Living Without a Fridge

[zeehag]

plastic to shore cans and that which disintigrates goes to feed fish....and return to nature....

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

Please do not sink you plastic trash, haul it ashore.

plastic trash is the one item uniformly prohibited to be disposed of at sea anywhere. Unwrap and dispose of your junk before departure.

[Silverbeard]

Years ago my wife and I did extended canoe and backpacking trips. Most of this trips were 10-14 days long. We tried a number of ideas for keeping the menu good tasting and low cost. Instead of freeze-dried foods, we would buy lean hamburger, brown it, drain all the grease off and use paper towels to soak up any remaining grease, then seal the hamburger in plastic bags. We used the hamburger in Hamburger Helper. It worked well, never had any issues with the hamburger going bad even through the temperatures go into the mid 70's. We also made our own beef jerky. Not too hard to do and had none of the preservatives use in store bought jerky. The recipes for flavorings are plentiful.
Some hard cheeses such as cheddar and colby keep well for a couple of weeks or so without refrigeration. If mold appears, cut it off and start eating the rest faster. Some
sausages that are on what I would call on the dry side also keep without refrigeration. I don't recall exactly what types of sausages those were.
Our experiences with dehydrated veggies were unimpressive. They tended to be crunchy even after pre-soaking them. Whatever the secret, we didn't find out what it was.

[Mike OReilly]

My experience mirrors Silverbeard. We've been using dried food for 20 years; starting with extended (20+ days) canoe/kayak trips, and now in luxury on our sailboats. We have always dried all our own food; everything from veggies & fruits to beef chicken and fish. Keeps for years if done properly, and tastes nearly as good as fresh if reconstituted well. Best of all, it's easy to carry many months worth of supplies this way.

Has any liveaboards/voyagers tried drying food at remote restock locations? Given that one of the keys to cheap boat living is to stock up in inexpensive areas, has anyone tried drying food at the dock? I don't mean small amounts, I mean when you do a large re-stock? This way you could resupply cheaply, and for extremely long periods.

Oh, and you don't need a fridge (just to connect the dots here ).

[bluetriguy]

It's a beautiful thing when a forum finds it's way back on track! I'm just sayin...

Kitchen science time kids....

Whether the vegetables are dehydrated, freeze-dried or just plain been around too long an got tough (older asparagus or artichokes or carrots for example) -
If you can boil them just add 1/2 to 1 tsp of any kind of vinegar or citrus juice (lime/lemon works best) to the water when you boil (you can boil in salt water and rinse in fresh if your heart will take it) the veg and it will go a LONNNNNG way towards making them more palatable. The acid of choice will change the taste a bit but if it's salad vinegrette that could be a good thing.

If you are on a trip and use pasta or rice you can do the same thing - instead of oil in the pot and the pasta/rice will not ever stick together.

The acid changes some of the molecules in the outer ...http://www.cruisersforum.com/images/.../whistling.gif shutup? ohhh ok.

It does work.

If you are boiling dried meats this works there as well.

[gjordan]

First started cruising in my mid 20s, 26 foot sloop, no engine, no electrics and no ice box. I look back at those as some of the best days of my life. In my early 30s, 37 foot sloop, diesel, some lights and a VHF, still no ice box. Life was good. In my late 30s, 44 foot cutter, Fridge, freezer, hot water heater and all the electrics I needed on only 1 quart of diesel a day. I had hit the big times. In retrospect, I was spending more per month to cruise on my 44 than I had spent per year to cruise on my Contessa 26. I was a lot more comfortable , but I was chewing through money like it was candy. I am now almost medicare age and ready to go cruising again. I will try to find a boat that I can afford with all of the goodies, but if I cant Ill be Damned if I will stay tied up to the dock for an extra 6 months just to afford refridgeration. It is very nice but dont let it delay you. If you wait until you think you can afford it all, you may never go.___Grant.

[bobconnie]

As I said before, Ive been there done that !! lived on Dry Lite foods, ECT. Heck even tryed the Brown Rice Crap! But at My +++ medicare age, Im not about to go to sea to become a brown rice dryed veggie eatin Fella!! I want all the Neat stuff that solar panals and wind machines and a small gen set will provide !! Maybe Im of the old school LOL seeped in luxury or a child of money LOL but mostly Im just old and need my wham whams and Zoom zooms of comfort !! just my 2 cents LOL

[Viking Sailor]

Really, it doesn't have to be fridge or no-fridge! Think of your fridge as an icebox. If you have electricity (ice) you enjoy the benefits it provides. Otherwise, you do without until the next opportunity to use it come along. No big deal. Just another part of the cruising equation.

[stargazer]

I read this whole thread, and don't remember anyone mentioning this about butter.

When I used to make butter - lots of it, our own jersey cow - my grandmother showed me I could wrap big chunks in cheese cloth, and sink them in a brine (made strong enough to float a potato I think it was) and put a weight on top to push them underwater. I don't know how long it will keep, but it was always long enough for me. Worked great.

[Bsimon]

I don't even own a sail boat yet (motorized up to this point) I plan on retiring in the next 2 years and learn all I can about sailing and living on my boat,then getting the best boat I can afford and travel as much as possible .There is now way in heck i will be doing this without a cold cold beer beside me.how can you survive without one.lol

[captain58sailin]

There is also the option of getting a butane fired refrigerator and eliminate the need for the electric, with the right solar/wind set up you could still go electric. Some of the posters here have made some terrific top loading refrigeration units. Myself, I would like to have a cold drink, I can endure the heat without a/c, but I would really like a nice cold drink.

[zeehag]

having lived sans fridge since 1990, i dont even miss one--i find i may get a cooler for the canal transit, as i need to feed others as well as self then, but i amnot a dried foods eater nor a mre eater nor other weird stuff eater- i eat as well if not better than i used to when i had fridges in houses. ye just have to know the shelf life of foods when nopt fridged....is easy. many foods really dont NEED fridge to keep.
i keep my butter in a jar with a lid on it and it separates into oil and "stuff". i use the oil for cooking certain things and the "stuff" on my toast or whatever i want to have flavored with the stuff of butter.

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by captain58sailin

There is also the option of getting a butane fired refrigerator and eliminate the need for the electric, with the right solar/wind set up you could still go electric. Some of the posters here have made some terrific top loading refrigeration units. Myself, I would like to have a cold drink, I can endure the heat without a/c, but I would really like a nice cold drink.

You would want to be careful as we just had a death over in tassy carbonmonoxid the poor buggers went to bed and that was it. So gas fridge no thanks

[gjordan]

I think it was on this thread that I posted about Jicama. We bought it in Mexico and it was still cool,fresh and crunchy when we arrived in the Marquesas 4 weeks later. We had no refrigeration or even an ice chest. Today,almost 35 years later I asked the man stocking veggies at my local supermarket if they had Jicama, and he said sure! It wasnt labeled , and I didnt even remember what it looked like, but he pointed it out and I bought one. It tasted just as good as I remembered, fresh, moist and about as crunchy as a good apple, but maybe a little less sweet. A great addition to a non refrigerated boat. Sliced thin and the skin removed. Brings back great memories.____Grant.

[Amapola]

Never of I want to stay married and afloat!