What Food to Buy Without Refrigeration?

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by I.Grind

Does that make the cheese vinegary?

I'm sure these techniques really work, and I like the fact that knowledge that might otherwise fade into oblivion is being preserved, but sometimes I can't imagine that it is super delicious. I must say that I find this thread thoroughly fascinating, and quite educational. If I ever (god forbid) find myself without refrigeration, I will at least be well prepared.

Even though I know I CAN eat 6 month old opened mayonnaise I really have very little wish to be in circumstances where I might be tempted to, if you know what I mean.

Yeah yeah I'm a prima Donna, flame away....

I do it all the time but we all have our own comfort levels.

I got food poisoning on Friday but it didn't involve mayonnaise. In fact I got it at an upscale restaurant. It had to be the scallops. It's the only thing I ate that my friend did not,

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

(Without refrigeration hard cheese keeps well wrapped in paper towel soaked in vinegar then greaseproof paper, and stored in a dry bilge. Change the vinegar soaked paper every few days.)

On a mountain hike a few days ago we passed an Alphut were we bought a nice peace of aged mountain cheese, aged for one year, that had never been near a fridge in its existence... In those alp huts they don't have electricity, no refrigeration. They milk the cows twice a day and immediately turn the milk In to cheese... These mountain farmers probably know a lot about living without modern comforts...

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by NatKat

Not sure I understand your post.
An heirloom tomato is an example of a natural food which human beings have selectively bred for centuries for its benefits to humans.

Heirloom Tomatoes are a product of human intervention in nature. Just as the standard supermarket tomato. The only difference between them is how many are grown. Heirloom tomatoes are not inherently more "natural", "pure" or even better for your health than the standard tomatoes.

The BPA scare is probably not the last "packaging" scandal we might see.

And like mosts food "scares" they don't really have much basis in fact.
Yes some stuff we put in food is unhealthy. It has always been like that. Did you know that some herbs contain cyanide?

And no ... I don't think Nature is out to kill us ... more like the opposite. But that is another thread.

Why do we always end up dead in the end then? Nature doesn't care for us. It assaults us with diseases and predators. A hundred years ago a simple infection could kill you.
In the end every living thing dies. In nature most animals end up as dinner for other animals.

No, nature is not our friend. Nature is nobody's friend.

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by boatman61

A Mc'D, KFC and Taco Bell fan...?

The most popular fast food out here is Döner, which probably uses far worse quality meat, then McD does... But it's not from some American Multinational, so it must be good, right?

Btw. McD seems to have accidentally stumbled on a way to preserve meat without using any additives...

[Butler]

yeah... nature doesn't care... we are all fodder for lions or worms.Entropy will get us... natures design. The first time I saw a shark and he started toward me I saw it all... just groceries. Still, so much more understandable and compelling than standing before some judge in a court of law. This is part of what makes the open ocean attractive to me.
All produce is a product of cultivation eh?... artificial selection and development by our hand sometimes over centuries. Heirloom Tomatoes are varieties that were displaced on the grocery shelves by contemporary culls that are, these days generally by "scientificly" engineered genetic splicing created to improve transportability and shelf life often at the cost of flavor. Seedbanks are really important to ensure that we don't lose many vegetable and grain cultivars and seed patenting is problematic because of opportunities for controlling seed/cultivar availability. I keep my cheese in small jars and strain the oil through cheese cloth for use. Haven't had much trouble with waste. I like keeping it this way as it also allows me to flavor the cheese and hell, if a storm blows up I can smooth the water with my cheese! Oh, and speeking of Gee I use a lot of those Tasty Bit boily bags. Yum!

[Sailor g]

Originally Posted by I.Grind

Does that make the cheese vinegary? I'm sure these techniques really work, and I like the fact that knowledge that might otherwise fade into oblivion is being preserved, but sometimes I can't imagine that it is super delicious. I must say that I find this thread thoroughly fascinating, and quite educational. If I ever (god forbid) find myself without refrigeration, I will at least be well prepared. Even though I know I CAN eat 6 month old opened mayonnaise I really have very little wish to be in circumstances where I might be tempted to, if you know what I mean. Yeah yeah I'm a prima Donna, flame away....

I used this method on a block of Parmigiana Reggiano and it kept for around 8 months-until it was eaten. There was no vinegar taste at all. I was amazed at how easy it was-despite the fact I only sprayed it with vinegar about once every week or so. It was kept cool always as well. Bringing cheese to a boat party to cruisers who haven't seen it in a while is always fun!

[Seaworthy Lass]

Re: Drying tomatoes:

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

That's so simple. How do you know when they're ready?

Nothing more scientific than by trying one and deciding on the moisture level .

The more moist they are, the shorter their life. Ones I am using within a few days in salads or mezze platters, I prefer about half dry.

If I want to store some for winter I will leave them in the sun until they are bone dry and very chewy. If then kept in a dry spot they actually don't even need oil when they are completely dry, the oil just improves the taste (I use the beautiful murky greeny gold olive oil that is coldpressed from the first processing and sourced straight from the grower - yummm).

Cherry tomatoes work best, but any kind can be used.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

Thanks for the link. Lets us know your findings. I'll be interested in the sodium content (if any) of their products, as I am not sure what is the dehydration process.

