Boat Food, No Fridge

[CaptainBob]

Assuming you're spending a few days on your boat - too long for food requiring refrigeration (but you don't have a fridge), and you don't eat the grey mullet that live under your boat... but you do have a means of cooking....... what do you eat?

I keep finding myself buying a lot of fruit that lasts a while (apples/bananas), and a lot of tinned food, plus rice and pasta.

But tins are a pain to dispose of... and you can only eat so much rice and pasta.

Any suggestions? Hopefully I'm missing something obvious? And cheap!

Ta!

 

[Talbot]

find a butcher that will vacuum pack food, it will last at least twice as long.

or get one of the new waeco portable fridges - expensive, but dont use much electricity.

 

[ShipsWoofy]

Before we fitted a fridge we used a cool-box, we topped up with ice if away for longer periods and/or put the cool packs into sailing club freezers when we arrived.

Even with the fridge I drop in the odd bag of ice and cool packs on passage to keep the energy usage down.

Then there is real old fashioned methods such as buckets with damp tea-towels over the aperture, the evaporation cools the content of the bucket.

For veg, we buy as fresh as possible, stuff such as peas we buy in pods, these last up to 2 weeks if kept generally cool and dark. Although I hate the idea, the forced atmosphere packaging on salad is actually rather useful to us sailors and salads can last weeks like this.

Meat is a problem, but if you can make the odd land fall in say a 2 week holiday, the cool-box and regular trips to the butcher makes it very possible. I guess my problem is not really liking tinned food, we do of course carry it, but try to maintain a diet of fresh food when coastal.

UKTV Food recently showed a series named 'The Wartime kitchen and Garden', although I don't generally go for pap programmes like this, this one was actually very interesting as it taught us how war time women (sorry but this is stating fact) preserved food without available refrigeration.

I imagine with the green revolution there must be a thousand books on the subject??

 

[Bav34]

Gotta fridge on the boat now but prior to that Mrs Bav usd to cook up, then freeze, a Bolognaise and a Curry or Sweet and Sour.

These would go into a cool box with ice blocks and over the course of an English week-end (temperature wise /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif) would slowly defrost.

Never died once from food poisoning /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

 

[mollyoxford]

We just had a 17 day holiday and our fridge doesn't work right now at all. It does have fantastic insulation it's an ENGEL).

I took 4 pints of frozen solid milk, a frozen lamb joint and a frozen chicken and a bag of broccoli to fill the gaps. We got ice to fill the gap on day 3 I think. oh and a pack of butter and half a block of cheese. stayed cold for days and days...

I took 2 kg each apples, oranges, pears, bananas (most quite green) stored just in a plastic box.

2 white cabbages, 1 green, 1 lettuce, 1 chinese leaf, 6 peppers, 2 bags celery, 1 marrow, 2 kg carrots - all stuffed into a coolbag - which if course wasn't cool after a day m but it stops them flailing about.

750 g mushroom, 2 kg onions, 4 bulbs garlic in a black Tesco's 'Handy Green bag'.

12 eggs, a 2kg bag of museli, 1lb flour, 2 bags tortillas, oatcakes, water biscuits, 2 1kg bags bombay mix, 1 kg fruit and nut mix.

on the boat already were tins of various fish (for lunch - pilchards. salmon, tuna, crab etc.), dried lentils, herbs + spices etc. half a box of powdered milk, olive oil, olives, gherkins, capers anchovies, bit of rice, 1 pack of noodles.

Some tinned veg was used up also on the last 2-3 days - maybe 6 tins. 2 tins bean mixes - and lots of tinned fruit. And 3 bars chocolate.

we bought in port a crab, icecreams, more celery and peppers and another kg apples and 2 more bars of chocolate.

We had 2 meals out.

