Spam Longevity

Im trying to find some new food for my backpacking trips. I've been using MRE's for a long time but im find that I grow tired of the same flavours.

I thought I would try some Idahoan Instant mashed potatoes, some olive oil and maybe some spam and dehydrated corn.

I've never had olive oil before so that will be a first, and Spam I havent tried in years.

Spam has a single serving pouch that Im considering, however I only want to use about half the package. Im curious if it will last until the next evening.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

I plan on using the rest with some Ramen, does spam just need to be heated? or do i need to boil for a min before I add contents?

I don't eat spam, but there isn't much you can do to it. I would be more concerned about the contents leaking all over my equipment. Spam is already cooked (and thoroughly preserved) so you just need to get it to the temperature you want to eat it at. I guess if I had left it out a couple days and it smelled ok, then I would boil it extra long just in case.

If you are concerned you could use pre-cooked bacon instead:
https://www.amazon.com/Hormel%C2%AE-Black-Label-Fully-Cooked/dp/B00F54QG1S

I can't believe that anyone still eats this stuff! If there's any real meat in it, it's very well-hidden! It was, of course, a staple back in my childhood (1940s). My stomach turns just thinking about it.

I have been told that Spam is extremely popular in all the Pacific islands, including Hawaii. I hear it is still "a thing" in the upper Midwest, too. Anyway, it contains calories, which is a trait you generally want in food.

Bear in mind that once you open the package of Spam the pre-cooked element is no longer providing food safety. A better question would be: If I left an opened package of Spam at room temperature for a day, would bacteria grow on it. I'm guessing that the answer for that one is yes indeed.

In food science classes they have the 4 hours and 40 degrees rules. Never leave anything that can grow bacteria for more than 4 hours at a temperature above 40 degrees and below 140 degrees F.

Bad things happen.

That was more or less my thought. I never really cared for spam myself but I was looking for something to add to the mashed potatoes and ramen. I'm a pretty picky eater and it's so hard to find food that doesn't require much cooking.

Very popular in Russia as well. They started eating it during WWII when they traded with our GI's, been in love with it since.

Well, if you were totin' MRE's (pretty damn heavy at 1 lb each) try PACE pre-cooked pouches. I will carry them on a weekend trip, or for the first day of a long trip. Lots of flavor choices, can eat them cold if need be, and weigh less than 1 lb!

If I remember correctly, my last 5day trip was 16lbs of Mre's. O.o that was 2 meals per day plus snacks. Im still a beginner with only military experience. The trip before that was the same trail with 5 meals and crappie snacks...the nice think was not having to bring the stove. I'm learning.

Trust me, we've all been there. BKpng is all about what's important to you. I enjoy food, so I will pack a little heavier in that area than others. I know a couple who enjoys a good wine, so they will cut back on other things so they can take a bottle or two. If you're cranky skimping on something then the trip is going to be miserable.

To accomplish my goals I cut back on my pack weight, when I started I had a 10 lb exterior frame back, cut it back to a 5 lb Gregory internal, now I have a 11-1/4 oz homemade pack. My tent went from 5 lb to 2 lb. I have to have a pillow (side sleeper) so I made a 5 oz pillow out of batting that fits me perfect.

Just keep at it, you will get there. One of my guru's told me to track what I pack and use, at the end of the season question everything that I never used. Took my pack weight from 30 lb down to 18 - with my food!

Id like to get to about 30lbs for everything, last time my pack was close to 36lbs without water, it was the dry season in zion so i carried 7 liters of water on some parts.

You can do it, dropping 6 lbs is easy if you just look at what you're packing, and look for lighter alternatives. Look in the DIY section here for gear you can make, homemade is lots lighter than store-bought in many cases. I carry a 2-oz cat stove, use yellow HEAT for fuel, low-cost, quick heating, and doesn't leave soot on the bottom.

Look at the 27 lb., 7 day gear list on the home page of this site for ideas. Specifically for food, in addition to investigating the many freeze-dried options available and home dehydration (I use a combination of the two), there are supermarket ingredients on which you can base lightweight meals--see "Sarbar's" Trail Cooking website.

No way will I ever try to carry meals containing fluid unless it's just for an overnighter!

I agree with your supposition, however I think the answer to your question is unlikely:

http://shelflifeadvice.com/content/can-i-tell-if-food-safe-or-unsafe-eat-way-it-looks-and-smells

Certainly your advice on proper food handling is safer and perhaps in the backpacking environment the added risk of food poisoning is not worth it.

Overall the advice (from many respondents) to stay away from spam is something I agree with. I think there are much better "meat" options: pre-cooked bacon, hard salami, freeze dried meats. IMHO all taste better and are more shelf stable.

Spam is very salty and salt is a preservative. It also has nitrates. I doubt it would go bad in a day. Do a test at home. Leave it out two days and eat it. At least if you get sick you can to do the doctor.

That old 4 hour rule has been discredited. There is bacteria on anything left out in the air the minute it gets left out. What makes you sick is not bacteria, per se, but the amount of bacteria and type. There is no general rule that fits all foods.

