Question About US Food Products

[monstads]

Originally Posted by CharlesFCook

The next time you are in Austin, MN USA don't forget to visit the SPAM museum.

SPAM > SPAM® Museum

Fun facts.... Mostly learnt from visiting said museum, as well as family that work for QPP.
The Austin plant processes around 18-19 THOUSAND pigs EVERY DAY.
There is virtually NO waste. They used to have a billboard ad as you came into town bragging about it. (Now, where do you think the various unsavory bits go...... :-))
The museum actually has the Monthy Python skit running in one of the displays, which I thought was funny.
There's a ton of different flavors of Spam
My uncle who works at the plant, does not eat Spam

[captainbri]

Buy coconut water, it has many uses and the best pat is it will hydrate you faster than any sports drink because it has more electrolytes. There have been cases where coconut water has been used as an intravenous hydration fluid in some developing countries where medical saline was unavailable. Most canned or bottled coconut water has a shelf life of 24 months.

peanut butter, honey, rice,chicken, beef and pork bullion.

uht milk tastes a little strange but it is ok

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Making bread underway in a swell would be pretty interesting.

Not a problem with a gimballed stove, I only sail in warm places so the bread rises with no problem. Since I make no knead bread I simply separate the dough into two balls, let them rest while the oven preheats and then I put them in. In a choppy sea it is sometimes hard to make English muffins becasue they tend to slide off the griddle, but bread works fine.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Hannah on 'Rita T'

Not a problem with a gimballed stove, I only sail in warm places so the bread rises with no problem. Since I make no knead bread I simply separate the dough into two balls, let them rest while the oven preheats and then I put them in. In a choppy sea it is sometimes hard to make English muffins becasue they tend to slide off the griddle, but bread works fine.

How cold is the warmest you've made it in? I know some people are kicking ass making bread but all my stuff comes out like hard tack. I never want to make bread in the summer, and in the winter cabin temps are 60f-70f.

[tager]

Being a health nut, let me try to convert you:

Don't eat processed food. It's not good for you.
Stock up on flours, grains, beans, dried fruit, nuts and seeds. Basically, anything in the bulk foods section is good boat food. Sprouts are excellent easily prepared boat food. Essentially it's a garden on your boat that doesn't require a planter or soil, just a jar. Fresh greens from a jar, can't beat that!

Get a lot of root vegetables, they keep excellently in a dry, cool, dark locker. Fresh fruit will last for the first week, but dried fruit lasts a long time.

Don't get MRES or SPAM, please.

Peanut butter is an obvious choice.

Kavli, RY KRISP, and AK MAK are all good hard-tack.

[Katiusha]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

How cold is the warmest you've made it in? I know some people are kicking ass making bread but all my stuff comes out like hard tack. I never want to make bread in the summer, and in the winter cabin temps are 60f-70f.

Bumping into the conversation, if you don't mind: initially I didn't have much luck with baking bread either. My friends would lend me books, give me instructions, etc but not enough was going through my head I guess. Then I came across this book: http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Bakers-B.../dp/0471168572. It hit a note with me as I have engineering background and the explanations of flour types, yeast types, chemical processes that happen during bread making, varioues insights, and recipes themselves were technical enough for me. Now it's my bread bible and I cannot recommend it enough to other people.

Regarding your bread coming out as a brick: are you using yeast that hasn't expired yet? If so, make sure that you knead it well in the beginning (if using mixer, on med speed about 3 min, followed by about a minute by hand). Mixing gives the dough elasticity and extensibility. Just don't overmix as that will make the dough resistant to rising and staying risen. In general, then, leave it to rise, then fold, then leave it to rise, then fold, shape, leave to rise, and only then put it in the oven. Rising time in general should be about 1-1.5 hours. This way you give plenty of opportunity for yeast to ferment the dough. Note that making some breads, like french baguettes and ciabattas follow slightly different patterns.

The best temps for fermentation are 75F - 78F, but after reading this book, I can bake bread at temps all the way down to 38F-42F (though I have to hug the dough at night to make it rise ).

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

What katiusha said, except I haven't the foggiest about he science of it all. With good yeast -- I get mine in bulk from King ARthur's Flour and keep it in the fridge but let it warm to room temp before using it -- dough will rise using cold water and in almost any temp above freezing, well, maybe not in the 30s but certainly in the high 40s. Yeast is a powerful beast.