Living Without a Fridge

[CPseudonym]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i might live cheap but i am not a cheapskate--there is a biiig difference!!

Pure wisdom in those words. Zee, come by with that rum anytime. If your bottle runs low we'll drink mine too.

[bobconnie]

We did without ! and we can a bunch !! and it still sucks not to have a Cold Fridge !! and I don't drink beer !! But I love my cold tea, and milk when it's available! Mostly Connie and I like our freaze box! Don't get me wrong, I love canned fish !! But frozen fish filets are almost as good as fresh! and don't get me started about beef steak! That alone, even if I did not make ice, would be enough for me to bild and maintain a freazer box! But then we are old! but we were young when we got our first fridge aboard!!

[Mike OReilly]

Oh... don't pick on poor Jedi. He just lacks the imagination, experience or knowledge to know how to make fantastic meals without refrigeration. That's OK. I'll happily share my non-refrigerated culinary art with him, and I hope he would do the same with me ... despite my rather plebeian boat and galley.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

Nick, that really hurts. I'm neither macho nor do I eat cold beans. As a cruising sailor who loves the most "out" of the Bahamas Out Islands, I can't tell you how many people I met Out There whose lives were governed by their inability to live without refrigeration. Sailing schedules are built around where to get ice. Budgets are ruined by having to have parts flown into a foreign port. Restocking becomes necessary when freezers went down and months of costly provisions are lost. Once delivered a boat to a remote island, where the fridge went down and the (wealthy) owners had to fly in a mechanic and all sorts of equipment and spares. 'Way out of my price range. I can make a whale of a meal without a fridge. Entertaining is frequent and no problem. (No beer, though. The drink of choice is rum with water or fruit juice, no ice.) I love refrigeration but when my friends left on their circumnavigation I begged them to take a pressure cooker and plenty of canning jars and lids. Their engine-driven fridge system broke down in the Indian Ocean, both because of engine trouble and refrigeration itself. They saved their frozen supplies by canning them, then went some weeks without refrigeration until repairs could be made. Signed with love and a dinner invitation from Janet Groene.

I'm with you. I lived without a fridge for two years and managed well. The one I have now will only work dockside and that's OK with me, and no one would call me "macho." Refrigeration is quite new and we humans lived a very, very long time without it.

Is it nice? Sure. But it's not necessary, and assumptions are usually made by people who might be identified by the first three letters of that word.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Guy

You can't have a healthy diet eating from a can. The perservatives , the BPA, the over cooking, the additives, it goes on and on.

You made a huge leap to suggest that my lack of care for all but a healthy diet means that I would exclusively eat from cans. My comment was that I do not require food served as a form of art or refrigerated or from a fine restaurant. I would not discount a can or jar alone for health reasons and I would also be eager to eat washed fresh fruits and vegetables.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

You made a huge leap to suggest that my lack of care for all but a healthy diet means that I would exclusively eat from cans. My comment was that I do not require food served as a form of art or refrigerated or from a fine restaurant. I would not discount a can or jar alone for health reasons and I would also be eager to eat washed fresh fruits and vegetables.

I suppose it's *possible* to live without a fridge by eating lots of canned food, but it isn't necessary.

So many options have been listed here. It kind of amazes me -- *anything* can get "testy" here.

[model 10]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

It kind of amazes me -- *anything* can get "testy" here.

Well because of this testiness, I take more care with a comment, often to no avail.

[SeattleYacht]

We live on a 32' sailboat sans refrigeration and its fine. We buy only the meat well cook today and use it promptly. Vegetables don't need refrigeration. Some need wet sand or a cool, dark place. Eggs can remain out of the refrigerator indefinitely but you can put them in a glass of water to test their freshness before eating them.

Most of the world lives fine without refrigeration. I consider it a needless (for me) luxury and would rather throw some extra money in the boat maintenance fund or (very slowly building) the cruising kitty.

Some need it, some don't. For me I'm grateful for one less thing to fix WHEN it breaks down.

[NatKat]

I love the challenge of creating delicious healthy meals with no more refrigeration than an ice chest (refer & solar in budget for next year). Most of our boat meals are based-on Dal (legumes), rice, and vegetables. If you follow a mostly vegan or vegetarian diet you hardly need refer at all. I have a good spice collection which goes a long way to making delicious meals and the spices need no refrigeration. Even yummy desserts can be made with tapioca and almond milk (or milk powder), coco powder, and chocolate - we learned to like warm chocolate pudding };>.
I use ghee instead of butter - needs no refrigeration and tastes better. Also keep coconut oil, olive oil, as these do not go rancid as quickly as other oils might do in hot conditions.

