Real life food storage examples

This past winter, while trying to get well, I watched a lot of sailing videos. One of my plans is to sail my own boat to the Bahamas. With that in mind, I concentrated on the sailors that went to the islands.

It’s occurred to me that the Bahamas trips provided great insight into food storage and food foraging. Food in the Bahamas is expensive and the selection can be very limited. There’s a huge incentive to bring as much food as possible. Since most sailboats have limited storage, that can be a challenge. They don’t have any giant chest freezers like in some people’s homes either.

It’s interesting to see people on a half million dollar sailboat down to black beans and corn meal. Even when they resupply, they are at the mercy at the little boats that haul supplies to the islands. If the boats are late, the stores are empty.

So how about fish? Yes, there are people who eat a lot of fish. However, if you are down to fish three times a day, it’s going to get pretty boring. Foraging? Not much is grown on those islands. About the only thing I see being foraged are coconuts. Fish and coconuts, both good eating, but day after day?

So what seems to work best? Dried foods that don’t require refrigeration work well. Your basic beans, rice, flours, and pasta are popular. Good cooking oils and spices make a big difference. Some foods do well without refrigeration: eggs, cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes. It seems that people have very different thoughts when it comes to canned goods. Some boats are packed chock full of cans. Others seem to use them more sparingly.

People who are serious about cans remove the labels to discourage bugs who feed on the paper and glues. Remember to write the contents on the can with a marker. Another thing people do is to remove as much excess packaging as possible. That’s a pretty good strategy for anyone with limited storage space, like in an apartment or an RV.

It seems that the most successful sailors have all the food they need for their stay. When they shop in the islands it’s to provide some variety to their menu. They may pick up a few fresh tomatoes and other produce that doesn’t last long. They don’t need them to survive, but they provide an emotional boost. One thing that I found interesting is that chickens appear to be running all over those islands, but the stores run out of eggs quickly. Go figure.

Recently I’ve been experimenting with dried eggs. I started with Augason Farms Dried Whole Egg Product in a number 10 can. It’s easy to prepare, one measure of egg powder to one measure of warm water. So how was it? On the plus side it’s really easy to cook with and the results are excellent. By themselves . . . the taste is a bit odd. It’s not bad, just different. Best results were in an omelet with lots of fixings and seasonings. If I was down to beans and corn meal, having some somewhat odd tasting eggs would actually be welcome.

-Sixbears