What Do You Have In Your Galley ?

[sailorboy1]

Reading all this lets me know I need to get my act together! It took me 3 years of boating to finally get around to getting some steak knives on the boat. Every time we cooked steaks etc we would be using "other" knives and say to ourselves "we need to remember to get some steak knives".

On the other hand if I always can find a work around way to do things it cuts down on "stuff" on the boat.

[Anemone]

The pressure cooker is an amazing tool for in the galley. I have a 4-quart stainless steel Fagor. It is the perfect size to use for one dish meals for 2-3 people, and is super easy to clean.

However, for a pressure cooker newbie, it takes a little time and practice to get the hang of it. But once you are using it on a regular basis, I think you would love it.

I bought mine in July '11 and used it almost everyday testing recipes, technique, etc. on land. Then we went to the boat for a month and I used it regularly. Usually there are only two of us, but we had three adults that month. The 4-quart was the perfect size for us.

[Dockhead]

Hah, this is a great thread.

A few likes among galley stuff on our boat:

1. The Nespresso machine. One of my top favorite things in the galley!! Makes superb espresso -- better than my expensive Saeco setup at home. Very compact. Does not use that much power -- I run it off the inverter all the time. Uses something like 1200 watts for a couple of minutes for every cup. Fantastic.

2. French press. For regular coffee. Gets used much less since I brought the Nespresso machine on board, but still, its good for keeping the crew in mugs of coffee on a long overnight passage under sail.

3. Microwave. Used constantly. An extremely useful tool for feeding the crew. Reheating stuff. Cooking efficiently. Two minuses: (a) mine has a grill but no convection oven -- convection oven is fantastic if you have enough power for it; (b) it uses too much power to reasonably use it off the inverter without the engine running.

4. Exhaust system. I would never have thought that one would want something like this on a boat, but it is absolutely fantastic. Gets the water vapor from burning butane out of the boat along with the heat and all of the smog from cooking. Fantastic. Minus: on our boat, the in-line fan is right behind the stove and so quite noisy. Why in the world didn't they put it further down the vent line, in the laz, where it wouldn't be heard? Grrrr.

5. Quality gasketed plastic storage containers. Incredibly useful.

6. Seagull filter. Never hump bottled water again.

7. Front-loading fridge and separate top-loading freezer -- expedition size) -- I'll never go back to a top-loading fridge again.

8. Corian countertops. What a joy to work on these lovely surfaces.


A few dislikes:

1. SMEG stove. The four-burner cooktop is ok. But the oven is abysmal. Doesn't get hot enough; constantly goes out. Good thing I have the micro.

2. No decent storage for garbage. I understand why people like to have trash compactors on board. You need at least two different kinds of garbage storage -- organic stuff which goes overboard; and general trash. I've got a decent swing-out small bucket in a dedicated trash locker under the sink, but it is adequate only for the organic stuff. What to do with the rest of it? A constant problem.

3. Step down from main salon. The downside of the "deck salon" type of arrangement.

4. Heavy ceramic dishes from Sainsbury's. The plates are slightly too large for the dedicated storage. They are heavy and hard to handle. Going to toss them soon. Light Corel or melamime is the way to go on aboat, IMHO.

[sabray]

I have a hammer in my galley. Once had a microwave but seeing how i assumed it was installed real marine like I never checked how it was fastened in it went whoopsiee daisey,ass over tea kettle, across the cabin, bounced off the companion way and settled itself down by the nav station.The hammer is much better it can open a can, tenderize meat, intimidate the crew, pry a loaf of bread off a pan, and hammer nails in planks.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Bash

we have a pizza stone that fits perfectly into the BBQ.

Neat... forgot my coal barbie on the rail... have to get one for Naan breads..
Cheers Bash...

[vcsmithuk]

Fascinating reading this thread is!

