Yacht ingredients

lustyd

lustyd

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Hi all, a while ago I started a thread about recipes to cook while on board. I've now realised that was the wrong way to look at the problem, especially since most suggestions were to open up two different tins and warm the contents!
In an effort to cook a bit more on board, I realise it's more a case of finding ingredients which will last a week without a tin or a fridge, and without freezing pre cooked meals. Given how warm this summer has been I've realised that a cool box is a very poor option when we get good weather too.
There are plenty of things which should last a week on board a boat in mid summer but I'm sure other people have more suggestions than I can think of. I'll start the list off with the following

  • Real butter
  • Chorizo sausage (and similar dry sausages)
  • Potatoes, sweet potatoes
  • Alliums - onions, leeks, garlic etc.
  • Root veg - Carrots, beetroot, turnips etc.
  • Tomatoes, peppers, chillis
  • Cabbage
  • Squash family - Pumpkin, butternut squash etc.
  • courgettes
  • Fruit - Lemon, Orange, Apples etc.
  • Eggs
  • Dried Rice, pasta noodles, quinoa, Couscous etc.
  • Dried mushrooms
  • flour
  • sugar
  • Cheese - Parmesan, halloumi
  • Dried fruits
  • UHT Milk
  • Tofu
  • Sun Dried tomatoes

I would be especially interested in other meats to use on board - I'd imagine real bacon would be fine although I'm not sure where to get that kind of bacon as supermarkets and butchers only seem to sell the watery stuff.

Simple rules for suggestions - no tins, no cooling, no pre-cooked, none of those meals in bags, pot noodles etc. just real ingredients which will keep for at least a week on a boat on a summers day (like this years summers days, not the last few years!). Herbs, spices and salt & pepper are a given of course.
Thanks all
 
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Most butchers will vac pack meat for you which helps it last longer.
UHT milk
Pot of basil
Garlic
Parmesan cheese
Dried apricots
Couscous
Lemon
Pancetta - keep in a locker under waterline eat within a few days
Par baked bread

Should give you a few ideas

Also there's a book called the Campervan cookbook which has recipes for two ring cooking.
 
Dried mushrooms (soak and add to omelettes. Various kinds available), halloumi cheese for frying, jars of anchovies for flavouring potato dishes. Bacon in vacuum packs. Any decent butcher will do you some in small portions so there are no leftovers. They may charge a few pence for the packaging.
 
I think you are right, messing with cooling is a pain in the back scuttle. Many forms of rotting food on a small boat are not worth the effort.

Fresh eggs will last most of the season as will most butter substitutes and dried milk.

Dried soya mince will last years, as will dried peppers and onions and cheese triangles. Olives in jars will last ages, as will the excellent ones with Greek cheese in oil.

A mix of 1lb of flour 1 level teaspoon of Bicarb, 2 of Cream of Tartar will keep for ever and give you soda brad with little effort. Just mix with water, pinch of salt, powdered milk, and squeeze of lemon (the plastic ones keep for decades) and bake. Add an egg or fat for a luxury breakfast.
 
Sun dried tomatoes
Pesto
Stock cubes
Mayonnaise
Cabbage
Onion
Tomatoe purée

Frozen milk in a cool box takes a couple of days to thaw out and helps keep the fresh stuff cool. I also freeze down big bottles of water, helps the cooling and can then be used for its intended purpose.

Yoda
 
Hard white cabbage- peel off outer leaves to use, don't cut it- lasts for ages. Use- coleslaw, stirfries, for bubble'n'squeak. (Favourite meal on our circumnav was bubble with onion and chorizo added) Ditto red cabbage.
Sun dried tomatoes
Freeze dried peas
Felafel mix
Dry white vermouth to use instead of wine in cooking- more 'concentrated' and adds a bit more interest
Ingredients to make rich fruit cake
Boxes of tofu
re root veg- don't forget sweet potatoes, last forever
popping corn


- and everything else others have mentioned.

