Cooking oil/fat with long shelf life

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aris

Forager
Sep 29, 2012
211
38
UK
I'm thinking coconut oil may work best. Nothing to spill, and a long shelf life - for instance to keep in a bug out bag or in the car in case one comes across come road kill :naughty:

Also considered a tin of anchovies in oil, but that would add potentially unwanted flavours.

Dried suet perhaps....

What other options are there?
 

Robson Valley

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Nov 24, 2014
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McBride, BC
I store dried Roma tomato in herbed olive oil for a few years at a time.
But thats usually 10C or colder.

The bigger issue will be the chemical changes which take place every time the oil is heated.
Then you need to cool it and filter it for clean-up.
Even in my house, chip oil (Canola) gets full of particles from coatings and that stuff just burns the next time so filtering is essential.

Cooking oil for a pan fried slice of road kill? A smear of deer? Guess the mess and you eat for free?
Canola is quite stable. The Canadian brand, Unico, is popular.
 

aris

Forager
Sep 29, 2012
211
38
UK
I'm looking at the portability issue too - hence why I looked at solid fats such as suet or coconut.
 

SGL70

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Dec 1, 2014
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Luleå, Sweden
I have the making of Ghee on my bucket list. From what I understand it can be stored unrefridgerated in India...
but I don't know about shelflife, though
 

Robson Valley

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Nov 24, 2014
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My brother makes ghee (Grand Bahama) but only as much as he will use in a week.

I suppose the best choice here, then, would be lard.
Best brand is Tenderflake. Rendered pig fat. Sold here in 454g/1 lb bricks.
I always use that for pie crusts.
I'd still need a wide mouth jar to keep it in after use and so I could scrape it out for use again.

We can buy hydrogenated vegetable oil whish is more or less solid at room temperature, called Crisco.
What people fail to comprehend is that the process turns veg oil into animal fat.
And all the pigs get to squeal another day.
 

aris

Forager
Sep 29, 2012
211
38
UK
We can buy ghee here in tins - long shelf life, but they tend to come in huge tins too :)
 

Toddy

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Jan 21, 2005
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S. Lanarkshire
I was going to suggest ghee too. That stuff lasts for years.
The other stuff that lasts so very well is clarified suet.
Suet is the hard waxy fat found around the kidneys. It really does feel like cutting wax when you get it fresh, but the butcher sells 'Beef Dripping'...which is the hard fat that comes off the big dixies when they boil up stewing steak to make the steak and mince pies. It's usually very solid and it lasts an awful long time too.

M
 

Janne

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Feb 10, 2016
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The ghee tins I have seen can not be resealed?

Long shrlf life oil: It needs to be a pretty chemically laden, or processed to last for years and years.
Natural oils seldom last more than a year or two.


Buy a tin of olive oil, of the size you need, store it (in car, backpack, bug out pack) for a half year, then replace with a new one and use the old in the kitchen.
 

Robson Valley

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Nov 24, 2014
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Animal fat or vegetable oil, the life span depends a great deal on exposure to the oxygen in the air. Biochemical fact.
Very, very little airspace is the correct direction.
Might as well use the old stuff as fire starter.
 

Janne

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Coconut oil is not one of the healthier oils. It also goes rock hard when it is cold.
Olive oil is better for you, and liquid at liwer temperatures.

There is one coconut oil (derivative) which is liquid at low temps.
 

Nice65

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Apr 16, 2009
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W.Sussex
I have the making of Ghee on my bucket list. From what I understand it can be stored unrefridgerated in India...
but I don't know about shelflife, though

Really easy to make, heat until the milk parts have turned white and settle to the bottom and pour off the butter oil. Not the healthiest oil, nor is coconut, but with the quantities we're using it in, not a worry. Personally, I like coconut for its non spill, no mess.
 

Robson Valley

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Nov 24, 2014
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I can't abide by greasy packaging that I'm expected to pack away with me.
I have some reusable tubes, like toothpaste tubes, that I can fill with anything "squeezable."
Whatever leftovers there are, I use up at home.

2/3 of the retail olive oils are fakes, cut with much cheaper vegetable oils.
Quite an international stink.

Animal fats removed from air should last longer than vegetable oils under the same conditions.

Nice65 summed it up: we are not using boatloads of the stuff.
Take and use whatever you like.

Deep frying is a real PITA to do in the bush.
My brother has aleays done the shore lunches on northern fishing trips and he's really good at it.
He takes enough oil to be used (battered fish fillets) 4 or 5 times then into a garbage bottle.
 

Janne

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When I did my longer treks in the Scandi mountains, I always took with me butter. Best flavour when you panfry.
Good on cracker bread. I used to let it go soft then pack it in a closeable, water tight aluminium can.

True about fame olive oil. Some is even created by using veg oil, colour and flavorings. Mainly an US problem, some sources say up to 65% of (supposed) olive oil in US shops is diluted or fake.
Criminal!

Know what you buy, research online.
 

Robson Valley

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None of the Greek brands appear to have been implicated in the scam.*
Coincidently, that's all I've bought for years as 3-liter tins.
We've carried margerine on fishing trips. It's whipped olive oil, in theory.
Butter for flavor for freshwater fish like walleye or pike fingers is wonderful.

* one story goes that a couple of American Uni grad students decided to analyze the composition of an olive oil sample.
They got a signature for several veg oils, instead. So they had a chat with their pals at other universities.
One thing led to another and the cat was out of the bag.

* another story of a railroad tanker car of "olive oil." 18 different brands bottled from that one car.
 

Janne

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We buy Waitrose olive oils here. Italian, greek. I like the peppery taste of the Olio del Castello ( had to check in the cupboard for correct spelling)

My tastebuds like butter. Irish butter here.

Traditionally, olive oil was maximum used for one year. From one harvest and pressing, to the next harvest and pressing.
Today we eat fruit, potatoes, grains and most other things that have been stored for ages.
 

Robson Valley

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I buy Iliada and Lefas, both Kalamata. Iliada has a better Kalamata olive taste to me.
They run about $30 for 3 liter tins. 18.75 BPS.

If I was out and the WX was cool enough, I'd consider taking a metal can of those single-serve butter tubs
with the peel away foil lids. Just enough in one to fry up a road-kill grouse, yes?
 

Janne

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If you are lucky you can get Grouse Tartare. Just scrape it off the road surface!

We pay different money here for the real deal. I think about 20 USD for a liter of the Waitrose stuff. US brands are cheaper.
 

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