This brings up another backpack food item - cheese. If my cheese gets moldy, I just cut off the mold and eat the rest. Same with bread. Never had any problem with that. My husband is horrified by this! But then he is allergic to mold and I am not.

So your individual tolerance for bad food may also be a factor.

I did get food poisoning once, in Peru. Nasty, nasty!!

I've had it three times (never backpacking.) All three times had to do with people who did not store their food properly before serving--once in Peru. once in Italy, and once right here in the good ol' USA.

Nasty doesn't come close to describing it.

As per the health department in New South Wales, the 4-hour rule is still very much being taught/observed/enforced...

http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/_Documents/retail/4_hour_2_hour.pdf

I feel compelled to leave this here:

Monty Python - Spam

I've never been a fan of anything freeze dried, except maybe strawberries in Honey Bunches of Oats, lol. And they dont even taste like strawberries anymore when you eat them.

You guys did mention salami which would be much tastier. I was looking for a summer sausage with cheddar for a long time but I cant find any anymore, not sure how either would keep. I do plan on trying the food before I take it with me.

I would think that Spam would keep at least as long as Fruitcake.

Is that what's meant by "damning with faint praise"?

Stale fruitcake can be resurrected by wrapping in brandy-soaked cheesecloth for a week or two, then steaming it and serving it with hard sauce (containing more brandy).

I'm not sure the same can be said of Spam!

Actually, the fruitcake is still bad, it's just that with all the brandy you really don't care anymore.

I think many of us could be resurrected the same way!

Hey, I am one of those rare people who LIKES fruitcake.

Back to Spam, last year I found spam cubes in little snack packs (at Walmart). I bought one and tried it. Not bad; not great. But the packet was just the right size for one meal. More expenive this way, but you do not have to worry about spoiling. It was in the aisle with those packets of tuna in a bag without the water.

We ate Spam when I was growing up. Quite popular in the 50's. Along with Velveeta, Jello, canned spaghetti. I think it was the era of fake food.

For those who think Spam is junk, I would say bacon is about the same. May taste better but still just a lot of fat and chemicals.

At one time there were a lot of pouch choices - beef, sausage, ham. Apparently not popular enough to keep them going.

My mother used to get fruitcake for Christmas, but the one that she bought was mostly candied fruit and nuts with little cake. I always enjoyed that one, but wasn't so thrilled with some of the other fruitcakes. None the less, Logan Bread is very similar to fruitcake and I like it as trail food. A little brandy on Logan Bread might not be a bad idea.

The fruitcake I used to make was mostly raisins, golden raisins, dried currants, nuts and candied cherries (I used some candied citron but not much). Lots of butter and eggs to hold it together, not much flour. It was very moist and heavy! It was supposed to be made about 6 weeks ahead and kept wrapped in layers of cheesecloth soaked in brandy. On Christmas Day I would warm it up and serve it flaming (more brandy!) for dessert. Although the fruitcake was big, it generally disappeared before Epiphany (January 6). I haven't even thought about making it since my kids left home, a long time ago.

It would actually make a good concentrated snack food for backpacking, in small slices, and (at least for me) without the brandy. I prefer to eat the nuts and dried frut separately, though.

Wasn't it Garrison Keillor who joked that there was actually only one fruitcake in the US, and that one kept being re-gifted from person to person over the years?

US? I thought it was the world! I understand that it was brought to the baby Jesus iby the fourth maji. Joseph left it behind when they went to Egypt, Herod found it and gave it to his wife, its been regifted ever since.

Spam should hold up for several hours, IMHO. Until the seal is broken, it should be close to sterile, then you would need to try to contaminate it as little as possible. As already mentioned, it is loaded with sodium and precooked.

That said, you are looking at some new backpacking foods. Consider ordering a #10 can of Mountain House Rice with Chicken, which right now is selling at under $16 dollars. Stir and divvy the mix into 10 small bags. I use repurposed (clean) mylar snack bags, such as from potato chips. This particular meal has no veggies and too little protein, again, IMHO, but it makes a great base. Most of the MH meals that I have tried do rehydrate easily and well, and have plenty of sauce for flavor. Plan to add in more protein and assorted vegetables. I can easily think up combinations that could provide at least 10 (actually more, but I think there are 10 "servings" in the can.) Cook and dehydrate at least 2.5 pounds of ground chicken or ground turkey to add to your 10 little bags and buy or dehydrate your veggies of choice. I have a very nice dehydrator but have also had good luck with buying dried vegetables through Amazon's Subscribe and Save, and more recently from a small company called Valley Foods, who may still be featuring sales. Add some beans, maybe corn, peppers, and chicken or turkey plus some chili powder and cumin for "Santa Fe Rice and Chicken," Broccoli, and chicken, maybe with Parmesan for Chicken Divan, spinach, Parmesan, and chicken for Chicken and Rice Florentine, etc. You can easily come up with a lot of variations that are fast trail treats.

Cheers!

CamperMom