What is your best provisioning tip?

[D&D]

Originally Posted by Richard5

it doesn't take stoopit, inattention is sufficient.

We love our thermal cooker...

• NO risks,
• high quality stainless steel pots,
• nothing to break or wear out,
• huge variety of foods that can be prepared,
• extremely energy efficient (better than anything else) and
• provides a very large time 'window' during which food can be served hot (or cold) at your (and/or the weather's!) convenience.

Thermal Cookware, Floating Impressions

[Richard5]

Originally Posted by D&D

We love our thermal cooker...

• NO risks,
• high quality stainless steel pots,
• nothing to break or wear out,
• huge variety of foods that can be prepared,
• extremely energy efficient (better than anything else) and
• provides a very large time 'window' during which food can be served hot (or cold) at your (and/or the weather's!) convenience.

Thermal Cookware, Floating Impressions

I went to the link. I don't see the distinction. Is this yet another brand of cookware? Is this stackable pot on top of pot?

[sailcruiser]

Originally Posted by Richard5

I went to the link. I don't see the distinction. Is this yet another brand of cookware? Is this stackable pot on top of pot?

i

If I understand it correctly it is a set of pots that fit into a big thermos. I believe you heat up the meal on the stove bringing it to a boil then allow it to simmer for 15 or so min. Then transfer the pot to the thermos which retains the heat and it basically acts like a crock pot from there.

So specific pots fit into the proprietary thermos.
SC

[D&D]

Originally Posted by sailcruiser

i

If I understand it correctly it is a set of pots that fit into a big thermos. I believe you heat up the meal on the stove bringing it to a boil then allow it to simmer for 15 or so min. Then transfer the pot to the thermos which retains the heat and it basically acts like a crock pot from there.

So specific pots fit into the proprietary thermos.
SC

Pretty much right there.

The thermal cooking concept is ancient. You basically heat food and then insulate it to retain the heat so that the food cooks slowly. Archeologists confirm thermal cooking was originally done in the earth, and then in earthen pots. Aside from what many claim to be taste advantages of slow cooking, historians assume thermal cooking was motivated by the desires to be more fuel efficient and to require less attention to the cooking process.

The modern versions evolved a long way while still using the same principle.

The modern evolutions hugely expanded the range of foods that can be thermally cooked. The range of thermally cooked foods now includes breads, cakes, curries, beans/pulses, all meats, fish, pastas/rice, puddings, soups, yoghurts and more.

In addition, where the thermal cooking vessel is very efficient, modern thermal cooking includes a big convenience advantage in terms of the food being ready-to-eat over a very long time window. We use (and offer) the Thermos brand Shuttle Chef because you simply cannot buy another product with better hot and cold keeping performance.

The closer the pots fit the thermal insulation, the better the result. With the Shuttle Chef the pots fit precisely, of course.

Perhaps just as importantly for cruisers, however, the Thermos pots are themselves very high quality stainless steel (as is the Shuttle Chef unit) and the pots can also be used for ordinary stove-top cooking. The pots are made with a multi layered stainless steel structure, including a layer of carbon steel with high heat conductivity sandwiched into the heavy base plate. So not only do the pots perform their thermal cooking roles better than any comparable system, they also can double-up to become the cookware for conventional cooking...and this too can be a big advantage in terms of the limited storage space on a vessel.

We love our thermal cooker!

[Bestathook]

At one point in my life, when I had a lot of wine, I got a craving for artichokes, which I steamed in a pressure cooker. Wine + pressure cooker = a lot of experience in malfunctions, all with old Mirro cookers.

"Go boom" is dramatic. I heard a "pop and whistle". Even old Mirros and Prestos had a safety plug that blew out and released the pressure long before the pot went boom. The plug popped, and the escaping steam whistled as the contents sprayed, messy, but not fatal.

Overloading the cooker can get food plugging the hole for the jigglier. This results in blown safety plug, no booms.

