Question About US Food Products

[fblc]

Hi,

I am planing my food list to cross the Ocean from Charleston to Azores and I have some question. I think I'll go to Haris Teater supermaket near in downtown.

Is there any long term conservation bread in US ? If yes what is the best brand for 15-20 days ?

Do you know if I can found dry bread like this (sorry but I can't translate in english the french word Biscottes) http://www.tabledescalories.com/phot...ments/7446.jpg

For 7 to 20 days meat or sausages, could you give me please a brand with a good taste ? Has Spam a good taste ?

For the milk, is there UHT milk in US ? If not could you recomand me a brand for long term conservation milk ?

Also, if you have more brands to recommand meit will be great.

Thanks
Fab

[capn_billl]

In the US, The closest equivalent is melba toast, and they are usually much smaller, 3-6 cm.

In most stores there are a variety of Norwegian flat breads, (simular to hardtack), and crackers of various shapes and sizes.

Spam? I like it, some don't. Hickory farms make several sausage, (look carefully most are made to be refridgerated).

Yes UHT milk is available, it is becoming more popolar, Walmart has it, most camping stores have it, Some grocery stores have begun to carry it. Usually only one brand is available, canned milk is also available.

The best long term food in the US is military rations, called MRE's, the civilian equivalent is available in most camping stores. They also have backpacking food, mostly freeze dried, and reconstitutes in boiling water.

[Hannah on 'Rita T']

the best answer for bread is flour, yeast salt, and oil, i.e. bake your own. it can be done in a pan if you don't have an oven. And there canned meat products, tuna fish, beans and rice, lentils, soy that will supply protein. Put cheese in a closed container with a little vinegar and it will keep, unrefrigerated eggs will keep.

[rebel heart]

Trader Joe's - Mt Pleasant, SC

Trader Joe's has a location in Mt Pleasant near Charleston. They have great selections of canned chicken that we use for a variety of meals onboard. Call me a wimp but unless there are bullets flying around I'm not eating Meals Refused by Ethiopians.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by Hannah on 'Rita T'

the best answer for bread is flour, yeast salt, and oil, i.e. bake your own. it can be done in a pan if you don't have an oven. And there canned meat products, tuna fish, beans and rice, lentils, soy that will supply protein. Put cheese in a closed container with a little vinegar and it will keep, unrefrigerated eggs will keep.

Making bread underway in a swell would be pretty interesting.

[Noname]

Spam is great. Practically grew up on the stuff.
Also take some Dinty Moore beef stew in cans.

[WorldWind]

For bread..
Try canned wheat bread (B&M),but you need to be a fan of molasses.

Milk,we run with box milk(Hershey's),juice box style,very compact and don't spoil in heat.
Never mind the VHT,there's plenty of other things to worry about

Marmite
Got to have something yummy on the bread.

Edited to add canned ham over Spam,that stuff is yucky....,just my 0.02
You can make a nice ham pot pie real easy w/can veggies too.

[FrankZ]

There are some brands of shelf stable meat products (ham, bacon, sausage) but they can be salty. They are dry cured.

There are several brands of UHT milk, they may have maximum storage temperatures listed on the box.

If you have a freezer you can freeze bread to make it last longer, otherwise you may need to bake it yourself, which could be an adventure.

[bobconnie]

As far as hard Tack is concerned theres always Zyback "SPL" its a babys chew toast,not to bad really I like it better then hard tack don't need to soak near as long LOL Bob and Connie and theres nothing wrong with Spam LOL

[rubyjean]

I use Spam as a staple food. Sliced and fried w/ eggs is a good breakfast. We used a lot of canned chicken, was not a fan of the beef though. Canned stew severed over rice is pretty sweet on a cool passage at night. Canned soups also can really hit the spot. Made my own simple bread and fried it in a pan. At sea we try to keep everthing as simple as possible. Oh yes, take some canned corned beef. Makes a good sanwich w/ your favorite mustard. We would use all the fresh stuff first, then the cans come into play. Just use your imagination and you'll be amazed at what you can come up with that's not all that bad. Rice-rice-rice-rice, the food of life at sea....Michael..

[JanetGroene]

One clue is whether the supermarket displays the product under refrigeration. For example, some canned hams are shelf-stable, some require refrigeration. Many sausages and whole cheeses keep without refrigeration. Best vegetable is cabbage. Peel off and use outer leaves rather than cutting through the head. Outer leaves continue to dry out and may have to be discarded but they protect inner leaves. Don't forget green bananas. Waxed rutabagas from Canada keep well too. Bread is a tough call because you don't want the chemicals that make it last longer. Do you know about canned Boston brown bread? Find tortillas on the shelf (not in the refrigerated cases) and look at use-by dates.

[Amapola]

Harris Teeter is a nice store but pricier than most. Bordens is cheaper than Parmelat for UHT milk--both are good quality. I think Spam is YUK. Canned chicken and tuna are better. Summer sausage and pepperoni last a long time without refrigeration. Flour tortillas last a long time and can be used for sandwiches or Mexican cassroles.

[goboatingnow]

Root vegetables will keep quite a long time, vacuum pack steak if you have a half decent fridge/freezer. I can't imagine 20 days on junk canned food.

I don't know if it's available in the US , but par baked bread lasts several weeks and is still ok when baked.

Fruit is a struggle

[CharlesFCook]

My wife cans beef, pork and chicken in a pressure cooker in Ball jars. You control the salt content and meat quality. The canned meat is fantastic this way.

CANNING MEAT THE RIGHT WAY

[Katiusha]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Making bread underway in a swell would be pretty interesting.

Can attest that it works and works very well (though gotta fix that bowl well while the dough is rising).

The problems start when you NEED to knead that dough and there are confused waves outside. My solution is to sit on galley floor wedged between companion way stairs and the galley with a large cutting board on a garbage bag between my legs. The dough won't have any chance to run away and, if you time the kneads, you can sync them to the boat rocking.

For some reason my best breads come out during stormy weather - maybe because the temperature is lower for dough rising.