Cruising without refrigeration

[bobnlesley]

From July 2018 to January 2019 we were obliged to sail fridgeless through the French Polynesian Marquesa and Tuamotu Islands; I guess it was easier for us than most as we didn't have a large fridge to begin with, so were already adept at food preservation. As already noted, mayonaise, particularly in the squeezy bags is fine without refridgeration, so too is butter (stored under salt water) cheese (stored in vegetable oil) and meat that's been canned/jarred in the pressure cooker lasts for months/years too. Veggies and eggs are all OK provided that they're local/sold un-chilled through the island grocery stores; if they're in the chiller cabinet or have been chilled during the transportation process they don't last too well.
The only really hard bit was sundowners, though in each port of call we quickly deduced which grocery store sold the coldest beer and as word of our predicament spread through the fleet, we had several boats whom in anchorages would deliver ice-cubes and/or trade warm beers for cold.
Don't get me wrong, we got the fridge repaired at the first opportunity and in a way that makes it more easily repaired in the future, but whilst no fridge is a PIA, it can be worked around.

[Sojourner]

Originally Posted by surf_km55

I suppose fridgeless is one way to avoid having to invite anyone aboard for a meal or drink; at least a meal or drink anyone would actually want.

Haha yessss.... Come over to ours to eat. 1 freezer full of meat, fish and vacuum sealed fresh herbs, 1 frigoboat 2 drawer full of fridgey stuff, and a 5'x2'x1' under-bench fridge full of beer and vodka. Worth every amp hour

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by BluePeter

You don’t have to refrigerate mayonnaise?

Originally Posted by newhaul

Actually no you dont need to refrigerate it just use a clean knife to get the mayo out each time . As long as you dont contaminate it the vinegar will keep it from going bad .

Americans often use refrigerators as pantries. "Look at all this space, what shall we put there?"


Most condiments including mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and hot sauces simply don't need to be refrigerated. Bacteria growth in mayo-based salads we all grew up being warned about comes from the salad, not the dressing.



Eggs don't need to be refrigerated.



Lots of produce will last longer but there is no food safety issue with leaving it out.



See Carolyn Shearlock's good book "Cruising Without Refrigeration" and Beth Leonard's many articles and "The Voyager's Handbook."

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

...Most condiments including mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and hot sauces simply don't need to be refrigerated. Bacteria growth in mayo-based salads we all grew up being warned about comes from the salad, not the dressing. … Lots of produce will last longer but there is no food safety issue with leaving it out.

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Eggs don't need to be refrigerated.

On this one, my understanding is that if the eggs have been washed, as they are in most North American supermarkets, then they do have to be refrigerated. But if they come from the farm, or are otherwise not cleaned of their outer protected layer, then they do not. Again, I’ve read that cleaning is far more common in North America vs Europe.

Is this correct?

[a64pilot]

Eggs are washed in the US as a way to control Salmonella.
Having met Sam and Ella once before, I’ll refrigerate the eggs.

There is a way to preserve them though, it’s by floating them in some kind of liquid, I’ve never done it myself, but know it exists. They can be preserved this way for a long time.

What we do is go by the directions on the package, if it says refrigerate after opening, we do.

My Wife and I both got food poisoning by buying old barbecue sandwiches on a trip 35 years ago traveling as my Grandmother was dyeing.
It was absolutely debilitating, getting food poisoning on a passage could I think have disastrous consequences.

[a64pilot]

I believe this is the way, but apparently eggs that have been washed with chlorine / water can’t be used.
https://youtu.be/bTlcCvvUjl0

[Copacabana]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

On this one, my understanding is that if the eggs have been washed, as they are in most North American supermarkets, then they do have to be refrigerated. But if they come from the farm, or are otherwise not cleaned of their outer protected layer, then they do not. Again, I’ve read that cleaning is far more common in North America vs Europe.

Is this correct?