In our 107 year old, 28' gaff cutter, where the ancient galley is along one side of the forepeak just aft of the chain locker and the kids bunks are the other, every culinary masterpiece produced is a challenge - but a few things I have found invaluable are:

• Ceramic knives and potato peeler - found by chance in France, but SUPER sharp, and will never rust. Magic.
• Pressure cooker - I had never used one until we were nearing leaving on our cruise and I bit the bullet and bought one - it's great. 15 minute casseroles, and huge gas savings on almost anything. It's simple, and the one I have (Prestige) you seriously can't screw up and end up with leek and potato soup all over your deck head (as happened one day in my in-laws kitchen with an old-fashioned one with a wobbly weight thing on the top, but that's another story).
• Rotary egg beater - much easier than a whisk when something needs a good beating and not electric (e.g. egg whites - I like to make cakes for birthdays and my favourite recipe has beaten egg whites)
• Muffin tin - I make muffins a lot, savoury and sweet, easy and quick, my kids love them and they make good "thank you" gifts when I've been helped out by someone.

I have just one average-sized locker to store ALL my equipment in so I need to make sure it's used! But like most others, I didn't radically change what I cooked when I moved aboard, but I had to change how I cooked it in some cases - especially because I hate dishes. Electric appliances are impossible on our boat, and I am a pleb and drink instant coffee.

Happy cooking
Vicki

[atoll]

a few picks of galley i've had to build at short notice on deliveries!

[sabray]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Neat... forgot my coal barbie on the rail... have to get one for Naan breads..
Cheers Bash...

Damn I didnt know they made a coal barbie. Barbie beach, barbie nurse, no I find no barbie coal or barbie on the rail.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by sabray

Damn I didnt know they made a coal barbie. Barbie beach, barbie nurse, no I find no barbie coal or barbie on the rail.

you've never lived! ....best is a prawn barbie.....

[mrohr]

Hi all, Good thread .No one has yet mentioned a fish scalar (maybe $1). Big fish you can fillet ,but if catch is small or not enough to go around, then scalar allows more since there is less waste.
I am surprised that there is no mention of a small gimballed cooker that mounts on a bulkhead, mine is propane fired and very handy when underway (especially single-handed).the hard part is to find the right size pots,but if mounted where it can be viewed from the cockpit it does not need to be monitored and works well for the crew on watch at o'dark thirty. Works a treat underway , but I use it as much a my 2 burner/oven /broiler and is priceless on a micro cruiser.

[River Cruiser]

I have a seaward electric 3 burner stove with oven & do on occasion use all 3, bacon, eggs & hash browns. I have a toaster oven that gets used every day, meatloaf, casseroles even pot pies. Breakfast has always been my main meal of the day sandwich or pot pie for lunch & sometimes dinner to. I use a crockpot for roasts, soups, ham & beans. Have a micro with exhaust fan above the stove, I use the fan & store stuff in the micro. I also have a Breadmaker that has a small footprint & makes 1 lb. loaves & a electric table top grill that does a excellent job on steaks & burgers. The only pans I have is a 10 year old set from WM the handles come off & there are plastic lids that snap on to save left overs, also a couple of sauté pans for omlets. The boat has a built in blender I've used maybe twice. No tea kettle, I just run water thru the coffee maker to make tea. I've thought about converting to propane but I need to run the gen when i'am out to charge batteries so might as well be cooking. One other necessity is good knives.

[cat man do]

Wok and a pot are the two main things we have always used at home and on boat.
At home and on boat we use these

To hot for cooking inside?
Move outside on table.

[atoll]

built this wok in malaysia,great for feeding hungry pirates

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by msponer

Coffee presses tend to make weird, weak coffee. Or maybe I use them wrong. We switched to a stove top percolator, which makes strong coffee that we like a whole lot more.

I love my percolator as well but it's fairly large and makes 8-10 cups or so. Perfect for making coffee for a few people but 90% of the time it's just me and my thermos cup so my smaller french press is perfect. But I do love percolated coffee.

[nwdiver]

Silicone baking pans, muffin pan and loaf pans they flatten down and are easier to store than my old metal ones, gotta have loaf pans when the bananas all ripen at the same time, yummy banana bread.