How To Pack Eggs For Camping? 5 Easy Ways

Donâ€™t you agree eggs are the best thing to have in breakfast? We all agree.

Eggs can be a little headache when it comes to taking them camping. They are fragile and you have to take extra care of them while traveling.

Also, eggs can grow bacteria very fast. Keeping them refrigerated is the safest and effective way to keep them fresh but that is not convenient while traveling.

Eggs grow a bacteria named salmonella, which is a group of bacteria that are responsible for food poisoning. The symptoms include vomiting, fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. The symptoms show in about 12-72 hours after infection.

This is not to scare you all but itâ€™s necessary to know how important it is to store your eggs and pack them safely. Although cooking the eggs until both the white and yolk is solid will kill all the salmonella in the eggs but we cannot have eggs in the same form every day. What should you do?

Not only the health factor but you also want to carry raw eggs without getting them cracked. How sad you would be if you find them cracked and the slimy whites are all over the place, and now everything smells like eggs.

Donâ€™t worry, we have got you covered with how to pack your eggs for camping? How to tell eggs are spoiled? And whatnot.

Letâ€™s get started, shall we?

5 Safe Ways To Pack Eggs For Camping.

Keeping eggs intact is more important than keeping them safe as you would know-

â€œStore-bought eggs have a shelf life of 4-5 weeks if kept in the refrigerator and farm fresh eggs can remain fresh for about a month if the pact is kept dry and at a constant and cool-ish temperature.â€

So, now you know what type of eggs you should prefer for traveling. The answer is farm fresh eggs are preferred more.

The roads are not even all the time, and that is why you want your eggs to be adequately packed otherwise the smell of the broken eggs in your trailer can spoil everyoneâ€™s mood.

Here is the correct way to do it.

1. Use A Cooler

As mentioned earlier storing the eggs in a refrigerator or a cooler is the best option to keep them fresh. The study says storing them at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower to keep them fresh in a refrigerator is the best-suited temperature.

This can be the option for you if you do not have a poultry farm near your house to go and buy fresh farm eggs for your camping trip and you end up with store-bought eggs. Store-bought eggs are fine when carried in coolers if you are planning to go on a long trip and do not have access to ice then avoid using store-bought eggs.

â€œEggs taken out of a refrigerator can go bad in 2 hours.â€

Insulated bags with ice can also be an alternative for coolers when you are carrying raw eggs or deviled eggs do not remove the shell of the eggs, as it is a natural shield or cover on them.

2. Pre-Crack Them

This method is a combination of effective, convenient, and time-saver. Try to plan the number of eggs you would require on a camping trip and crack all the eggs.

You can keep the whites and yolk together or either store them separately in different mason jars and put them in a freezer overnight before you leave for camping.

Freezing is a common method to keep any food fresh. By following all the above steps correctly we are freezing the cracked eggs.

If mason jars sound risky to carry around you can replace the jars with a ziplock bag; just freeze the bag in the freezer and they are ready to go.

3. Safe Packaging

This is the key step to carry or pack your eggs however you want them like raw, soft boiled, hard-boiled, deviled, etc. the list is too long. You can pack the whole egg tray together or pack each egg separately.

Wrap each egg in a newspaper or for more protection from any jerks bubble wraps also works. Many food delivery companies use the bubble wrap technique while delivering eggs.

After you wrapped the eggs, put them in a sealed plastic container. Make sure to keep the container with eggs separately or a secure place where there is less effect of jerks from uneven roads.

4. Use Powdered Eggs

Powdered eggs are nothing but completely dehydrated eggs. Using powdered eggs is a very good option for having eggs without worrying about the hassle of carrying them to the campsite.

â€œPowdered Egg carries all the usual nutritional benefits of a fresh egg, without the worry of it going bad! They offer a good source of protein, immune-boosting properties, and antibacterial qualities.â€(view source for more information)

Powdered eggs also save you from the worry of their shelf life. Just mix the powder with water and you will have a whisked egg ready to be cooked. The powder eggs also have the option of only whites or only yolks or whole eggs.

These are easily available online. View it here.

5. Coat Them With Mineral Oil

This is a method to preserve eggs for a long time but this is also effective for small trips. This method will not save the eggs from breaking but this increases their shelf life by many folds.

â€œEggs covered in mineral oils can be preserved from 6 months to 1 yearâ€

Eggs already have a natural coating over the shell to preserve them but many companies remove this coating because they feel this can contain some bacteria in them, and then mark a new shelf life on the packaging that is way shorter than the original.

If you coat them in oil while they are fresh then they can be preserver for longer.

This method is best suited for long camping trips.

How To Tell Eggs Are Not Edible?

We all know now what could happen from food poisoning from eating eggs, you donâ€™t want to fall sick on a trip, that ruins the whole experience for you and your companions.

Do not consume the eggs if they-

Are cracked
Leaking
Stuck to the bottom of the carton

These are the signs that the eggs are not edible. Are these signs enough to check the freshness of the egg? No.

Can you check your eggs for freshness if they look fine? Yes, we have a way to check the eggs for freshness.

Fill a bowl with cold water or normal room temperature water.
Place the eggs in the bowl filled with water.
If they sink to the bottom or lay flat on one side- that means they are fresh and are edible.
If they float- the eggs have gone bad and a bad egg floats because of a large air cell formed in the egg.

Any floating egg should be thrown out.

If we are talking about throwing the eggs away we should probably keep some tips in mind.

Things To Remember

Donâ€™t leave the eggshells or fowl eggs in open garbage. The smell of it attracts bugs and many other animals. Always keep the egg waste covered in a garbage bag.
If you do this mistake then you might need our articles on how to keep spiders away from the campsite, and how to keep snakes away from the campsite.
Leaving your campsite dirty is both unethical and impolite for the next person using the site.
Cooking the egg completely is safer for outdoors as it will kill the food poisoning bacteria.

FAQs

Is it ok to store eggs in a plastic container?

You might face some problems if you store the eggs in a plastic container. It would be better if you stick to the store-bought cardboard or styrofoam container.

Can you pre-scramble the eggs?

Yes, you can pre-scramble your eggs before leaving for camp and store them in a plastic bottle or any airtight container. This also helps in reducing the mess around the campfire while cooking.

How long can cracked eggs be kept in a cooler?

The straight answer would be 2 days. Just make sure to store them in a clean container. Be sure of cooking them thoroughly to kill any possible bacteria in them.

How to tell if the egg is bad after cracking it?

Sliminess or cracks indicate the presence of bacteria. If the shell seems powdery, they are growing molds. These eggs should be thrown out immediately.

How long can a raw egg be frozen?

Yes, it can be frozen as a whole egg for up to 1 year. It can also be frozen while separating whites and yolks.

Conclusion

I hope these tricks helped you in enjoying your favorite breakfast while camping. Not a lot of us can go without eggs for long. Just follow this super easy guide for a smooth and convenient camping experience.

Let us know if you used any of these tricks, also any new suggestions or stories are always welcome in the comment section. We would love to hear those.

Check out our other camping guide and much more on our website.

Until then happy camping!