The Galley - Must haves, Don't Needs, Wish List

[ranger58sb]

Yep, a full set of GOOD knives...

-Chris

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

All the above stuff is great!!, but here's some timey tricks !! Use a few grains of rice in your salt and pepper shakers! keeps em from turning in to a lump !! Rice will dry out a bunch of stuff, put it into a cloth bag and put in your sugar container, flour, ect you can also dry you small electronic stuff,(cell phones ect) In your rice container. just a couple of things Ive used to help out over the years !!

...and if the container is sealed it works even better. This way you are not trying to dehumidify the great outdoors. We also re-use small desiccant packs (found in some packaged foods). We keep salt in a small flip top container with a rubber seal rather than a shaker -- just take a pinch when you need it and seal it back up.

Also have a salt mill (like a pepper mill). Fill it with large grained sea salt and grind as you need it. Although over time even the large stuff will start to absorb moisture and need to be changed out.

[dinks14]

WOW! Thank you all so, so much for your fantastic responses! Your tips and advice are so, so helpful. Especially the French Press suggestions - as we are making this big lifestyle change to move aboard by #1 concern was my morning coffee situation. I am not really a human without a good, strong cuppa coffee. Can't thank you all enough! We are very excited to be joining such a helpful and friendly community!
-Jill & Tim

[svBeBe]

Must have: insulated coffee cup/mug with lid. The wind cools coffee too quickly without a lid. Need one that will fit into whatever cup holder you have in your cockpit.

Good quality knives are a must.

Wish I hadn't bought: that *manual food processor*
It does have numerous cutting/slicing attachments and I have used it maybe a half-dozen times. But mostly it just takes up storage space. Wish I had brought my electric food processor instead. Much more functional; would take up same amount of storage space but be used a lot more often (either on the inverter or by running the generator a few minutes when at anchor).

The only reason I bought that manual food processor was because before starting cruising I read too many tips of advice from old-timey sailors and cruisers and thought energy usage must be kept to a minimum. Now in our 7th year of full-time cruising and know that concept is out-dated and outright balderdash. If you enjoy cooking, stock your galley with the things you like to use. You will be living aboard and you will want those things that make your life pleasant; not like camping out.

Judy

[carstenb]

Bodum, a danish company makes a french press coffee cup with a non-spill lid. You should be able to find this at some upmarket store, otherwise here is a link for the US
BODUM® - Official Online Shop

Here is a link to the page with the coffee mug press
Travel Presses & Tumblers | Bodum Online Shop

18 bucks. Never spills, easy to use.

Buy the very best quality kitchen knives you can find - make sure they can be easily sharpened (a lot won't take an edge), and get/make a wooden block for them to lie in.

Nothing worse than trying to fillet a fish with a dull knife

[Dulcesuenos]

Yes to the French press get a good manual grinder and grind em medium large if you don't like coffee grinds in yer. Teeth. and nesting cookware. Wife loves her magma stainless Teflon coated set. West matches defenders 199. Online price. If you like sodas or tonic water with your sundowners a sodastream is nice. Get extra co2 cylinder. We love ours. Folding dish rack is good. Get a thermometer for your oven and fridges. Takes the guess work out.

[mub]

Everything said above is great and I agree with the need for morning coffee. I also have an expresso pot as well as the insulated cafitere.

The secret of living in any small space is that things have to work for you.
So also look at you fridge and freezer and cooker.
I love my diesel cooker. Partly because it cooks so well. Partly because I got rid of the propane system. It also heats water..so I don't have to run the engine to have showers. And it also doubles as a secondary heater.
My boat only had a ice cooler when I got her.. so I got my choice of cooling. I am mostly Martina based so they don't need to be big.

Finally power..although it isn't any where near as bad as when I was a child don't go stupid. Water systems and electronics can eat up a lot of power. But if your careful you will never have a problem. So watch the washing up.

Mub

[carstenb]

Hey Mub

Have you got a link for your diesel cooker? How is it rigged to give hot water?

