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Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Gear Forum Barrel pack |
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05/20/2018 07:58PM (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Question for anyone with the food barrels.
What do you use to keep your food items cold? If you bring anything that needs be of course. Such as eggs, etc. Gel ice packs? Gel ice blocks? Dry ice? If so, how do you pack it? I’m worried about the ice taking up too much room in the barrel and That would defeat the purpose. Any help would be awesome.
What do you use to keep your food items cold? If you bring anything that needs be of course. Such as eggs, etc. Gel ice packs? Gel ice blocks? Dry ice? If so, how do you pack it? I’m worried about the ice taking up too much room in the barrel and That would defeat the purpose. Any help would be awesome.
05/20/2018 08:04PM
Eggs do not need refrigeration. We take a food barrel on double portage trips and simply pack a small soft cooler. We pre-freeze our steaks, etc and let that act as our cool supply. You could also freeze large cans of beer as ice blocks and drink them when they thaw out. Double winner. We do not take a bunch of stuff that requires refrigeration. Too much work and weight for us. As far as eggs just go get ovaeasy eggs and save yourself a bunch of trouble and weight packing fresh eggs. They’re very good as scrambled eggs.
05/20/2018 08:08PM
I have a white soft side cooler I use for the cold food. Fits an ice block perfect in the bottom. Holds ice about 3 days like that. I always eat my cold food up by then.
On a side note, I buy my eggs from a farmer and don't keep them cold but that's a different subject.
On a side note, I buy my eggs from a farmer and don't keep them cold but that's a different subject.
"Canoeing through a postcard" -Brother in Law Mark
05/20/2018 08:39PM
I suggest if you want to take cold or frozen foods you look at one of the Insulated food packs from either Cooke Custom Sewing, Kondos, or Boundary Waters Journal. Some people have made and cut down reflectix to add as insulation to a blue barrel however I’m not sure how well it works. If you use an Insulated food pack just use gallon milk jugs with water frozen in them.
"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” ~A.A. Milne
05/20/2018 09:29PM
If you have a CCS Explorer or Pioneer, Granite Gear makes an insulated food pack liner that slips right in. I think it's like $50.00. REI sells them online. It fits perfectly in an Explorer, and you have a little more room in the Pioneer for small things. It basically allows you to convert your hybrid pack into and insulated food pack for the trip.
05/21/2018 04:58AM
ON EGGS: I keep chickens and sell eggs to friends and acquaintances. I'm not expert but this is what I've been told regarding eggs: If fresh eggs have not been refrigerated they can sit safely for a couple of weeks at room temps. Once refrigerated they have to be kept chilled. Now, having said that--I think brisk morning temps or 'holding' storage of cold lake water are most helpful. Egg shells are porous so any holding-status in cold water should involve a waterproof bag/container. Refrigerated eggs past 3 days out of cold storage is not something I would consume. Personally, I'd use powdered eggs beyond that point.
Kind of a wordy post but just trying to keep you from stomach woes.
I use a 30 L food barrel but haven't taken anything that needs to be kept cold.
Kind of a wordy post but just trying to keep you from stomach woes.
I use a 30 L food barrel but haven't taken anything that needs to be kept cold.
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Sir Isaac Newton
05/21/2018 08:14AM
I put frozen steaks and other items like butter, pre-cooked bacon, green beans, red pepper, garlic, onion, lime, and fresh herbs in this small soft-sided cooler inside my blue barrel. I haven't ever brought eggs on canoe camping trips. We usually eat oatmeal and/or pancakes on those trips.
05/21/2018 09:14AM
mjmkjun: "ON EGGS: I keep chickens and sell eggs to friends and acquaintances. I'm not expert but this is what I've been told regarding eggs: If fresh eggs have not been refrigerated they can sit safely for a couple of weeks at room temps. Once refrigerated they have to be kept chilled. Now, having said that--I think brisk morning temps or 'holding' storage of cold lake water are most helpful. Egg shells are porous so any holding-status in cold water should involve a waterproof bag/container. Refrigerated eggs past 3 days out of cold storage is not something I would consume. Personally, I'd use powdered eggs beyond that point.
Kind of a wordy post but just trying to keep you from stomach woes.
I use a 30 L food barrel but haven't taken anything that needs to be kept cold. "
I raise chickens also. I believe that once the eggs have been washed they require refrigeration. There is a natural protective coating that prevents microbes from entering the shell. This coating has been washed away on store bought eggs and therefore they should be kept cool.
05/21/2018 12:09PM
The 12 quart Seattle Sports Frostpak fits perfectly into a 30L blue barrel and leaves about the top half of the barrel available for other food. It keeps things cold for a couple days, but not much longer than that. We use it for the first couple of meals before we switch over to dehydrated.
Endeavor to persevere.
05/21/2018 01:19PM
I've taken eggs from the grocery store on August trips 3x now and haven't had issues & usually am finishing up the fresh eggs around day 5. For travel, it may sound odd but they are often safest duct taped to the underside of the seat if you have flat seats. Otherwise, keep them in the egg carton and just gently store inside the barrel.
When a man is part of his canoe, he is part of all that canoes have ever known. - Sigurd F. Olson, "The Singing Wilderness"
05/21/2018 01:42PM
I freeze as much as I can in advance and use it to keep things cool/cold. I make an egg bake that I freeze it in two one quart Nalgene bottles. No problem keeping that frozen for two or three days. My 10 year old son also wants ice cold water every day, so I freeze five 16 oz bottles of water that help keep things cold. I've also lined the inside of my blue barrels with a bubble foil insulation and silver duct tape (the true aluminum tape). There's a diagram somewhere on this site with the template for cutting closed cell foam to insulate a food barrel, and it's pretty slick. By the fourth or fifth day things are cool and no longer cold, but at that point we've eaten most everything that needed to be kept cold.
"While Jesus can make you wonderfully happy, he has no intention of making you normal." Erwin McManus
05/21/2018 04:17PM
RE: egg storage
How does 5 months at room temperature sound? That was the conclusion of an article from Mother Earth News.
I keep a flock of hens and found the Mother Earth News article to be one of the best sources regarding egg storage.
How does 5 months at room temperature sound? That was the conclusion of an article from Mother Earth News.
I keep a flock of hens and found the Mother Earth News article to be one of the best sources regarding egg storage.
05/21/2018 05:50PM
rdgbwca: "RE: egg storage
How does 5 months at room temperature sound? That was the conclusion of an article from Mother Earth News.
I keep a flock of hens and found the Mother Earth News article to be one of the best sources regarding egg storage."
WOW! Who knew.
Next day edit: ........but I'm gonna have to test this theory on my own. ;-)
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Sir Isaac Newton
05/21/2018 09:04PM
thlipsis29: "I freeze as much as I can in advance and use it to keep things cool/cold. I make an egg bake that I freeze it in two one quart Nalgene bottles. No problem keeping that frozen for two or three days. My 10 year old son also wants ice cold water every day, so I freeze five 16 oz bottles of water that help keep things cold. I've also lined the inside of my blue barrels with a bubble foil insulation and silver duct tape (the true aluminum tape). There's a diagram somewhere on this site with the template for cutting closed cell foam to insulate a food barrel, and it's pretty slick. By the fourth or fifth day things are cool and no longer cold, but at that point we've eaten most everything that needed to be kept cold. "
I posted on this blue barrel thread years ago on the insulation mentioned above.
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