Cheese sticks that can last several days?

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Chazz
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Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by Chazz » August 26th, 2015, 7:21 am

I am working on a menu for a multi-day trip and I was planning on bringing tortilla shells and cheese sticks after reading from many blogs that cheese sticks can last for days without refrigeration. So I went shopping yesterday and could not find any brand of cheese sticks that did not say "Keep Refrigerated".

What brand do people carry that should last at least two days without being kept cool?
Last edited by Chazz on August 26th, 2015, 9:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Koda
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by Koda » August 26th, 2015, 7:29 am

freeze them solid then keep them on ice until you get to the trailhead them put in your food bag in the middle of your pack they will be good for a few days. If your camp is at a stream they can last a week or more... Ive done it with entire blocks of cheese and sausage blocks, put in a zip lock and put a rock on it in the water submerged.
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retired jerry
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by retired jerry » August 26th, 2015, 7:41 am

I use string cheese individually wrapped in pastic. Yeah, it says keep refrigerated, but those are just the directions.

I'll keep them for 5 days. I refrigerate them going to the trailhead. Place them in the middle of my pack to keep them as cool as possible. Haven't ever noticed any mold or anything. It helps that they're individually wrapped.

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kaltbluter
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by kaltbluter » August 26th, 2015, 7:44 am

Chazz wrote:What brand do people carry that should last at least two days without being kept cool?
Any cheese should be fine for a couple days. If you have doubts, leave a tightly wrapped piece of your favorite cheese on the counter until Friday then test it out.

I will leave cheese in my desk at work all week.

edit:Or go UL and get freeze dried cheese.

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CampinCarl
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by CampinCarl » August 26th, 2015, 8:11 am

Mini Babybel cheese works pretty well, I like the freezer idea too.

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retired jerry
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by retired jerry » August 26th, 2015, 8:13 am

That's a good idea. String cheese seems like low quality cheese, barely edible. Maybe babybel is a little better?

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sprengers4jc
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by sprengers4jc » August 26th, 2015, 8:18 am

Hard cheeses work well, as they have a lower moisture content. We like gouda but have never done as long of a trip as you are planning for, so can't speak to how long it would last. Here is some good info: http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/blog/ ... th-cheese/
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kaltbluter
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by kaltbluter » August 26th, 2015, 8:38 am

retired jerry wrote:String cheese seems like low quality cheese, barely edible.

yep.
retired jerry wrote:Maybe babybel is a little better?
Babybel is tasty, the kids like to use the wax as modeling clay.

Tillamook makes some cheese sticks that are decent enough.

Then there is Smoked Gouda. The king of cheese.

Aimless
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by Aimless » August 26th, 2015, 9:42 am

The whole reason that cheese was invented back in the days before refrigeration was because milk spoiled quickly, but cheese not only lasted well in a cool place, but was actually improved by aging for anything from a few days up to a year or more. Cheese is one of the original 'long term storage' foods!

String cheese is a relatively soft, fresh cheese, but because it is individually wrapped it lasts very well without refrigeration. I've put it into caches for a couple of weeks before I retrieved it and ate it. The only spoiled ones were a couple whose packages had split open and let in air and mold spores. Due to the individual wrappers, one bad package won't affect all the others.

If you find string cheese bland and unpalatable, try a cheese that is a bit more aged, like a swiss cheese. The trick is keeping it just a bit cool in the middle of your pack. Even if it gets a bit warmish, the worst result is usually that it sweats some oil to the surface, which gives it a sort of greasy texture.

Chazz
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Re: Cheese sticks that can last several days?

Post by Chazz » August 26th, 2015, 12:25 pm

Thanks for the great ideas and easing my mind about getting violently ill on trail from cheese that sat out.

I like the Babybell idea. I'm going to Costco soon anyway for trail food and I know they have those there.

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