Just got delivery of some Bacon flavored TVP and dehydrated Blueberries. Made a Blueberry ice cream shake last night. Soaked 1/4 cup of the Blueberries in 3/4 cup of milk. Added ice cream about 1/2 hour later and blended. Very intense blueberry flavor. Even more intense flavor than fresh Blueberries IMO. I'm pleased so far. Will have to try it in pancakes and cereal.

Going to try the Bacon flavored TVP in some scrambled eggs today. It says 1/4 cup contains 490 mg of salt. The TVP rehydration is one to one with hot water as opposed three to one water to Blueberries.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by mbianka

...Going to try the Bacon flavored TVP in some scrambled eggs today. It says 1/4 cup contains 490 mg of salt. The TVP rehydration is one to one with hot water as opposed three to one water to Blueberries.

Ouch, 1/4 cup would be like less than one bacon slice. I checked their website for the nutrient information but could not find it. I wonder what the unflavored TVP is like. Let us know the results and thanks for sharing.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Krogensailor

I have a couple of dehydrators in use. One large and one small. We dry all kinds of food. I like snacks, we dehyd thin slices of various veggies and spray them with a product called Braggs, has no sodium. As far as electrical needs there is only a small fan in the dehydrator. I plan to take the small one with us when we move aboard. They do sell, or you could easily make a solar dehydrator.

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

I semi dry small halved tomatoes by placing them on a foil covered metal tray (heat is then reflected up as well) in a sunny position on the deck in summer, then when ready packing them in olive oil in a glass jar. Not because of storage or availablity issues though, simply because of the incredibly intense flavour. The oil is then beautifully infused as well .

Originally Posted by boatman61

Ahhh... learning the wisdom of the Old World... so often discounted by the New Age... try it with Capsicums...

Reporting back .

I have just finished drying a batch of capsicums along with tomatoes. There is certainly no need for a fancy dehydrator under the hot Med sun . Two days and they were ready to be packed in oil.

The jury is still out regarding dried capsicums. "Interesting" is how I would describe them. I still prefer them roasted and skinned before being stored in oil, but it is certainly an easy, oven free way of using up large quantities.

The only problem is that as my patience levels are about zero, so every time I walked past the trays I would taste test. In the end only a small jar was needed to store what was originally two trays worth of veggies .

[Nomadgurl]

Hey Atoll throw in some eggs and a tortilla with that chorizo and I'll be over for breakfast!!!! lol

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

...Two days and they were ready to be packed in oil.

Lass, you just put them in jar and cover with olive oil? That is it?
Sounds simple and good.

[mbianka]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

Ouch, 1/4 cup would be like less than one bacon slice. I checked their website for the nutrient information but could not find it. I wonder what the unflavored TVP is like. Let us know the results and thanks for sharing.

Don't forget you usually rehydrate the TVP with some type of liquid or use it in cooking, Though it does taste pretty good right out of the can too. Still probably healthier than some other snacks.

Cooking Update:
I rehydrated some of the bacon TVP (a cup rehydrated) and added them to some scrambled eggs. Not real great somewhat mushy and too much TVP for two eggs. Might work in a hashbrown recipe though.

Next day I took 1 tablespoon TVP (not rehydrated) added it to the scrambled egg mix. Very tasty and just enough crunch to taste like "real" bacon. I'm adding that to my galley menu. Taste and texture were good.

Later I decided to see if I could do a BLT with the TVP. Took a tablespoon of TVP and mixed it with some mayo and refrigerated it for about a half hour. The spread the mixture on some lettuce leaves and added a tomato. Wrapped up the lettuce leaves around the tomato. Another winner Tasted like a BLT. I did not use toast/bread because I'm watching the carb intake but, think it would be similar. So all in all I'd say the Bacon TVP is staying on board. Though at the one tablespoon rate it will last a long time. Will need to find some other recipes that might use more amounts of the stuff. I'm not a vegetarian but, it was tasty enough for me to substitute for real bacon. So I'm sticking with it.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by SVTatia

Lass, you just put them in jar and cover with olive oil? That is it?
Sounds simple and good.

Yep, that is all you do .

If you only partially dry the tomatoes (soft centre) they will only last a couple of weeks without refrigeration. Fully dry they would last for a couple of years (the life would be limited by the life of the oil, the tomatoes just darken a bit with age).

Semi dry tomatoes are so yummy, that they never last more than a week anyway. I dry batches frequently in summer and use them in mezze, salads and cooking . The oil infuses with flavour and is great to use on salads etc.

[NatKat]

Wow ... To everyone who worries about what my granny ate back in the day ... Our family is GREEK. They ate traditional greek island diet. Goat milk cheese & yogurt , fish, octopus, eggs & chicken, and whatever veggies they grew. I assume tomato & cucumber amongst others. European people have traditional diets they ate for many hundreds of years. Hence the hard swiss cheeses like gruyere which need no refer. Ya ya probably also bought things like flour, lentils, sugar. I think it is silly to say greek people thought tomatoes were poisonous until 1800s. ??? I guess i will research it to be sure but i never heard any greek say this!