Milk and Butter and other foods

[duncan99210]

We use fresh milk when available (SWMBO prefers the taste), UHT otherwise. We keep a stock of 1/4L cartons so that there's never too much left over.

Butter we tend not to bother too much over the summer but in the cooler weather buy locally. Not resorted to the tinned stuff but know its there.

We preserve meat and vegs in jars in the presuure cooker during the winter for use in the summer when out of contact with shops - either on long passages or in remote parts.

Bread tends to be of the beer variety - just google beer bread for receipes.

I love tubes of condensed milk - easy to get in Spain - not for putting in hot drinks but for use night rations when on watch. An instant sugar hit of major proportions!

 

[Zagato]

For milk, try this at home before commiting to the boat http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=254278040

IMO, can't tell the difference between this and fresh semi skimmed, Have used it in tea, coffee and hot chocolate for the past two years . IMO, beats all the other long life milks.

Another vote for this.

A good sailers cook book will give you a few ideas on food and the simplest way to cook it. There is a long thread on the forum somewhere which gives good tips

I need to look at it also, I still haven't progressed from Smash and pasta

 

[lenseman]

. . . . Staples are obvious, its the treats that make the difference. . . . . .

I have never tried staples. Whenever I have them onboard, they always seem to go rusty very quickly and I have to throw them out.

Plus they are sharp and hurt my throat!

 

[ghostlymoron]

I quite like Carbonara as a quick meal. It hasn't got a great ham content but keeps indefinately without refrigeration.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

One useful thing for milk are the brands sold as being filtered (I know Tesco's Pure own brand and Cravendale). They have much longer use-by dates than standard milk, and come in full-fat, semi-skimmed and skimmed varieties. They keep (easily) for a week in an unrefrigerated cold-box in a Scottish summer; in a fridge they keep longer. Maybe not useful for an ocean passage, but perhaps helpful for shorter cruises.

Incidentally, I've been hanging back because I can't recall the brand name, but whoever said that overseas brands of powdered milk are better than UK ones had it right. We used a South American brand in Antarctica, and when reconstituted, it was not distinguishable from fresh milk. I don't take milk in tea of coffee, so I can't comment about that, but it was fine on cereal.

 

[wotayottie]

But if it gets really, really crappy, you can suck the milk straight out of the tube. My mate Oedipus says it does more for him that simply providing a lot of calories.

His mother must have had threaded nipples.

Turning to other staples than milk and butter, we carry a lot of part baked bread on board. And these are good though you mayl have to add salt since they seem to be taking the govt anti salt strictures more seriously than most.

 

[Chris_Robb]

I prefer powdered milk to both UHT and fresh milk. In fact I use powdered (Marvel) at home mostly.

I don't like butter at all! I was brought up on wartime margarine and still much prefer the modern spreads, eg Flora, to butter.
I don't think the very low fat variety keeps as well as the higher fat ones do.

Powdered milk - yuk!!!

Margarine - so you are now full to the eyeballs with hydrogenated vegetable oils...... Give me butter anyday - much better for you - a natural product and not a nasty chemically made mash

 

[ghostlymoron]

Powdered milk - yuk!!!

Margarine - so you are now full to the eyeballs with hydrogenated vegetable oils...... Give me butter anyday - much better for you - a natural product and not a nasty chemically made mash

Don't agree about powdered milk. Admittedly it's not as good as the real thing but it keeps forever and is a good substitute in an emergency. I'm going to try to obtain some of the half/full fat versions.
Agree with you about butter. We always use butter at home and never put it in the fridge after we've opened a pack. None of this 'spreads straight from the fridge' nonsense. One of the biggest cons is Lurpack Spreadable - everyone assumes it's butter but it's not, it's a concoction of chemicals with minimal butter content.

 

[Zagato]

Anchor butter mmm My arteries are the only thing holding me up

 

[ffiill]

UHT milk-semi skimmed Tesco et all-you can get 1 litre multipacks and even when opened a pack will keep probably for over a week!
Margarine kept cool lasts a long while and if you freeze it before you set off it will last even longer.
Then of course you can use olive oil on bread and the like but then again if you bake your own bread who needs margarine

 

[Chris_Robb]

Anchor butter mmm My arteries are the only thing holding me up

I think if you have been eating Marge all your life you are much more likely to being held up......