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      What kind of cheese for camping?     

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Iowan
Guest Paddler
  
05/28/2017 05:04AM  

To those who like to take cheese camping with no refrigeration. Most of the labels say refrigerate after 2 hours. I've used Babybel wrapped in wax for a week but even that says to keep refrigerated.

What cheese works best for you with no refrigeration?
 
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marsonite
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05/28/2017 07:32AM  
Never worried too much about cheese. I have never had a problem. Never had cheese mold on a trip even once. My favorite cheese is extra sharp cheddar which we eat early in the trip. Swiss really travels pretty well. Vincent gouda is a hard gouda type cheese that also travels well.

I keep my cheese in a "swamp cooler", that is a leg of a pair of blue jeans which gets dunked in the lake and hung in the wind in a shady spot when in camp. Provided the weather isn't super hot and humid, even sharp cheddar stays cool.
 
05/28/2017 09:59PM  
I try to consume all cheese by the end of day 3 when kept in my soft cooler. The exception is mozzerella string cheese. 1,000 years from now archeologists will find the stuff and be able to eat it.
 
05/28/2017 10:08PM  
block cheddar cheese from WI. somehow we've kept this cheese 8 days before it starts to squish a bit.
 
Loony_canoe
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05/29/2017 07:50AM  
This is just how I do it, I'm not suggesting my gastronomical experience will work with everyone. I'm not worried about cheese going "bad", the aging process used in producing cheese limits the critters living in it. I keep it as cool as I can and out of the sun. For me as long as I can scrape off the mold, I call it good. Just to add, I take cheese on all trips and have it throughout the week. Drier cheeses are better, like sharp cheddar. Normally I buy plastic wrapped block cheese. I prefer Kraft.
I have also seen at many vendors dried grated cheese which will last years, but as expected, its pricy.
 
billconner
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05/29/2017 10:45AM  
I'm with loony. Cheddar, Swiss, havarti, gouda, parmesan, and even brie have been in my pack. All good. Not bothered by the separation - might use that on pizza. One of my favorite "accidental" meals was last day. Had one more pizza dough mix and a bunch of cheeses, no sauce or meat or veggies. Made the dough, pushed the different cheeses into it in the JMO, I think I had a foil pack of chicken also. My son and I still talk about how good it was.
 
andym
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05/29/2017 02:03PM  
We take a variety of cheeses and eat the softer ones first. Sharp cheddar plays an important role around the middle of a trip. By the end it is really hard cheeses such as Parmesean and Mimolette. And our trips are around 10 days long. A fine, hard cheese by the side of a lake on that last day can be truly wonderful.

Cheese is just a great camping food.

Never used a swamp cooler but it's an interesting idea.
 
05/29/2017 07:21PM  
I brought 3 different cheeses on my last trip. All were fine. Cheese is about the last thing I worry about.
 
BobDobbs
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05/30/2017 11:33AM  
cheese stix last a few days - easy. Even longer if your tripping in Spring/fall. Lately we've been seeing types other than just Moz at the grocery.

grated Parm/Romano/Pecorino will last just about as long as you care to trip - even in summer. We usually fill a couple small containers and then vacum pack another couple containers worth for refills.

Kraft/Velveeta cheese sauce that comes in the box of mac is something that we almost never eat at home, but look forward to every trip.

Personally I wouldn't bring a big hunk and expect it to last long, but then again, we don't basecamp and as such don't have a good way to keep it cool. YMMV.
 
06/01/2019 07:36AM  
I bring a good size block of sharp cheddar and a bunch of smoked mozzarella sticks. I guess I never even considered it going bad. I just throw it in the food pack and eat it when I want. Most trips are colder but the hot days the cheese gets really soft but it still tastes delicious.
 
straighthairedcurly
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06/02/2019 10:43AM  
Always carry sharp cheddar. Eat it for lunch the first week and after that just use it for cooking. Gets really greasy but never moldy.

For really long trips, carry blocks of American/Velveeta type cheese. That stuff never seems to go bad.
 
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