I'm wondering about ideas to transport fresh eggs. When you need eggs for baking, I have heard you can store 3 or 4 unbroken eggs in a Nalgene surrounded by flour to protect against breakage. I haven't tried this but it seems reasonable.

i always bring in a couple eggs for my famous crab cakes on the last night of a trip. i have been told that fresh, brown eggs that have never been pasteurized last the longest. i have never heard of the eggs in flour trick, but i am sure it would work just fine. I  just make sure the eggs are wrapped securely in newspaper (that burns well the last night) and that they stay at the top of the food pack. if you prevent them from cracking and keep them from direct sunlight they should be fine for a trip, provided you are in for only a week or so. beyond ten days someone else will need to give you a recommendation.

if they do break, happy scrambling!

thebutcher

I just use the original paper (not foam) carton cut so there is a half an empty egg slot on both ends. To be safe I'll pack that in a ZipLoc. Those things are surprisingly sturdy. The only eggs we've ever broken were in one of those plastic carriers made to take eggs camping.

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I use something similar to db. I buy the farm fresh organic brown eggs. They come in a very sturdy plastic container 6 eggs per container. Just tape the egg carton shuck wrap it in ziplock in case it breaks (never has). I have heard of people wrapping them in bubble wrap--I haven't needed to do that.

As db said the only eggs I've broken are when I used one of those plastic egg carriers you buy to specifically haul eggs. Didn't break alot but still more than I should of.

Keep them out of the sun, and they always last 4-5 days--maybe more I just eat them all before the trip is over ;).

Tim

I've never taken eggs for fear of spoiling. I have seen those egg carriers mentioned by TimA. The flour trick sounds reasonable and may keep them fresh longer.

I've covered store-bought eggs with a light coating of Vaseline before stowing them on long sailing trips to save on refrigerator space. The longest I've gone was about a month: we ran out of eggs after about a month at room temperature and they were still fine.  It's an old sailors' trick but I never hear of it anywhere else.  You can find reference to it in many old books on blue-water sailing.

I gleaned this article off the net, here is the text for storage with out refrigeration, this would be simular to coating with a petroleum jelly.

To use lard or shortening to coat the eggs, first melt the grease and cool it til it begins to solidify again. Dip each egg in the melted grease individually and set them on a paper towel to dry. When the shortening or lard is dry on the eggs, rub the eggs with a clean towel, removing excess solid grease. Rub gently and buff each egg. Now repeat the process, before the shortening solidifies. Work fast, allowing the shortening to get almost solid before re-heating it.

Line the bottom of a flat box with a clean soft towel. Place the eggs in the box in a single layer. Cover the box with either a lid or another towel. Place the box of eggs in a cool, dry environment. Eggs prepared this way will last up to 6 months, although I have heard people say that they have kept eggs this way for 1 year if they are kept very cool.

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flp

great tip seasoned warrior. i sure like the thought of using vaseline over the lard technique from a time comparison.

thebutcher

I have had success with the specially designed plastic egg carriers made for camping.  They still must be handled carefully and watched that nothing gets set on the egg container.  IMO you need to put smaller eggs (medium to small) into those plastic containers.  The large and extra large size grocery store eggs are too big for most of the manufactured containers for camping.  I put the carrier into at least one, sometimes two, zip locks to make sure no leakage occurs into the rest of the food pack.  I use any eggs that get cracked, first.  I usually only take a dozen or less fresh eggs, and also take dry egg powder for cooking with and backpacker style freeze dried egg dishes for egg meals after the first week of being out camping.   8-)

The larger the egg, the tinner the shell.  Avoid the Extra-Large or Jumbo varietey to ensure better portability.

Nothing beats a couple fresh eggs for breakfast.

We always take a dozen fresh eggs on every trip.  We take them in the original carton, put that inside a jumbo zip-lock bag, put it in a paper grocery bag, fold that down and duct-tape it under the stern seat of the canoe.  Keeps it out of the sun and keeps it from being bumped around.  Nothing larger than a "large" egg, mediums would be stronger if you can find them.  Get ones with the freshest possible date.  We just buy them from the grocery store once we are in Ely or Grand Marais.

If the Davidson's Pasteurized eggs were available in our area (our daughter can get them in the Chicago area) we would definitely take those, as I think they would be much safer, but we cannot find them in Michigan or in Minnesota so far.

In camp we are careful to keep the egg bag out of the sun.  If the temperatures run very hot for several days, we will use up the egg supply by the fifth day or so.  We don't go in July or August, so extreme heat usually isn't a problem.  And there are just two of us, so a dozen is enough, but you could easily use this method with two dozen also.

Like others, I have tried the plastic containers made for camping with eggs, and had broken eggs all over everything!  Never again!!  