Opening the lid before all the pressure is released causes a pop and jumping boil out of contents. This is probably most of the explosions talked about. To avoid it, just let all the steam pressure out before you open the lid.....not brain surgery.

A cooker really abandoned on the hot burner boils out all the water, and turns artichokes (or other contents) to charcoal. The rubber seal burns beyond use, conveniently releasing any remaining pressure. The safety seal may or may not blow. Screw in new plug, buy new seal, back in business.

I saw a lid from an exploded pressure cooker. A blown out safety plug had been replaced with a self tapping bolt, defeating the safety design. This was hardly the pressure cooker's fault. It caused a genuine BOOM!

The old cookers are thick aluminum. They spread out the burner heat, and you really have to try hard (or drink a lot of wine) to burn food in them.

I would avoid pressure cooking on a vigorously rocking boat.

Some good preserved foods are available from restaurant supply housed like powdered eggs, dried veggies, onion or garlic chips, and potato chiplets or powder. The quality is good enough to serve the public, and the prices are wholesale.

Mexican tortilla bakeries often sell thin dried beef sheets. This can be snipped into small pieces and stored a long time. Dried beef, onion, and potato hash has carried me through many a long trip.

Butter can be clarified, and stored in a jar.

Old timey sailors kept fresh meat in a brine barrel for several days, without refrigeration. They said the brine stunk, but the washed off meat tasted good. I haven't done it. My Philippino crewmen sun dried fish for several days before cooking it. They preferred it that way, and nobody died.

[ShaktiGurl]

I understand a pressure cooker cooks relatively quickly. So perhaps a 2-3 lb roast would cook in a couple of hours, is that correct?

How long to cook in the thermal cooker do you think? I am a big fan of Ropa Vieja but can't bring myself to turn on the stove all day for a slow cook this time of year. I suppose I could just get a crock pot but that is very slow and draws electricity so.. looking for other options.

D&D - You also mention cooking bread in the thermal cooker - how does that work for the 'warm up' period before you put it in the cooker?

[NornaBiron]

I've just bought one of these Wonderbag - Home
It's a form of thermal cooker, but you can use any pan that will fit into it (I can even get two pans in side by side).

It was delivered a fortnight ago and has been used every day since for rice, stew, chilli, yoghurt, vegetables, pasta sauce etc.

A far cheaper version of the thermal cooker.

[jkindredpdx]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

I've just bought one of these Wonderbag - Home
It's a form of thermal cooker, but you can use any pan that will fit into it (I can even get two pans in side by side). . .

What a great idea! Here's more info: Wonderbag: It looks like a beanbag. So how does it cook soups, stews and porridge to perfection? | Mail Online BTW. That would work well with freeze dry food too!

[JanetGroene]

My tip: if you're provisioning for the long haul with few opportunities for re-supply, keep in mind that appetites may swell or change over time. A lot of calories are used up in active sailing. Take more food than you think you might need. Provisions are the best (and most economical) insurance you can buy. They are a lifeline for your body as well as good trading fodder and gifts.

[jkindredpdx]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

My tip: if you're provisioning for the long haul with few opportunities for re-supply, keep in mind that appetites may swell or change over time. A lot of calories are used up in active sailing. Take more food than you think you might need...

And sometimes I just don't want to fire up the stove at all... a big bag of power/protein bars is handy. I also mix up a tub of nuts, granola, raisins, cranberries ...

[thomm225]

potatoes.........

[D&D]

Originally Posted by jkindredpdx

a tub of nuts, granola, raisins, cranberries ...

[SailFastTri]

Not food but - bring two labeled siphons so when you need to empty 5-gallon jugs into your tanks you have a clean one for water and an oil one for fuel.

[pbess]

Has anyone got a good food provisioning list for 3 meals per day and 7 days? Hopefully you have tried it and had good success with it or modified it.
Phil
Virginia Beach

[Dreaming Yachtsman]

Pre-cooked bacon from Costco. Almost no grease to deal with, takes only minutes to heat, tastes as good as regular bacon. We try to keep 4-6 packages in the freezer.