We eat just as well at sea as on land. Probably some items would not be available in other countries since I am blessed to live near Indian market and health food store - but rice & beans are universal and need zero refrigeration. Also potatoes, yams, apples, and green avocados travel well and keep nicely with no refer. Fresh eggs can go a few days with no refer. Onions, garlic, felafel mix, veggie burger mix, oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, and apples ... NONE if it needs a refer.
LOVE my refrigerator on land ... but still cook GREAT meals at sea.

[sctpc]

Not trying to be rude. But, who cares if you think it needed or not the thread is "Living Without a Fridge" and I for one have no idea how I could, I have several but only a portable on my boat and would love any tips on how to.

So for all who have a fridge on your boat when you are 15 days from anywhere and your fridge dies. How would you live without it?

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by SeattleYacht

We live on a 32' sailboat sans refrigeration and its fine. We buy only the meat well cook today and use it promptly. Vegetables don't need refrigeration. Some need wet sand or a cool, dark place. Eggs can remain out of the refrigerator indefinitely but you can put them in a glass of water to test their freshness before eating them.

Most of the world lives fine without refrigeration. I consider it a needless (for me) luxury and would rather throw some extra money in the boat maintenance fund or (very slowly building) the cruising kitty.

Some need it, some don't. For me I'm grateful for one less thing to fix WHEN it breaks down.

I have had eggs go bad within a week in Florida's summer heat. May work better in Seattle. I just bought 1/2 dozen at a time and made sure I used them quickly. Can you explain the "egg in a glass of water" thing? I know I knew that once, but it's gone somewhere.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by NatKat

I love the challenge of creating delicious healthy meals with no more refrigeration than an ice chest (refer & solar in budget for next year). Most of our boat meals are based-on Dal (legumes), rice, and vegetables. If you follow a mostly vegan or vegetarian diet you hardly need refer at all. I have a good spice collection which goes a long way to making delicious meals and the spices need no refrigeration. Even yummy desserts can be made with tapioca and almond milk (or milk powder), coco powder, and chocolate - we learned to like warm chocolate pudding };>.
I use ghee instead of butter - needs no refrigeration and tastes better. Also keep coconut oil, olive oil, as these do not go rancid as quickly as other oils might do in hot conditions.

We eat just as well at sea as on land. Probably some items would not be available in other countries since I am blessed to live near Indian market and health food store - but rice & beans are universal and need zero refrigeration. Also potatoes, yams, apples, and green avocados travel well and keep nicely with no refer. Fresh eggs can go a few days with no refer. Onions, garlic, felafel mix, veggie burger mix, oatmeal with cinnamon, nutmeg, and apples ... NONE if it needs a refer.
LOVE my refrigerator on land ... but still cook GREAT meals at sea.

You can also live without refrigeration and not become a vegetarian, which just doesn't appeal to me. Nothing wrong with it, I have nothing against those who do, but I like meat. Don't eat a lot of it, but I like it.

And at 67 with naturally low cholesterol, I can't be doing too badly ...

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by sctpc

Not trying to be rude. But, who cares if you think it needed or not the thread is "Living Without a Fridge" and I for one have no idea how I could, I have several but only a portable on my boat and would love any tips on how to.

So for all who have a fridge on your boat when you are 15 days from anywhere and your fridge dies. How would you live without it?

But we already have a whole bunch of posts on that ...

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Rakuflames

I have had eggs go bad within a week in Florida's summer heat. May work better in Seattle. I just bought 1/2 dozen at a time and made sure I used them quickly. Can you explain the "egg in a glass of water" thing? I know I knew that once, but it's gone somewhere.

If it sinks, eat it; if it floats, don't eat it. If it is somewhere in the middle, well your choice to chance it - or otherwise

Simply put: gas builds up in the egg as it go bad causing it to float.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Wotname

If it sinks, eat it; if it floats, don't eat it. If it is somewhere in the middle, well your choice to chance it - or otherwise

Simply put: gas builds up in the egg as it go bad causing it to float.

LOL trust me, that gas builds up in the boat, too! Peee--uuuuu!