Oil Carry Bottles - State of the Market?

[nq111]

What are people's experiences for small bottles to carry some cooking oil?

Leakage is the worry of course. Would a small PET soft drink bottle stay oil-tight over a week? I have also read some suggestions of peanut butter jars.

Experiences and ideas please.

[Mark F]

I use the small flexible containers you get baby food, yogurt in. They a little fiddly to fill but are cheap and easily available. Sizes around 100ml or get the same in 250ml with Macwilliams wine sacs. Sorry no photos - travelling.

[nq111]

I use the small flexible containers you get baby food, yogurt in.

Wow - I never would have thought of that.

They definitely don't leak with oil?

[Moondog55]

All oil bottles leak
just wrap in paper towel and double bag

[Mark F]

Never had a leak but I do pack it in my pot or bowl without too much pressure on it. They are very strong but no point in testing the limits

[Orion]

These are two that I used on a recent trip to carry olive oil. **ZERO leakage**, and I'm rough on my food bag. If it's food that's squashable or crumblable I will squash it or crumble it, sometimes both.




A recent thread on the subject:
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=25786

I also bought some specimen jars from a pharmacy. I tried one out at home and couldn't get it to leak. I filled it with oil and left it upside down for several days, squeezing it occasionally. Then I got too aggressive and squeezed it so hard I broke it! Fortunately they're inexpensive and I bought a few of them. They're perfect for oily pesto which takes a lot of effort with a syringe to fill one of those baby food containers.

[Son of a Beach]

I always use butter instead of oil. It tastes better, is (according to some experts) better for you, and doesn't leak (at least if the temperature is mild or cold).

[nq111]

I always use butter instead of oil. It tastes better, is (according to some experts) better for you, and doesn't leak (at least if the temperature is mild or cold).

That would be good, but won't work on this trip (week-long sea kayak in the tropics).

I am going to hang on to some of those small flexible containers (my daughter has her yogurt in them for school) and try them.

Thanks for all the ideas.

[jaz]

I live in the tropics (Darwin) and carry butter - only tends to melt in the build up & wet season, in the dry season stays mostly solid. In a Kayak things near the bottom should be close to water temperature?
If you are worried about it going funky (after about 4 days in worst heat), ghee is a lot more stable.
I use small clip-lid Sistema containers like in http://www.decor.com.au/product/bright-healthy-6-dressing-tubs-35-ml/
The trick to making them fully oil (& anything else) tight is to cut a piece of baking paper & layer it under the lid.

[Orion]

Butter isn't a drop in replacement for oil for all uses. For many it is though, so it's a good way to avoid having to have a special container.

One of the reasons I carry oil is for popping popcorn. Butter would work for that, although there would likely be more burning when trying to get those last kernels to pop. And I actually prefer the taste of olive oil for popcorn.

Interesting to try and unwind the health aspects of the two. Probably the best bet is to eat lots of veggies and not eat very much of either of those fats.

[GPSGuided]

Oil can be carried without refrigeration but can butter on longer trips?

[CasualNerd]

Oil can be carried without refrigeration but can butter on longer trips?

Generally yes, I know a few people who still leave butter at room temperature at home. Or use Ghee / clarified butter to be sure.

Butter would work for that, although there would likely be more burning when trying to get those last kernels to pop.

Can always use Ghee there too, no milk solids to burn. I think it has a smoke point higher than most veg oils.

Interesting to try and unwind the health aspects of the two. Probably the best bet is to eat lots of veggies and not eat very much of either of those fats.

Current view seems to be that saturated fats from healthy sources are actually good for you - butter, olive oil, avocado etc. Just steer clear of the highly processed veg oil.

[Neo]

This week got a bit carried away and picked up 7 sample jars. Made some spice blends and two types of cooking oil.
From a pharmacy, best price was $1 each (one place wanted $2.99!)

[ribuck]

LOL, Neo, just don't get them mixed up with the specimen jars coming from the Indian, Italian and Mexican guys at the hospital.

[Son of a Beach]

Oil can be carried without refrigeration but can butter on longer trips?

I keep butter out of the fridge at home so that it is spreadable, except in the middle of summer, when the room temperature gets a bit too hot sometimes. No problems having it unrefridgerated.

When walking, I've carried it for up to two weeks without any problems. Depends on the temperatures you're likely to be walking in. It may melt a bit on very hot days, but I don't often get them when/where I walk.

[GPSGuided]

This week got a bit carried away and picked up 7 sample jars. Made some spice blends and two types of cooking oil.

Be warned. Those specimen jars aren't very durable and the clear plastic can easily crack when dropped or forced. They are always sealed in a zip lock bag when used for their intended purpose. I would not take them in my pack, except perhaps for dry stuff.