I hate those plastic egg carriers, and while it seems to be a good idea?, if you really look at them, you realize the hard plastic case just transmits the shock THRU the case and your eggs get broken anyway >:( >:(

A method I used, successfully, for many years, before lightening the load with powder, was to use two foam cartons per dozen eggs. On the outer carton cut the lid off, and rubberband the whole works with two rubberbands. Put that into a 2 gal zip bag. As others have said, keep it out of sun. Very minimal breakage, and if you should crack one, fry it, or use it in fish mix. ;)

Alright I'm going back to the whloe nalgene method. I was thinking instead of flour what about corn starch? I tink it would do just as good a job of safe guarding the eggs. But is more water proff and has a little more give to it. Just an idea from a guy who doesn't bring eggs! ::)

solotripper wrote on Mar 21^st, 2007 at 10:08pm:

I hate those plastic egg carriers, and while it seems to be a good idea?, if you really look at them, you realize the hard plastic case just transmits the shock THRU the case and your eggs get broken anyway >:( >:(

Admittedly I have only used the egg carrier twice, but I never had an issue.

I never had problem BEFORE I used them, so maybe its partially my fault because I ASSUMED they would protect better than my other method??
Portage packs get tossed around pretty good, and if nothing else, I should of put the carrier in a zip lock, but I just had a small bungee around it and when a egg/eggs broke, i had a nice mess >:( >:(
i don't take eggs anymore, but the posts had some good ideas, so maybe I'll try it sometime using one of the inventive ways mentioned ;D ;D

Dried/Dehydrated eggs are terrible.  They are best served with lots of flavorful additions until you can no longer taste the eggs or discern their texture.  And yeah, this includes the Egg Store product.  Fresh eggs are bulky and heavy.  

I don't carry fresh much anymore, just because the 'opportunity cost' of the space they consume in my food pack is too high.  There are too many other things I'd rather use that space for.  So I carry dehydrated.  I wouldn't bring them at all, but my trip partners seem unwilling to go eggless on a trip.  If it were just me, I'd just eat pancakes or oatmeal for that extra breakfast or two.  I'll eat a giant omelet at Perkins the day after I get out anyway.

Snow_Dog,

I have been temped to take some freeze dried eggs.  I was thinking I would use them in something, rather than cooking them as a main course, but as an ingrediant.

On another forum we were discussing the positives and negatives of freeze dried eggs.  They told me that there are freeze dried eggs and then a non-dairy egg substitute.  Some of the people said that the freeze dried eggs are almost passable as fresh eggs, where as the non-dairy substitute, was not.

Which do you use?  
How bad are the freeze dried?

I have used dried whole egg powder from several sources and freeze-dried egg entrees from Mountain House (I think that was it, anyway).  I only tried the freeze-dried long ago, and didn't like them.  The whole egg powder seems the same from every source I've tried, despite the fact than some of them were touted as clearly superior to others.  I couldn't tell any real difference.

I use the whole egg powder in cooking, it works just fine for that.

Mixed with hashbrowns, bacon bits, onions, peppers, cheese, and rehydrated salsa, it makes a pretty passable meal.

Cooked by itself?  No thanks.

The only powdered egg product that we have ever used that we like is Back Packer's Pantry Denver Omelette.  I reconstitute it per directions and cook it over a slow fire (or stove) in a small teflon skillet in a little liquid margarine and we think it is pretty good.  Hash browns are a good accompaniment if you can have those (Neil can't have potatoes anymore and we miss those a lot.)  We do enjoy a hot breakfast, so once the fresh eggs are gone we usually have the Denver omelette if we have time in camp.  Sometimes a cinnamon coffeecake or some pancakes to go along with it too.  Lunch is just snacks, but breakfast is a good meal.   :)

dunnd1 wrote on Mar 27^th, 2007 at 2:21pm:

How bad are the freeze dried?

We're talking "add boiling water and wait" freze-dried eggs, right?  Pretty f'in bad, IMO.  Go ahead, buy some and try it, everyone needs to experience it once.  It won't kill you although eating it will give you thoughts of ending your life then and there.

Like SnowDog sez, the powdered eggs are palatable when used to congeal a whole pile of other ingredients.  Powdered eggs are nasty solo.

The secret to reconstituting powdered eggs without lumps is to first add bits of water and smear the powder to a paste.  It's easier to moosh the lumps out in a paste.  Once you get it to a smooth consistency, then you add the rest of the water in small amounts stirring thoroughly after each addition.

Also, do not overcook powdered eggs.

Somebody on this board recommended the "egg mix" from   (You need to Login or Register in a thread last year and I am a very enthusiastic convert.  I mix these as a paste with a small whisk, mix in a little dried onion and pre-cooked bacon, and fry up the best ever trail breakfast.  I honestly do believe that these taste just like real eggs.

lotalota wrote on Mar 28^th, 2007 at 2:55pm:

Somebody on this board recommended the "egg mix" from   (You need to Login or Register in a thread last year and I am a very enthusiastic convert.  I mix these as a paste with a small whisk, mix in a little dried onion and pre-cooked bacon, and fry up the best ever trail breakfast.  I honestly do believe that these taste just like real eggs.

