How do you stock your galley when not cruising?

[texwards]

It will be a while before we are able to cast our lines and set sail for any length of time. For now, I am rebuilding my galley and would like to make it as efficient as possible for our current usage. What rations do you recommend stay on the boat at all time - keeping her always prepared for the weekend sail?

[SV THIRD DAY]

RUM.

[texwards]

rum rack....check

[Liunatic]

Hi Tex --

I have a couple of air-tight containers that fit nicely in one of my cupboards. They are clear plastic so I can see thru them, and I keep leftover crackers, cookies, nuts, that type of stuff in them. Because they are airtight, the stuff doesn't go stale, I can quickly see what's in them because they are clear. They are adequately sized, that they can fit a few different things, i.e., a sleeve of unfinished crackers, a half-eaten bag of almonds, some cookies wrapped in plastic, all in one container. That way there is always SOMETHING to nosh on.

We like to keep a stash of beer and wine onboard so we always have something to offer unexpected visitors.

We also try to keep a ration of rum, but it never seems to last...

[Dockhead]

Tesco's canned curries and stews, and a bag of rice. Bottled pasta sauce, passata, canned shrooms, dried pasta. Herbs and spices. Canned soups. Canned tuna. Long life UHT milk. Always keep a good supply of all of the long life stuff on board; then to quickly get underway you just need a few fresh things and you're done.

In the U.S., Hormel Compleat meals are fantastic. Unfortunately we don't get them over here. They are delicious (really!) and keep for months with no refrigeration. If I were still cruising in U.S. waters, I would have a locker full of those and wouldn't worry too much about getting fed. Real cooking with real fresh ingredients is much better, but it becomes optional -- if you happen to call in somewhere where you can buy what you need. With a locker full of Compleats, you can forget about going hungry.

And obviously a locker full of rum. I think seriously about a rum tank, actually.

[JPA Cate]

We always used to have Bisquik on board, either for "biscuits" or for pancake breakfasts, but these days, we stay away from heavy breakfasts, pretty much. Jim also used to use boxes of RiceaRoni, that he would mix with spicy sausage for a quick meal. I don't know what's available in the US these days. We also used to use the small muffin mixes.

Pasta and rice keep okay, but you run the weevil risk with them, as you would with the above suggestions, actually.

When just going for a weekend, we'd usually have a meal out on the way home.

[Alan Mighty]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Pasta and rice keep okay, but you run the weevil risk with them, as you would with the above suggestions, actually.

The options are available to you, Ann:

1. After buying a product, such as standard rice, that may have been contaminated with weevils (either eggs or adults or both) in the supply chain, you store the rice in a deep freeze for 12 hours (prevailing on the kindness of a retailer when necessary). All the adult weevils are dead. The number of viable eggs is zero or tiny. You then store that rice in containers that you have washed and ensured are free from weevil eggs, rice dust etc.

2. In many economies, you can buy parboiled rice. That's not pre-cooked rice. Parboiled rice is rice that has been dehusked and then blasted with steam. The process converts the individual rice grains to a glassy hardness, too hard for weevils to penetrate. To cook parboiled rice, you first soak for 30 - 45 minutes to hydrate those glassy grains, then cook as per normal. In economies that do not have good supply chain management, parboiled rice is the preferred rice just because it is not susceptible to significant weevil damage. In India and Southeast Asia, parboiled rice is preferred by many. For good reason. About 50% of the world's rice supply is parboiled.

On Led Myne, I carry about 3 months supply of parboiled rice in a half dozen screw-top PET containers.

I trust PET more than I do low density polyethylene or polypropylene containers, in terms of quite low levels additives (plasticisers etc) that might migrate into your food.

I choose a parboiled basmati rice, because basmati rice has a lower glycemic index than Jasmine rice and most of the other rice varieties.

Parboiled rice does use a little more potable water (water to soak, then water to cook), but in 14 years of cruising I've not found it significant.

Rice is not rice: it's not a monolithic undifferentiated commodity.

I happen to prefer rice over wheaten gluten-rich products such as pasta and wheaten breads.

Al

[hellosailor]

"In the U.S., Hormel Compleat meals are fantastic."
Well, it beats Chef Boyardee, but it still counts as Purina Bachelor Chow.
Fantastic? No, that's going to start rumours about British Culinary Skills and how they might warp your perspective.(G)
There's also a company called Bear Creek (here in the States) that makes dried soup and chili mixes, which pretty much last forever and make a reasonable "is there any food on board?" meal. Especially if you add in some tinned chicken or beef.

[texwards]

Wow, great ideas/advice! Thanks everyone - knowing how I might regularly stock my galley will definitely aid in the rebuild.

[zeehag]

as i am a full time permanent cruising soul, i stock same as if i were making passage. when i make passgae i provision same as i do at anchor or at a dock

[jupiow]

buy the JUPITER MOON COOK BOOK by Janet Buckingham

[rwidman]

Non refrigerated microwave meals are available in supermarkets. A couple are pretty bad but most are decent and they require no refrigeration and only a couple minutes from storage to table. Add a can of vegetables and you have a complete meal.

We try to take everything home and use it during our off season so we don't end up with five year old food on the boat.

[jupiow]

That sounds great but there is so much available around you ...and after all you are what you eat

[JPA Cate]

AlanMighty,

Thanks for the information about freezing to kill weevils, used to do all my flour when I had a freezer. Our boat does not have one.

I didn't know about the parboiled rice, getting too hard for them. That's cool.

The only time I had a weevil problem here in Oz was on return from a lengthy trip to the US, when I had neglected to find another home for the pasta. I sure hope I don't need to be reminded of that lesson!

Thanks again for the input.

Ann

[Steadman Uhlich]

My thanks too, for AlanMighty's post about parboiled rice.

Regarding weevils in grains, rice, flour and such, I found two short but interesting articles about them on Wikipedia after reading this thread. There the suggestions for killing the weevils and their eggs are mentioned along with times needed. Either heat or cold can do the trick.

There was an interesting bit of weevil lore too, the female can lay hundreds of eggs. In the rice, the female chews a small hole into the rice grain, deposits her egg IN the rice grain, then seals it up with some goo from her body. The larvae then matures IN the rice grain until it chews its way out. Reminds me of the movie Alien.