This is true Mike. In North America eggs are washed before they go to the consumer. In many places, they are not. Unwashed eggs have a protective coating that greatly preserves them, but even unwashed eggs can last weeks out of the fridge. It's easy to test an egg before you cook it. Just put it in water- if it floats, discard it. If you are buying eggs on a weekly basis, they should be fine out of the fridge (washed or unwashed).

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

On this one, my understanding is that if the eggs have been washed, as they are in most North American supermarkets, then they do have to be refrigerated. But if they come from the farm, or are otherwise not cleaned of their outer protected layer, then they do not. Again, I’ve read that cleaning is far more common in North America vs Europe.

Is this correct?

Yes, as I understand it.
I have found eggs in Greece, the Netherlands and the UK are sold in most supermarkets unwashed and unrefrigerated.

Just one other comment, if you buy eggs that are refrigerated, then either use them quickly or continue to refrigerate. When they have been refrigerated, eggs warm up and condensation builds on the surface and allows bacteria to penetrate whether or not they have been previously washed.

Originally Posted by Copacabana

It's easy to test an egg before you cook it. Just put it in water- if it floats, discard it.

This is not definitive, although I always do this close or past expiry before I crack it. Apparently an egg that floats may still be OK and one that doesn’t may not. The best thing to do regardless of whether or not it floats is to crack it into a container and smell it and check for any discolouration.

SWL

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

On this one, my understanding is that if the eggs have been washed, as they are in most North American supermarkets, then they do have to be refrigerated. But if they come from the farm, or are otherwise not cleaned of their outer protected layer, then they do not. Again, I’ve read that cleaning is far more common in North America vs Europe.

Is this correct?

Sort of. There are three issues, two of which can be mitigated.


The first issue is oxidation. When washed, a mucus-like layer called the 'bloom' is removed from the outside of the egg. When intact, the bloom minimizes gas exchange across the porous shell. There are two reasonable reasons for washing both of which I'll get to in a minute. If the egg oxidizes it essentially goes stale. This is not a health risk per se but doesn't taste great. The easiest way to mitigate is to simply flip the entire carton of eggs every day or two. This keeps the internal albumin in the egg distributed on the shell and reduces gas exchange. Not quite as well as leaving the bloom intact but well enough for many weeks. Flipping ever other day is plenty but frankly I lose track of days at sea so I do it every day as part of dawn tasks. There are plenty of alternatives that work much the same: coating with a sodium silicate solution (the water glass discussed in the video @a64pilot linked to), paraffin (wax for Americans), and some others. I think Carolyn Shearlock talks about some of them in her book Storing Food Without Refrigeration; Carolyn will be at the boat show">Annapolis Boat Show in a few weeks and I know she'll have copies there (I know because the boxes of her books, along with those of a number of other folks, are in my basement) or you can order on Amazon as a paperback or Kindle. Recommended.



The second issue is condensation, as @Seaworthy Lass pointed out. This is quite simple. When you bring refrigerated eggs home they are colder than ambient temperature. When the eggs are colder than the dew point (almost always in a high humidity environment) water condenses out of the air. The damp surface of a porous egg shell is a perfect breeding ground for viruses, bacteria, mold, and mildew. The solution is stupid simple. Dry the eggs until they reach ambient temperature. I find two or three times on shopping day and one or two times the day after completely solves the problem.



The third issue is salmonella. For all practical practices this is a red herring. First, if a hen has salmonella the interior of the egg will be infected. In this instance there is some merit to refrigerating an egg whether it has been washed or not in order to limit bacterial growth. The bacteria will be there regardless but reproduction is faster at 90°F than 40°F (you do have a thermometer in your fridge, right?). However, the CDC reports the incidence of salmonella in US eggs at about 1:20,000. In the EU and most of the rest of the Western world incidence is about the same. Very rare. Note that testing is for presence, not necessarily enough to make you sick. In the developed world the principal mechanism to reduce salmonella has been vaccination of chicken flocks. This has been very effective. In the US, we also wash eggs and refrigerate them. Elsewhere the major secondary control is cleanliness in breeding and laying houses. Farmers (chicken ranchers?) in the EU know that people will see their eggs as they are and strive to meet regulations for cleanliness. This reduces the transmission of bacteria from generation to generation as a happy byproduct. US chicken farms are less clean since the farmers know the eggs will be washed. Cleanliness is important because salmonella and other bacteria can be transferred in feces. It's hard to crack an egg without having some of whatever is on the outside of the shell end up on the inside.