I tried those.  Turns out they were the *exact same* eggs as i can get from a food service supplier for my restaurant.  The food service eggs are called "school eggs" because the only thing they are fit for (without lots of additives) is nasty school meals.  They came in 3 lb. bags and were at least relatively inexpensive.  The Egg Store eggs had the same directions for reconstituting, plus looked, smelled, and tasted the same as "school eggs".  They did have a designer price though, plus shipping of course.

Snow_Dog,

Perhaps it is in your preparation.  Because I swear before anyone who cares to listen that when I prepare them they taste just like real eggs.

Or, maybe you just used the "powdered eggs" and not the "egg mix"?

Spartan2 wrote on Mar 28^th, 2007 at 12:56pm:

The only powdered egg product that we have ever used that we like is Back Packer's Pantry Denver Omelette.

Yup. We took them on our group trip last year and there were no complaints (amazing in itself). Of course each of us adds spices and such, but we all do that at the restaurant, too. I never eat plain eggs in any form...

-aj

lotalota wrote on Mar 28^th, 2007 at 4:10pm:

Snow_Dog, Perhaps it is in your preparation.  Because I swear before anyone who cares to listen that when I prepare them they taste just like real eggs. Or, maybe you just used the "powdered eggs" and not the "egg mix"?

lotalota, I agree they are pretty good.  If I remember twisttiecollector was the one who recomended the Egg Store to me.  I also think if you need to add a bit of oil to the eggs they are better yet.  I like my eggs and these were easy and good.  

I have had super luck wrapping each egg in a paper towel, then layering eggs and towels in box with towels folded in three between each layer.  I use an egg, have a towel to use for cleanup and never have had one broken.  Bacon wrapped can be used to layer between one group of eggs also. ;D.  

I just purchased some dry whole egg powder at the local camp foods store.  I've had NO LUCK in the past with cooking this stuff and making it palatable...so I did some experimenting and will report on what I learned:
Just mixing as per directions with water (1 Tbl egg + 3 Tbl water) and cooking yeilded the same sad results.  Icky eggs and water still in the pan.
Next I made the same mix but added a teaspoon of white flour also.  This yeilded better tasting egg and no water and they scrambled up looking more like the "real thing".
I also tried the same mix adding 1/2 tsp. cornstarch instead of the flour.  This yeilded a good tasting product, no water, and they were very fluffy.
Once they come to a boil and begin to harden, the heat cooks the flour or cornstarch and you do not notice their addition.   :P

if yer fine with scrambled eggs and can eat 'em on the first or second day of your trip, just crack a dozen eggs in a nalgene right before you go in and screw on the top..... we've never had any issues with this-- just don't be whipping it out on the 10th day of the trip and expecting freshness..... they will keep longer if you pack them around frozen stuff, obviously.....

On my first couple of trips ( a long time ago) we solved this issue by bringing a live chicken with us. Fresh eggs every morning!

The downside was the hen waking us up early every morning. Like crack of dawn early.

She was good in the canoe and even learned to wet-foot all the landings.

Alas, we lost her on Have A Smoke Portage...some disagreement in our camp if she just wandered off or was a tasty meal for an opportunistic brush wolf.

The Beaver

I learned this trick before going out to hike the AT:
If you take fresh eggs and dip them in boiling water for 10 seconds, this will increase their life while outdoors.

On Spring and Fall trips, I have cracked a dozen or more eggs into a Nalgene bottle before hitting the trail. Once I reach camp, I place the eggs and other refrigerated items (like cheese) in a mesh bag and sink it down a ways in the lake. Nothing beats real eggs for the first mornings breakfast.

On this years trip I tried something a little different for transporting eggs. On our put-in day I stop at Zup's and bought a 1/2 dozen eggs packaged in a cardboard container. Before leaving I took 3 small paper, I crumpled two of the bags, placing one in the bottom of the third bag, then the eggs and then the second crumpled bag on top. The eggs were placed in the top of the food pack, this configuration worked like a charm, considering the last of the eggs were consumed on the third day and the food pack was not treated very gently.

flp

As far as egg carriers go—I often take a few fresh eggs to use in baking or some special meal. I save used cardboard mailing tubes including the plastic cap ends. Place a bit of paper towel wadding in the tube, slide in an egg, another wad of toweling, another egg etc., etc. You need to coordinate the size of your mailing tube to the eggs you are transporting of course so you don't get excess rattling around. The tubes are easily cut to length with a sharp knife or a bandsaw if you have one in the workshop. When the eggs are used up, burn the tube and bring the plastic caps home for the next trip.

Canoefly