We eat salad for lunch, stews for dinner, pancakes/cereal for brekkie and anything else that doesn't run away in between (we are both the skinny eat-like-a-horse sort...). Neither of us cares for bread or pasta.

hope this helps

 

[ShipsWoofy]

hmm, freezing the milk is a good idea. We always have long-life on board for emergency coffee and the like. There is also the option of milk powder if this is a problem. Long-life fruit drinks are also handy, they may not be as tasty as fresh orange, but last for ever..

 

[VicS]

Some ideas

If you have an oven nothing beats FrayBentos pies (We found two will feed three)

Shepherds pie.
Prepare the meat and veg at home and freeze. When required reheat put in aluminium foil dish cover with prepared Smash (Do your own mash if you must.) grate on some cheese and pop under the grill (or in the oven)

Alternative. Use a good quality tinned mince beef (M&S is best) strain off most of the gravy add tinned veg of your choice (baked beans if you like) then as above.

Tin of everything stew.
Tin of good quality stewed steak (M&S again), tin of Jersey Royal new potatoes, small tin carrots, small tin peas any other veg of your choice. All in a big saucepan until heated (do not stir too much or you break the meat up) Make and add dumplings if you like. A bit rich so not advisable before a rough passage. A good red wine is essential too.

Chicken in white sauce and rice.
Tin chicken in white sauce (M&S again) long grain rice cooked until soft (15mins) in twice its own volume of water + a stock cube. Add more water as necessary. Tin peas.

Sweet and sour chicken, oriental veg and egg noodles.
Tin sweet and sour chicken (M&S) just heated, Tin oriental stir fry veg, stir fry according to the instructions on the tin. Egg noodles cooked according to the instructions. Also heat and add some extra sweet and sour sauce. Add extra pineapple if you want.

Omelette is quick and easy. Add lightly fried diced potato, chopped ham, mushrooms, tomatoes according to taste. Freshly milled black pepper and salt to taste. Good to have some French bread to go with it.

I have done grilled gammon rashers.
New pots but if you have an oven do chips by cooking not too many in an oven dish in a tablespoonful of oil for about 30 mins turning once (about 200C). Tin sweet corn, tin pineapple slices. Make sauce by thickening the juice from the pineapple + some lemon juice, Balsamic vinegar and a teaspoonful of dark brown sugar with cornflour. Also grill a tomato and fry some mushrooms.

There's always baked beans on toast, poached egg on toast, scrambled egg on toast

Plenty of pots of and tins of things for deserts. I found a cheese cake made from a packet mix much appreciated once (took all afternoon to prepare though).

Better still find good restaurants! I hate cooking!

 

[Athene V30]

Like others I freeze milk and cartons of OJ which help to keep the cool box cold longer. As going along buy a cheap bag of frozen veg - keeps the cool box cool and can be eaten too.

A frozen meal or two (cooked at home) will last for days 2 and 3 so don't have to start on ship's stores until day 4.

Catch a couple of mackerel on day 4 or 5 and eat within hours of catching.

Then treat yourself to a meal out!

I have a hollow keel and keep the butter, cheese etc in a plastic box there.

 

[smeaks]

go to Aldis and get their lamb shank in a bag swag, does not need freezing is gougeous!!!! (pronounced gowjas) and is very nice with some decent smash (check out the idaho stuff in costco) washed down with nettos best cab sav... is there a pattern here?

 

[ghostlymoron]

We have no fridge but do get ashore every couple of days. I have found that you can get pasta sauces in packets from Morrisons which are very good and don't need a fridge. The carbonara can be padded out with some tinned ham - Hmmmmmmmm delicious (if you like pasta) easy to eat too on a passage.
Modern UHT milk is much better than it used to be but doesn't keep for more than a day once opened.
Pot noodles are wonderful on a night passage - they taste delicious at the 2am watch change and are easy to prepare in the dark.
Bon Appetit !

 

[Searush]

I keep fresh veg & salad in the bilges, dark & cool it will keep for several days. Eggs will keep for several days too. Onions are a good ingredient. Spuds & carrots will last for ages. Celery, peppers, tomatoes, fresh peas/ beans etc will last a few days.