(Just did 3 years no fridge sailing)

btw don't dismiss cans too lightly- somethings (like anchovies) are brill. Another favourite meal was pasta, sautéed onion in olive oil, plus a tin or two of smoked mussels. Easy and delicious but still felt like 'real' cooking)
 
phanakapan said:
btw don't dismiss cans too lightly
Click to expand...
Tins of tomatoes - whole or cubes - are a vital ingredient in various pasta sauces: eg with aubergines and garlic, with prosciutto and rosemary...
Prosciutto or any other dried ham vacuum packed or as sold in plastic packages in the supermarket will keep for a long time
Smoked salmon vacuum packed will be ok for some time if kept cool and will make a delicious dish if added to courgettes with garlic and onions and some cream. Serve with tagliatelle and some parmesan...
 
My guilty secret is - Maggi seasoning. Variety of flavours, complete with a roasting bag that you pop the meat/chicken/veg into, then cook. I buy loads when I am in France as they stock a huge variety of flavours there. If you don't have an oven, add the ingredients together as directed, skip the bag and cook in the pressure cooker. You do have a pressure cooker don't you?

Also Butternut Squash & Sweet Potatoes last forever and are great ingredients to add to a risotto - in the pressure cooker :)

Di
 
yoda said:
Frozen milk in a cool box takes a couple of days to thaw out and helps keep the fresh stuff cool
Click to expand...

It certainly did for the last few years. This year when summer days reached 30 degrees though the frozen stuff had thawed in a few hours. Looking at the coolbox tests in PBO it would not seem to be just my coolbox either, hence my wanting to look for ingredients which will keep without any cooling.
 
westhinder said:
Prosciutto or any other dried ham vacuum packed or as sold in plastic packages in the supermarket will keep for a long time.
Click to expand...

Now this was the sort of thing I'd like to get to the bottom of. I get the impression that the plastic packaging actually makes it worse for dry cured meat which would happily keep at room temperature for months if it weren't in a moisture proof container. Unfortunately it seems that in our ultra cautious society that nobody actually keeps these things in the open any more. American websites even demand eggs are put in the fridge along with all fruit (WTF?!) and veg. They even suggest storing opened pickled food in the fridge!
 
We don't have a fridge and been living on board since 1999. We do have a big ice box which Rob built, it has 10cm of insulation all round and will take about 10kg of ice. If we can get frozen stuff we pack it all in with the ice and it lasts pretty well.

I don't put dried meats in the icebox coz I find with ice, the atmosphere is damp and it goes mouldy, wipe the outside and any cut surfaces with vinegar (spirit as opposed to brewed) and wrap in a clean cloth (tea towel will do), I buy cheddar cheese in 2.5 kilo blocks and cut it up into largish chunks, fill wide mouthed jars and cover in oil (sunflower or canola), the longer it stays in the oil the more it matures. Feta works well this way and you can add chili, peppercorns or herbs to flavour it.

I know you said not inc cans but canned butter works well, canned cream (small cans) is just brill, evap milk (I use it for chowders, cocoa and it makes a rich cheese sauce).
I also like it on porridge.

Porridge oats, add them to bread dough as well.

I have a huge selection of herbs and spices as I make up my own curry powder and garam masala.

Popcorn, as someone else has said, sprinkle with chili powder and parmesan cheese for cocktail snacks.

I bottle meat and chicken, especially when I can get it cheap. Tough cuts work best, and here in Malaysia you get buffalo meat which is cheaper than beef.

Eggs - so many uses, cakes, omlettes, boiled, poached, fried, baked, egg mayo, enriched dough, deviled eggs - I don't refrigerate, I keep them in those plastic egg boxes, but I have drilled holes in the boxes to encourage air flow round the eggs coz I found the shell went moldy.

Crackers and biscuits, I keep a variety.

Instant noodles - they come in single serving packs here, with sachets of flavourings included. I add chopped and sauteed tomatoes and onions, one of my friends also adds a fried egg.

Blimey! I could go on and on but I'll stop now especially since I just emptied out my lockers to see what I have on board.