[mub]

http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/coil.php

I believe the stove is a pacific though the one I have looks a little different.

The coil is plumbed in parallel with the engine heat exchanger with a check valve small thermal switch and pump.

I swapped the propane system tanks..force10 for it.

It is a very different cooking experience than propane... More like cooking on an aga than a gas cook top.

Oh sould say... My kitchen is not in the normal location. It has been swapped with the port seating and beth. That meant I could use the cabin heater vent for the flue.

Mub

[Teeto]

We love our Bamix stick blender. Small pressure cooker, non stick wok, corelle plates and found some excellent good quality polycarb wine glasses on the net.

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by dinks14

WOW! Thank you all so, so much for your fantastic responses! Your tips and advice are so, so helpful. Especially the French Press suggestions - as we are making this big lifestyle change to move aboard by #1 concern was my morning coffee situation. I am not really a human without a good, strong cuppa coffee. Can't thank you all enough! We are very excited to be joining such a helpful and friendly community!
-Jill & Tim

When we bought our Gem it had an electric drip coffee maker - like home.

I said "no way. we are not wasting battery on that" and bought a French press. The second one listed above. It worked fine but waiting was a drag (so spoiled eh? ).

But like svBeBe says, "balderdash".

We bought a 8 dollar drip machine (4 cups - small - easy to store) and I counted the amps for the time it took to make coffee. I can't remember the number but it was like 4 or 5 for a few minutes. Much better coffee.
And the storage for us was it was always in the corner of the galley counter. When we sailed we just wrapped the cord around the support rod. It lived there just fine and may be living there still.

[barnakiel]

I think at the top of my personal list would be:

OVEN, THE KING

How people can cruise without one is a riddle.

Admiral hates heavy pans, so we use alloy ones. But we eat from regular plates and we drink from normal glasses (me from a porcelain mug). We also have proper crystal glasses for wine (much as we hardly ever have wine). I would not touch wine in a plastic 'glass', much as I love a glass in a plastic vessel! So I say eat and drink from what you like.

My other clue would be do not give a damn for all the mumble bumble talk about eggs going smelly like tomorrow and worms eating your flour overnight. We found most (but not all) quality and fresh produce to keep way beyond expectations given in any 'cruising' source. Swedish anchovies being notably the only tin that ever exploded onboard.

If you love to eat and/or cook, you will love cruising and living aboard!

b.

[jcapo]

Magma Nesting Cookware

I don't know that we would have ever bought that product but it was a gift and they are wonderful. Solved a lot of storage problems.

John

[sv Winterlude]

The Boat Galley Cookbook is a new cruising cookbook with all kinds of information answering most of your questions. According to Lin Pardey:

“The Boat Galley Cookbook answers almost every question I have ever been asked about cooking afloat. Small galley or large galley, you’ll find loads of good ideas and interesting recipes to make life afloat easier and tastier too.” -- Lin Pardey, author and voyager

It's about to be published by International Marine and available on Amazon. Decide for yourself, you can get a FREE sample PDF -- 28 pages including 33 boat friendly recipes and the answers to the dilemma of how to eliminate "hot spots" in older boat ovens -- practical information you can use now for free. Download it here if you're interested: Boat Galley Cookbook

Cheers -- Jan

[Brob2]

Originally Posted by Teeto

non stick wok

vastly underrated IMO- great for cooking a variety of interesting meals and mixing many ingredients and easy to clean. Even with an Excalibur non-stick I still season with a little cheap olive oil; leaves one easily washed dish after a great meal. Don't forget a few wooden spatulas and spoons. Store other soft things inside it in the cupboard such as tea towels, napkins and place mats.

Good one Teeto.

I might add buy high quality stainless utensils since we all know stainless isn't stainless. And as soon as a utensil does get some rust, get it outa there and clean it up or turf it. As an aside, I really like good ceramic paring knives that come in their own honing sheaf. They have lasted a lot longer than I expected and do a great job of cutting.