If you have a couple of frozen packs (say chops/ sausages, or similar) in a cheap freezer bag, then fresh bacon/ ham, sausages etc will last a bit longer in with them. Bacon freezes well, & could go aboard frozen to "power" your coolbag, as would frozen milk, or even bottled water for the Scotch.

Have a pressure cooker, Day 1, pre-cooked chicken with spuds & veg, day 2 chicken supreme with rice, day 3 put rest of chicken carcase in pressure cooker for brilliant stew or curry.

 

[misterg]

[ QUOTE ]
Eggs will keep for several days too.

[/ QUOTE ]

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Eggs keep for weeks without needing to be in the fridge, and hard-boil much better when they're old.

We have a sort of "mini hammock" above the galley in Ayla which is ideal for keeping eggs and fruit in to avoid breakage & bruising respectively.

(We just need to actually *go* somewhere - not looking good this weekend. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif)

Andy

 

[mikehibb]

K rations:

K Rations

 

[Amulet]

I have a tiny boat. Can do four days of coolth in the cool boxes between chills. Buy sensible cool boxes with good insulation. They live between the forward bunks daytime and cockpit nighttime (unless under way). Serious Big cool packs refrozen at every opportunity (but 4 days without is fine.)
Fill one cool box with very cold beer + ice and cool packs.
Sometimes essential to drink beer to free space I'm afraid.

 

[Seagreen]

It really depends on the space you have available. I've found that sealed plastic "tupperware" type boxes in the bilges work well for cheese and milk. Avoid fresh chicken as this is not safe to store and has to be eaten. As mentioned above, most root vegetables and eggs can keep for a long time in normal storage. Red meat, and pork can be stored ready frozen, but I have eaten 9 day old pork sausages and lived-no side effects.

You can also make Pemmican - a type of corned beef compot, but veggie recipes abound, which is great energy food and can be stored at ambient temperature.

You can make your own coolbox by stuffing a locker low down in the hull with Polystyrene, first lining it with silver "space blanket" and as long as the top lid is well insulated, you fill it as has been said, with pre-frozen stuff, it should last.

Or, make your own salt beef. Or Salt cod - you can make Baccalao. Doesn't need refrigerating, but has to be soaked in fresh water before cooking. If you by job lots of army "oatmeal block", you can make yourself genuine 19th century ships food, or were you hoping to cross the Atlantic with fresh milk every day? /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Stormforce10]

lettice and cabbage can be kept for up to 15 days if you only peel off the outer leaves as required. Pitta bread is good for 5 days keep all wrapped seperatly in foil in a plastic bag in the bilge

 

[asj1]

Like others have said it is possible , but you have to get ashore every couple,of days or so. Not always easy during shop opening hours and with the closure of all the local shops and even pubs it isn't always easy in the remoter parts.

We used to take a coouple of 4 pint milk bottles with water in them frozen solid and frozen solid juice containers - it certainly helps for a few days.

But to be honest teh nest improvemnet we have made to the current boat is to turn the coolbox into a fridge. Not all that difficult and makes a huge improvement. We also fitted another domestic battery and now just leave it on 24/7 battery drainage not as bad as expected and we always motor a bit each day. With only one battery I would just turn it off at night and when sailing. Well worth the investment !! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[photodog]

I prefer to bring livestock onto the boat... a small pig or a couple of lambs are easy to keep in the locker, and chickens are fine on deck....

We then strip down to our shorts for blood soaked sacrifices under the moon, leaving the corpses to hang from the yardarm....

funny how we never have seem to have a problem with people rafting up too us either!

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[colvic987]

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Searush]

[ QUOTE ]
I prefer to bring livestock onto the boat... a small pig or a couple of lambs are easy to keep in the locker, and chickens are fine on deck....

(cut)

[/ QUOTE ]
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif and I thought seagull poo was a nuisance, a small milk cow is quite a worrying idea. Where do you keep the hay & fresh water supply for your livestock?