1 Lambert: Two weeks of searching and still no sign of that secret dwarven passage through the Orcrift Mountains.
2 Alvissa: Our supplies are down to hardtack.
2 Lambert: Hardtack?! Bleah! What did you get that for?
3 Alvissa: What if we get stuck in a storm, and can't start a fire? We still need to eat.
4 Lambert: "Can't start a fire"?? We have Kyros!
4 Alvissa: Yes. I got double rations.
4 Kyros: You need some fire?

Is there any safe answer to that question?

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2015-08-15 Rerun commentary: Hardtack is essentially a hard biscuit made of flour and water, maybe with a pinch of salt, with no leavening agent or sugar. It ends up hard and dry, and has no ingredients that readily spoil, go rancid, or encourage bacterial growth or mould. As such, it can last a very long time if kept dry. The Wikipedia article linked above has photos of hardtack made in 1852, currently on display in museums, and it still looks as delicious as the day it was made!

(That is, not very delicious at all...)

Interestingly, that article seems to assert that most, perhaps up to 98%, of all hardtack produced today is used in Alaska, where people apparently eat the stuff willingly.