Bushwalk Australia

Now this might seem like a dumb question..... but where can you buy REAL Italian salami? I've read a lot of people take it on extended walks to put on biscuits for lunch, but all I've found in the major supermarket chain say to store below 4 degrees. I want the real stuff that will last for a year unrefrigerated, but can't find it!!!

Find an Italian or European deli. Forget the supermarkets. They may all suggest storage below 4deg C but the traditional dried versions will keep well, although they may get a bit greasy in higher temps. Unrefrigerated doesn't mean capable of handling Australian Summer temperatures but able to handle the temperature that would be experienced in a storage cellar or such like. The drier it is the better it will keep. Ask somone in the know at the deli.

Or alternatively, only walk where it is below 4 degrees! Salami is my choice for lunches, with a light block of cheese to go with. I find that for Tassie, over a couple of days the temperature isn't too damaging to the salami. I am yet to get sick from not having refrigerated it. I understand that the mainland temps are a bit higher than down here and the meat may spoil significantly faster. As Gayet suggested, get to a deli and out of the supermarkets, I'm sure they will at least be able to point you in the right direction.

Mmmmmmmmm, salami. (I'm starting to feel hungry!)

I wouldn't worry too much. I bought the salami they sell at Woolworth's in Hobart several times and used that for a week or so without problem. But if it will be very hot or a very long time you might have reason for concern. A friend took a dried Italian salami chub first through a week in Vietnam and then a couple of more weeks through the warmer parts of Nepal before eating it. That was a mistake. Within hours he was erupting from both ends, although a day later he was fine.

Your friend could have been suffering from something picked up on the salami on the way and incubated by the wonderful food supply and optimum growth temperatures. Basic food hygiene rules would still apply, regardless of location, but more so where water safety can't be assumed.

I just buy salami from the local sipermarket, I only get ones that have been heat treated, but still say keep below 4'c. The longest that one has been kept out of the fridge was 7 weeks, when it was out in a food drop on the AAWT. It was fine in taste and looks, is Don is good !!

Hans Striker Salami is good comes in 15g sticks and does not require refrigeration, A bit expensive though.

http://www.hans.com.au/Products/Salami/ ... ks15g.aspx

Thank Corvus

yes i always ignore the refridgeration advice on packets. But can you salami afficionados please explain why I should feel inferior by using pre-sliced salami? I think it was another thread on this site. When hiking I do like to feel one of the bushwalking 'in' crowd!
David

I don't know about the 'inferior' but pre-sliced salami gives a greater area of exposure to pathogens etc and hence a greater risk to your digestive stability.... If the pre-sliced is vacuum packed at production, then it should be ok for quite some time until you open it and expose it to air. Once open, refrigeration is recommended to reduce the growth potential of bugs, and that is the difficulty in a pack on the track

As anne3 has noted

I just buy salami from the local sipermarket, I only get ones that have been heat treated, but still say keep below 4'c. The longest that one has been kept out of the fridge was 7 weeks, when it was out in a food drop on the AAWT. It was fine in taste and looks, is Don is good !!

while ever it remains sealed from the world it should be fine. Its what happens after you open it that is the concern.

davids wrote:yes i always ignore the refridgeration advice on packets. But can you salami afficionados please explain why I should feel inferior by using pre-sliced salami? I think it was another thread on this site. When hiking I do like to feel one of the bushwalking 'in' crowd!
David

Because when you end up with explosive diarrhea and shower it all over the Lake Windemere toilets rendering them unusable you wont be part of the bushwalking 'in' crowd anymore.

I was walking with a mate who thought pre-sliced salami was the best thing since sliced bread. He has since changed his opinion.

I usually take pre-sliced salami, and have never had a problem with it. But I've never been part of the 'in' crowd.

You could end up joining the Soggy Bottom Boys
How many rolls do you carry? (I'm sure the bush will forgive a few handfuls of fern or spag moss)

Son of a Beach wrote:I usually take pre-sliced salami, and have never had a problem with it. But I've never been part of the 'in' crowd.

Nik,
How many days have you carried sliced salami for and was that perhaps why one day you were "caught short" and needed to cleanse your "date" with SNOW
corvus

heheh... no I was caught short when I'd left my toilet paper in the hut while doing a day walk. Was just a normal dump too, not the trots.

Turned out to be a good thing on that occasion - learning that snow really is better than toilet paper.

I've carried pre-sliced salami on a 12 day walk. I can't remember how many days we used it for, but it would have been around 6 or 10 days. It was separated into two or three zip-lock bags (reasonably well sealed) each of which did not get opened until the previous one was empty. I was also quite confident that there would not be a lot of warm weather (quite common when traversing along the tops of mountain ranges in Tassie, of course).

Snow better than tp? It depends on the snow. Hard crusty snow, not so good (ouch). Champagne powder, definately a poor choice, it just clogs things up.

I sometimes buy packaged pre-sliced salami that does not require refrigeration. It keeps that way for months and once opened is okay for two or three days.

Orion wrote:Snow better than tp? It depends on the snow. Hard crusty snow, not so good (ouch). Champagne powder, definately a poor choice, it just clogs things up.

I sometimes buy packaged pre-sliced salami that does not require refrigeration. It keeps that way for months and once opened is okay for two or three days.

Starting to read this topic from this post is not such a good idea. It brings to mind a visionary use for salami that I could do without. Like, I hope that wasn't a hot pepperoni salami, or the walking speed could have been affected by the consequences of your "actions".

Son of a Beach wrote:Turned out to be a good thing on that occasion - learning that snow really is better than toilet paper.

There are some parts of my body that just don't do those sorts of temperatures.

tasadam - yes, it was poor forethought that went into that juxtaposition of comments.
I hope it doesn't put you off from enjoying your favorite bushwalking snacks.

Your post recalls a favorite old tune: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It7107ELQvY

Basically a fortified salami doesn't need refrigeration, these are dried and cured. The best ones do this with a good balance of spices to avoid using a preservative agent.
You cannot buy these pre-sliced. as gayet said, the more surface area the higher the chance of contamination.

Go to a good european deli and they will be hanging up. I usually buy in a chunk and use about half a cm a day, usually with a triangle of soft cheese and fresh tomato for the first 2 or 3 days.
Theoretically they could last for years.

NB: When I way 'pre-sliced', I do not mean bought in a pre-sliced package. I mean proper salami bought from a deli where I got them to slice it for me (then I pack it in zip lock bags after being sliced).

stepbystep wrote:Basically a fortified salami doesn't need refrigeration, these are dried and cured. The best ones do this with a good balance of spices to avoid using a preservative agent.
You cannot buy these pre-sliced. as gayet said, the more surface area the higher the chance of contamination.

Gallo sells pre-sliced packages of their dry Italian salami here in the US. The whole chubs are covered in a white moldy skin and do not require refrigeration. The pre-sliced packages of the same salami also do not require refrigeration, until they're opened.

Salami like this may not go bad after months or years of storage but they do continue to dry out. I find that after a certain period of time I no longer like the texture.

I just took some sliced salami from the deli on a 14 day trip, and had it on my lunch approximately every second day up until about day 12. No problems. Note that I had it separated into 2 zip lock bags, and did not open the second bag until the first one was finished. Same with cheese and butter (although I've had cheese and butter go a bit separated in hot weather on some walks, so this may be only suitable for cooler climates, like Tasmania).