As I said, salmonella is generally inside the egg. It is deposited during development in the white where there really aren't many nutrients. As an egg ages the yolk membrane weakens and salmonella like any other bacteria reproduces.



I am not a chicken farmer. I am a scientist and engineer. My research leans heavily to primary sources, mostly in peer-reviewed journals, and government and medical sources. References to practical applications are based on agreement with the science.



In the galley, I try to break eggs one at a time into a small bowl or ramekin before transferring to whatever I'm making. Yes, this is one more thing to wash. Yes I'm human and my compliance rate is far from 100%. If you get a bad egg (usually from mold or a bacteria other than salmonella) you WILL know it. For salmonella you really are dependent on the supply chain that got the egg to you.



In my opinion you should worry more about salmonella from lettuce and other leaf vegetables than from eggs. YMMV.



Most of us have limited refrigeration aboard. "What fits" is a common question. For condiments, squeeze bottles are a God-send as they minimize the potential for contamination. In the absence of squeeze bottles (or if the plastic gives you ethical issues) you have to be very careful about using clean utensils and avoiding contamination. Hot sauces don't need to be refrigerated. We've talked about eggs. Frankly given the choice of pitching the leftover roast pork loin stuffed with spinach and feta to refrigerate eggs or keeping eggs in a locker and saving the pork loin for sandwiches tomorrow and some sort of pinwheel thing with apps the day after I know what I will choose.



I'll also remark that when really off the grid there are lots of products we can make ourselves that use ingredients that have a shelf life measured in years. Homemade mayonnaise is easy, although you'll want either a stick blender or a motivated college freshman. Mustard is simple; you'll want a mortar and pestle. Ketchup is simple although when I first made it and realized how much sugar goes in I switched to malt vinegar for my oven fries. For cruisers off the grid doing without, look at the things you are giving up and how to make them yourselves. "Sorry dear, I can't crawl into the lazzerete with you to replace the rudder angle indicator - I'm making Béarnaise sauce for the beef tenderloin I'm making for dinner. Once I get the tenderloin out of the freezer we can move everything in the Engel to the main freezer and shut it down." Shhh - he doesn't need to know you're binge watching West Wing that you downloaded last month when you had good Internet. Make sure he takes a handheld VHF with him into the lazerette so he can call you when he gets stuck and can't get out.

[a64pilot]

94% of Samonella is transmitted by food, it’s basically from fecal contamination.
Guess what hole a chicken egg comes out of? Right the only hole there is on that end of the chicken.
Samonella can in fact be inside to the egg, but unless you eat or handle raw eggs, that isn’t an issue, however a smart person will treat anything that raw egg comes in contact with as contaminated.
Eating raw eggs is about as smart as eating raw chicken.
I fear Salmonella because I’ve had it, we both did, it’s the sickest either of us has ever been. Being older and less fit, and if we were in a situation requiring us to have to work, I’m not so sure we could.
I was in my late 20’s when I got it, best shape of my life, and I was as weak as a baby.
https://www.cdc.gov/training/SIC_Cas..._ptversion.pdf

[model 10]

All the eggs sold in Guatemala are right from the chicken and no refrigeration. I've never seen anyone wash an egg.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

94% of Samonella is transmitted by food, it’s basically from fecal contamination.

Sure. The food number sounds about right. I'm really sorry for your experience but you do not seem to be considering the realities. Eggs are rarely a vector any more due to flock vaccination. As I said, you are at much greater risk from lettuce and other leaf vegetables.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Guess what hole a chicken egg comes out of? Right the only hole there is on that end of the chicken.

