeeSprout Double Zipper Reusable Food Pouches, 6 Pack 5 fl oz Size Pouches, Blue https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L7WLT1P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_X9Z3RJT1FHWHRVNZ06JR

Simple Modern Reusable Food Pouches 10-Pack 5oz – Baby Food Storage Toddler Kids Squeezable Pouch Washable Freezer Safe – 5 Fun Designs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SRSWFY6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_HYREPM2B8BT6NH1CA1BS

[Roger Caffin]

Interesting idea.
I dare say they would be fine for oils.
They might work for smooth peanut butter.
They won’t work for sun-dried tomatoes.

Cheers

[Michael B]

Carry the SDTs dry in a plastic bag?

FWIW, I carried EVOO in a recycled prescription bottle and it didn’t leak going up to desolation wilderness from sea level, but I also made sure to fill it quite full, and then gave it just a little squeeze before sealing the lid to give it just a smidgen of vacuum. Physics FTW.

Another possible option both for the OP and Rogers oily SDTs 😁. Wider mouth to facilitate removal without squeezing or compromising the ziploc feature of the other pouches. More pricey though.

Pink 6 oz Squeasy Snacker Spill Proof Silicone Reusable Food Pouch – for Both Soft Foods and Liquids – Water, Apple Sauce, Yogurt, Smoothies, Baby Food – Dishwasher Safe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01A0X9W78/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_3GDX1KZD3F2KDPBH7JKP

I also use these for thinner stuff like maple syrup (cheap “gel flask” for endurance activity) but could be used for other stuff.

Nordic Silicone Travel Bottles TSA Airline Carry-On Approved Two Different Tips for Liquid Product Lotion Shampoo Milk Essense or Thick Product Home Made Toothpaste Conditioner Body Scrub https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R2KDKG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_XGDFWM41ZTDPTMTJA5V8

[Roger Caffin]

Carry the SDTs dry in a plastic bag?
Unlikely: they come in a cheap take-away carton already brimming with oil and herbs. :)

My current best guess is to carry the Nalge container upright with the lid loose in the back of the car from home to the mountains. THEN screw the lid down, at 2,000 m, double bag and carry in pack – hopefully upright. Will it work? Dunno, but it has a chance.

The next best guess is to buy a small glass bottle of baby food, empty that, add SDT and then screw the lid down tight. Less hopeful, as while the seals on those bottle are good for holding a vacuum, they may not be so good for holding pressure.

Cheers

[dirtbag]

Try FBombs?

They come as olive oil and also different macadamian nutbutters.

[John D]

There are a number of great ideas here. I have the objective of carrying these calorie-dense foods on an upcoming AT thruhike, so I’m aiming at lower weight containers that are easy to clean, while minimizing plastic trash.  Freezing the nut butters before vacuum sealing sounds like a potential winner; there is plastic waste generated, but I guess I have to be realistic about LNT cleaning operations for sticky/oily foods on the trail in reusable containers.I make huge amounts of cashew/basil pesto every summer and have sealed these successfully after refrigeration, I never thought of quick freezing. The resealable baby food tubes look good for oil, as long as the zip lock doesn’t fail too soon, and you store in a ziplocbag or risk leaking bear-attractant in the pack. Prepackaged nut butters would likely work the best, just with more trash generated, and I can only find Nuttzo in jars.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Don’t over think it.

https://www.minimus.biz/oil-vinegar.aspx

https://www.minimus.biz/spreads.aspx

So many items are in single packs.

[Roger Caffin]

So many items are in single packs.
Single-use throw-away plastic packs.
Yet more pollution.

Sorry, but no.

Cheers

[John D]

I didn’t read beyond the headline, but there was a recent story about finding 2000 plastic bags in camel stomachs. Not a problem on the AT unless we start using them as pack animals in place of llamas, but that is distantly relevant.  You also don’t want to wash fatty containers on the trail, so there must be some happy medium there.  I’m looking at lightweight refillables that you refill every other visit in town.  Of course if you carry too much fatty foods you can get tired of them, among other issues.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

So…..when someone says “But it’s SINGLE USE!!!!!” and cries….I ask them: Do you buy your PB in plastic jars? Your nuts in plastic bags? Are you putting a PLASTIC Nalgene in TWO zip-top bags for leaks? You know…that oil that came in a plastic bottle?

Single use condiments are not the issue here. What they allow you to do is carry a LOT less weight, and carry less garbage. You only use what you need, each time. No dirty hands in your food, no pine needles and dirt in your nut butter. No buying tubes that…NEVER EVER WORK and always grease out.

Your vehicle driving you to the trailhead is a far larger carbon footprint. Just saying……

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

As for oily/greasy cleanup? The best thing you can do is wipe it out with a paper towel, then use soap. The paper towel will catch most of the residue beforehand.

This reminds me of an article I read 23 years ago…in Mothering Magazine on when was disposable diapers better than cloth for the environment. And do you know what the main thing was? Came down to water. If water is plentiful, then clean. If water isn’t, then use disposable.

And that is relevant you green warriors….for oily items take a lot of water to clean – and you must use soap to cut it. Soap and detergents are also bad in large amounts anywhere you go.

Nothing is cut and dry in this world.

[Chris R]

Are any single use nut butter pouches available that don’t come contaminated with palm oil?

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Sarah

Do you buy your PB in plastic jars? Your nuts in plastic bags? Are you putting a PLASTIC Nalgene in TWO zip-top bags for leaks? You know…that oil that came in a plastic bottle?
Well, all good points, except that
We don’t buy jam or PB in plastic containers, only recyclable glass
We don’t use ziptop bags, instead we use recycled bread bags, rolled up. The rubber band comes with the mail, around letters etc.
The oil came with the tomatoes, the only other olive oils I buy comes in glass

We wipe anything oily with a small bit of paper towel, then we use that to light the fire. Washing is done with hot water from the solar heater; the water comes from the dam.

We try, we try.

Cheers

[Philip Tschersich]

The “keto” versions of the Yumbutters don’t have palm oil, though they drop some other weird stuff in like medium chain triglycerides (basically a more digestible fat) and erythritol (a natural, low cal sweetener). Better living through chemistry, I guess.

[Chris R]

At least it’s not xylitol but why do they need to add sugar? The PB I use at home is just nuts (and it comes in a jar that I refill at the local bulk store)

[ed hyatt]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Pip and Nut sachets are sugar and palm oil free – if you can get them in the US</p>
https://www.pipandnut.com/collections/squeeze-packs/products/smooth-peanut-butter-squeeze-packs

 

 

 

 

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