[nq111]

Be warned. Those specimen jars aren't very durable and the clear plastic can easily crack when dropped or forced.

That has been my experience too - always have a few around the place but I don't trust to use them.

[Gadgetgeek]

I use the small nalgenes and I have come to realize that while they don't leak as such, any little drop that sits on the threads past the seal will find its way onto everything within the same container, so I just don't really worry that much. But I've got a pretty set condiment set that sees use every few weeks on average (not generally walking with it, but as part of my vehicle support kit) So I may add some paper to absorb it, or I might just not worry and clean the box every couple trips when I re-stock. The joys of fluids with low surface tension. We've been looking for over a year for a larger bottle to use in the food drops... so far the best is the 250ml oil bottles, keep them upright, and toss them at the end of the trip.

[Strider]

This week got a bit carried away and picked up 7 sample jars. Made some spice blends and two types of cooking oil.

Be warned. Those specimen jars aren't very durable and the clear plastic can easily crack when dropped or forced. They are always sealed in a zip lock bag when used for their intended purpose. I would not take them in my pack, except perhaps for dry stuff.

The polypropylene ones are really flexible and impossible to break. They cost a little more but not much. The regular polystyrene ones are crap.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Orion]

The polypropylene ones are really flexible and impossible to break.

The ones I bought were polypropylene (PP [5] on the bottom). They were pretty cheap as I recall, about $1.75 each.

While I think they are unlikely to break with normal use, "impossible to break" is not how I would describe the one I broke by squeezing it.

[mulberryk]

Has anyone experimented with the reusable baby food pouches like Sinchies? (https://www.sinchies.com.au/) ? they come a range of sizes 80/140/200/500/1000mL too, which I haven't seen in the store-bought baby food.

[Neo]

My specimen jars definitely leak the peanut oil when on their side. Maybe some plumbers thread tape would help.

[Orion]

My specimen jars definitely leak the peanut oil when on their side. Maybe some plumbers thread tape would help.

You can hack solutions like using thread tape or plastic wrap but it's just a hack, and probably messy. Far better to find a suitable container.

Now I wonder why the specimen jar I tested didn't leak oil? It's a different brand so maybe the threads aren't the same? Mine says "SURGIPACK" on the label and "SARSTEDT" on the bottom.

[Orion]

I gave the specimen jars a test run last weekend. I carried some peanut butter in one, some raspberry jam powder in another, and some oily homemade pesto in a third. I triple bagged the pesto, fearing a mess, but there was zero leakage. All of the jars worked perfectly.

A few pictures:

peanut butter and hydrated jam powder


pesto prior to opening


the very oily and very tasty pesto



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I also learned that the plastic used as the inner liner of the baby food pouches I've been using (Happy Baby brand) are some type of food grade polyethylene. On this trip I had a "need" for an extra 120ml of whisky and decided to use a spare baby food container. Although PE is listed as very chemically resistant to ethanol I know from past experience that a plastic tasting substance can leach into the beverage. This small amount of otherwise very good bourbon whisky was noticeably tainted in this fashion. Quite nasty. Somehow we managed to drink it anyway.

So baby food pouches are good for sunscreen and olive oil, but not whisky.

[Neo]

My specimen jar that leaked peanut oil around the thread has been replaced by a Manicare travel bottle, two for 5 bucks from coles. Currently on a tilt in a ziplock testing for ricebran oil leakage.
Picked up a couple more specimen jars though, one will be for peanutbutter as I just can't get into vegimite after years on mightymite!

[Neo]

All good on the manicare bottle with ricebran oil.
Been upside down and rocking around in the hilux for a couple of days and no leaks into the ziplock.

[RonK]

I can't say I've tried them, but I notice that Strive Foods is now selling food grade doTerra Essential Oils in what I presume would be leakproof bottles.

[Neo]

All good on the manicare bottle with ricebran oil.
Been upside down and rocking around in the hilux for a couple of days and no leaks into the ziplock.

SKIP the Manicare bottles, has a pop type lid that holds some oil then leaks afterwards

[Orion]

I can't say I've tried them, but I notice that Strive Foods is now selling food grade doTerra Essential Oils in what I presume would be leakproof bottles.

They may be good bottles but I would wager they would be next to impossible to clean well enough to remove the scent of the essential oil each contains.

[nq111]

Amazing how much interest there is in this thread.

I ended up carrying 4 kiddie yogurt pouches of oil. 3 worked well, one leaked all of its contents. Not sure why (user error or equipment malfunction).

But doesn't give me great confidence in these going forward.

Anyone tried a small soft drink bottle? Those things seem to be very robust with generally good seals.