I don't think you've spent much time with chickens. Three holes back there. *grin* Again, feces may be gross, but a chicken that doesn't have salmonella won't pass it to you. Again, vaccination and cleanliness have driven incidence well down to nearly insignificant. Have you stopped eating lettuce? Leeks? Celery?



See https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/index.html


So lets talk about eggs, a rare vector. Two issues: if the hen has salmonella it will be in the egg white. You're probably okay if you only eat very fresh eggs. The feces issue is from transmission within the hen house among birds.



There is a lot of good news. One is that salmonella bacteria does not excrete toxins. That is good news. Unlike botulism, which does excrete toxins, you can deal with salmonella by cooking the bejeepers out of the vector. If you heat something at 165°F you will kill the bacteria in it, including salmonella. No more poached eggs, over easy eggs, wet scrambled eggs, mayonnaise, Hollandaise. Pasteurizing will deal with this but try finding pasteurized eggs in most cruising grounds, or even most first world groceries. You HAVE to trust your supply chain regardless. Or stop eating eggs. Remember that 1:20,000 number - statistics are pale succor when you are the one.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Samonella can in fact be inside to the egg, but unless you eat or handle raw eggs, that isn’t an issue, however a smart person will treat anything that raw egg comes in contact with as contaminated.

No. See above. The issue is eating an egg that might be contaminated that has not been cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I fear Salmonella because I’ve had it

I hear you. I'm sorry for your experience. If you landed an A64 and the nose wheel collapsed would you never fly one again? Or would you look at the credible data and maybe check maintenance records more carefully but still fly?



Are you going to stop eating lettuce because of your salmonella experience?



With all due respect I'd worry more about buying local eggs in the Grenadines that are probably not the product of vaccinated hens than whether eggs are refrigerated or not. Worry about the right things.

[Arclight]

I’ve done three transatlantics, one with refrigeration on a floating hotel and two without on my 40’ cutter. If you know how to provision your boat, refrigeration is totally unnecessary.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by Arclight

I’ve done three transatlantics, one with refrigeration on a floating hotel and two without on my 40’ cutter. If you know how to provision your boat, refrigeration is totally unnecessary.

Totally unnecessary but very nice, like alot of things on a modern cruising boat......I'll take the very nice route

[M.V.WOOSAH]

Hi Jammer, thank you for posting this. We have found ourselves in a situation post Dorian on land with no power, 1 & 1/2 cans of butane, no transport and 15 miles to the closest store/person who hopefully has a generator but getting there would involve walking and swimming the 15 miles so not really feasible at this stage as both around 60.

Luckily we have met and been impressed by several sailors that cruise without refrigeration. Ave Del Mar has been our recipe provider to date.

2 of our surviving solar panels are thankfully providing on average 0.5kw of 12 volt so we can charge phones. Sadly no 12 volt appliances on board and the inverter blew up during the storm.

Captain Geoff constructed a canvas fridge on the bridge that has been keeping everything several degrees cooler. Beer is cold enough! We still have hard cheeses, meats, fruits from day 1.

Thankfully we supplied well prior to the hurricane with mung beans to grow and dried beans and peas of every type etc but we have been very impressed with how long some foods last without refrigeration.

It is close to 4 weeks and cabbage is still great. We make various flavours of kimchi every three days. This keeps food interesting and full of flavour.

All land around us has been under sea water in the surge but we have started experimenting with soil under the roots of plants to plant some vegetables. We are also lucky there is dead wood around to make fires for cooking.

We are in the process of trying to get our boat back in the water but it has been very difficult trying to get parts because of the total devastation of Marsh Harbour.

We are not complaining as we are alive and well with habitation and lots of drinking water as we collect rain water.

We do expect we will be living this life for 2-3 more months before we are back in the water so even though we are only talking 4 -5 months without refrigeration we can totally say it is doable and we are reading everything we can find on meal preparation to make meals interesting.

Cocktails without ice was a big adjustment but really the sunset is the most important element of cocktail hour.