Mustard and/or Mayo in tubes?

In Europe mustard, mayo and similar things are available in tubes, very much like toothpaste Very useful for hikers; you can take the components of a sandwich (bread, stuffing, mayo/mustard) separately and make the sandwich when you are ready to eat it. If you put mayo in the sandwich when you make it at home the bread will be soggy when you eat it

Of course this only matters if you use artisan bread, as opposed to American sandwich bread

Are these tubes available anywhere here?

Thanks!!

Mohamed Ellozy said:

Are these tubes available anywhere here?

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Europe?

I can find Mustard and mayonaise in those little condiment packages in individual sizes from my cafeteria so if I need them, I just do a little shopping in the cafe

Jay

Try these .

You have to fill them yourself, but they really do work.

G.

Can you find the restaurant foil/plastic packets of the same? Although you are using artisan bread so you probably don't want plain yellow mustard on it it

Tim

Home-packed mayo for the trail?

Maybe I'm missing a point here--is this just for the sandwich on the day hike, or for day 2 or 3 or later? I can't imagine wanting to take unsealed mayo in a little home-packed squeeze tube on the road for more than a few hours, unless digestive ailments is something you yearn for.

If you mix the oil, vinegar, salt and egg white in a small jar, you could have homemade mayo by the time you got to lunch.

This site has all kinds of small packets of products for travel. http://www.minimus.biz/

http://www.spiceplace.com/mayonnaise_porton_pack.php

Now, do you want 200 of those things? Do you yearn for becoming a mayonaise blackmarket dealer in your area? Do you feel like leaving a trail of mayonaise packets in the woods (despite the LNT philosophy)?



Go to the local buffet place, maybe even in a grocery store and see if they have a little condiment section in their salad bar...

or buy the 200 packets and hang out at the local red-light district and deal.

Jay

Whiteman said:

I can't imagine wanting to take unsealed mayo in a little home-packed squeeze tube on the road for more than a few hours, unless digestive ailments is something you yearn for..

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Actually, mayo is just fine. It's the stuff you mix into it that causes problems.


From here: http://www.dec.state.ak.us/eh/fss/consumers/food_myths.htm

Myth #15 - "Mayonnaise is the dangerous ingredient in potato salad."

In reality, it is the potatoes and eggs in potato salad that can cause foodborne illness. The mayonnaise actually acts as a preservative which protects the potato salad. Commercially purchased mayonnaise is pasteurized and has a high acid content that actually slows bacterial growth. Home-made mayonnaise, which is made with raw eggs, is not safe and should be avoided.

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Mohamed Ellozy said:

If you put mayo in the sandwich when you make it at home the bread will be soggy when you eat it

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The tubes are a nice idea but if it is for just a day hike sandwich you can put the mayo or mustard on, just don't put it on the bread, instead put it in between the layers of what ever meat/cheese/veg combo you are using.

My jar of Mayo warns "refrigerate after opening".
Personally, I would not eat mayo that had been stored in a tube. It appears that the small sealed packets are processed in such a way that they are safe,much like the mayo in a sealed jar that can be stored at room temp until is is opened.

My father, a food chemist, always scoffed at people who worried too much about mayo being a food poison. He told me that the vinegar in the mayo takes care of any issues surrounding the egg used in making it. And while I've never worried about it myself, when I make something for a picnic, I always avoid it because the concern is so widespread.

"Gerry tubes"

We used to use those self-filled tubes years ago to hold peanut butter and jelly. We'd mix them together in the tube, and then spread them on Syrian bread "pita" while hiking. Just make sure you have enough to drink!

Whiteman said:

Maybe I'm missing a point here--is this just for the sandwich on the day hike, or for day 2 or 3 or later? I can't imagine wanting to take unsealed mayo in a little home-packed squeeze tube on the road for more than a few hours, unless digestive ailments is something you yearn for.

If you mix the oil, vinegar, salt and egg white in a small jar, you could have homemade mayo by the time you got to lunch.

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Why do they store unopened Mayo jars on the shelf in the grocery store, not in the refrigerator?

Wow. I find the response to the fillable- refillable squeeze tube idea here to be quite interesting. Dear Mrs. Grumpy and I used those tubes on backpacking trips for years after we discovered them (then marketed by Gerry) in the late 1960s. We also carried fresh eggs in little plastic compartmented containers, with considerable success. Life was good. We did not fall ill.

I would say the only real disadvantage to refillable squeeze tubes is the relatively large volume of gooey stuff they can hold. Good for things like peanut butter and jelly – which themselves constitute the sandwich filling -- but more than a tad large for condiments like mustard, catsup or mayonnaise to serve a party of one or two on a day trip (if completely filled).

Nonetheless, the tubes are closed with reliable screw-on caps at the serving end and seal reliably at the filler end. The screw caps eliminate some of the mess associated with those little restaurant packets so many have advocated here. Also, I kinda like the idea of reusable things as an alternative to throwaways. I only wish the tubes were available in a smaller size.

Maybe something like this would work as a smaller volume alternative. A little pricey, given the minimum order quantity, but maybe the local pharmacist can make them more affordable. I’d double seal, carrying the thing in a zip-closure plastic bag, though.

By the way, I have to think that if commercially prepped mayo would be considered “safe” on a sandwich in your daypack, then a small refillable container of it likewise should be OK. Personally, I dislike mayo as a rule, except for the homemade stuff on Mrs. G’s potato salad, which is wonderful even on picnics!

Bon appetit! (Did I get that right?)

G.

Can you completely clean those little tubes? That, to me, is the danger in (re)using them.

Tim

bikehikeskifish said:

Can you completely clean those little tubes? That, to me, is the danger in (re)using them.

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I've never had any problems with adequately cleaning those squeeze tubes of the kind that Gerry used to market. As for the smaller containers with the flip-up spout, I imagine plenty of hot water would do the trick for most of the edible stuff we would carry in them. I suppose if contamination is a real concern, one could clean these things with a little warm water and laundry bleach -- same as we clean our water bottles.

G.

dug said:

Why do they store unopened Mayo jars on the shelf in the grocery store, not in the refrigerator?

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Like all the other perishables stored in cans and jars, as long as the container has formed a good seal, it's safe.

Most condiments come in a squeeze bottle nowadays. So if you need a couple of days worth they should be easy to find in the local Hannaford. As for a dayhike, For me soggy bread is a small enough price to pay. I've eaten the leftover half of Thursday night's dinner hogie on Saturday afternoon many times.

Dugan said:

Like all the other perishables stored in cans and jars, as long as the container has formed a good seal, it's safe.

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Thanks. I was commenting on the lack of concern for unrefrigerated mayo in unopened containers of any type.