Tricia
 
Thanks for that, what do you mean by bottling meat though? Is that like potted meat?

EDIT - I just googled this and they are nothing alike, apparently bottling is basically similar to canning - I'm impressed you do this yourself!
 
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This may sound a little odd and it's certainly not your typical British food but how about giving Tsampa a try? It's THE most important ingredient in Tibet and while they're probably not famous for doing a lot of sailing or lack of refrigeration it's ideal. It's basically roasted ground barley, looking like ordinary flour. The roasting process breakes down all the enzymes, making it digestible without baking. In Tibet they simply mix it with tea and butter, forming small dumplings. Bill Tilman mentioned it in one of his Patagonia books (his crew wasn't too keen on it though). It's not difficult to prepare but rather time consuming. Luckily you can order it over the net from a place in London. It's also the national dish on the Canaries: "Gofio is a highly versatile product which can be added to soups, stews, desserts, ice cream, sauces, and more. It is very rich in vitamins, proteins, fibre, and minerals. It was favoured by Canarian mariners as it can be stored for long periods while retaining its goodness." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gofio
Apparently it was amongst the provisions on Thor Heyerdahl's Ra expedition. The Berque brothers must have been fans:
"In 27 days, the two of us consumed : 65 tins of sardines, 8 Kg of gofio, 4 Kg of powdered milk, 2 Kg of sugar, 49 litres of water and 30 bottles of Tabasco."

I just eat it after the Tibetan fashion myself, adding preserved cabbage, chili and fish sauce but I'm sure you'll find plenty of recipes from South America.

 
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Tricia said:
We don't have a fridge and been living on board since 1999. We do have a big ice box which Rob built, it has 10cm of insulation all round and will take about 10kg of ice. If we can get frozen stuff we pack it all in with the ice and it lasts pretty well.

I don't put dried meats in the icebox coz I find with ice, the atmosphere is damp and it goes mouldy, wipe the outside and any cut surfaces with vinegar (spirit as opposed to brewed) and wrap in a clean cloth (tea towel will do), I buy cheddar cheese in 2.5 kilo blocks and cut it up into largish chunks, fill wide mouthed jars and cover in oil (sunflower or canola), the longer it stays in the oil the more it matures. Feta works well this way and you can add chili, peppercorns or herbs to flavour it.

I know you said not inc cans but canned butter works well, canned cream (small cans) is just brill, evap milk (I use it for chowders, cocoa and it makes a rich cheese sauce).
I also like it on porridge.

Porridge oats, add them to bread dough as well.

I have a huge selection of herbs and spices as I make up my own curry powder and garam masala.

Popcorn, as someone else has said, sprinkle with chili powder and parmesan cheese for cocktail snacks.

I bottle meat and chicken, especially when I can get it cheap. Tough cuts work best, and here in Malaysia you get buffalo meat which is cheaper than beef.

Eggs - so many uses, cakes, omlettes, boiled, poached, fried, baked, egg mayo, enriched dough, deviled eggs - I don't refrigerate, I keep them in those plastic egg boxes, but I have drilled holes in the boxes to encourage air flow round the eggs coz I found the shell went moldy.

Crackers and biscuits, I keep a variety.

Instant noodles - they come in single serving packs here, with sachets of flavourings included. I add chopped and sauteed tomatoes and onions, one of my friends also adds a fried egg.

Blimey! I could go on and on but I'll stop now especially since I just emptied out my lockers to see what I have on board.

Tricia
Click to expand...

If you want bacon to last a bit longer, go for the smoked stuff. Tastes better anyway. I have to confess to fitting a liner to the original cool box, and fitted a Waeco cool machine fridge. It was a life saver this summer as I lived on board 3 months. It was particularly useful for keeping dairy produce fresh.

I'd also recommend the part baked rolls and baguettes you find in supermarkets. As long as your oven works - they are a brilliant addition to a meal. They keep several months without problem. Beyond that - they tend to be difficult to get out the packaging... though still edible!

Graeme
 
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