Conserving food without a fridge
 

Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Regards

Steve

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Conserving food without a fridge
 

Conserving food without a fridge
 

Steve Smith wrote:

Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Insulated lockers below the waterline?

Stephen

Conserving food without a fridge
 

Conserving food without a fridge
 

On 27 Jul 2004 02:03:01 -0700, (Steve
Smith) wrote:

Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

What type of oil? And stored in what type of sealed container and how
did it stayed sealed? Congratulations on your experimental success,
but I would consider it more relevant to offshore use if a) the
container spent 8 months in a car trunk during the summer, and b) the
car trunk belonged to a Land Rover working mountain trails.

My point? High variability in temperature and considerable movement
are the real enemies of preservation. Granted, you can keep
perishables in the bilge, but the packaging better be
oil/seawater/black water-tight, and in the tropics, with a sea temp of
25 C, the bilge won't be much cooler...eventually.

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Dessication is great for fruits and meats, as is "freeze-dried" and
sealed in foil. Another advantage is the big reduction in weight and
volume.

The early recreational cruising narratives (Hiscocks, Smeatons, Roths,
Pardeys, etc.) are helpful because none of them had more than an
icebox, and that icebox was only good for well under a week. After
that, it was strictly pantry fare, Mason jars and "waxed eggs". Also
good are the early solo circumnavigators, like Robin Knox-Johnson.

Finally, I've often thought that some civilian version of the U.S.
Army's Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) would be handy on a cruising boat,
mainly for the virtue that they "self-cook" and would be great during
a prolonged bout of heavy weather, during which it can be difficult,
if not dangerous, to attempt to get hot food together.

R.

Conserving food without a fridge
 

One reference which has a chapter which includes some information on this is
Voyaging Under Power by Robert Beebe.

====

Charles T. Low
- remove "UN"
www.boatdocking.com/BDPhoto.html - Photo Contest
www.boatdocking.com
www.ctlow.ca/Trojan26 - my boat

====

"Steve Smith" wrote in message
om...
Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Regards

Steve

Conserving food without a fridge
 

A vacuum packer is one option for some foods. See
http://www.danozdirect.com.au/?cid=72||&number=FSAVERN&variation=&aitem=30&mitem =71
As this item has a transformer I think it could work off 12 volt ! with some
modification.
Wrapping citrus fruit in silver (Alum) foil individually seems to extend
their life. (if you are not temped to look before needing). (Do a test)
Don't store onions and potatoes together is another hint.

Regards Geoff

"Steve Smith" wrote in message
om...
Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Regards

Steve

Remove defcv if replying by email.

Conserving food without a fridge
 

In "Once is Enough", Miles Smeeton,
mentioned 'flash boiling' eggs for 5 or
ten seconds, to extend their life. I also
think of the staples of pioneers, like salted
meats and beef jerky. For carbos there
are crackers.
A little research into food preservation
before refrigeration would be full of info
and what's better than the web to do research?

Conserving food without a fridge
 

On 27 Jul 2004 02:03:01 -0700, (Steve
Smith) wrote:

Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Regards

Steve

Remove defcv if replying by email.
Not exactly on point, but this site:

http://www.internet-grocer.net/Shop/

may interest you. The canned meats and cheese are of excellent
quality. They also have some eclectic survival/outdoors products that
make sense on boats

__________________________________________________ __________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/

Conserving food without a fridge
 

When we used to cruise with our children, Jan would make casseroles and
freeze them into virtually cement blocks. Then we would locate an ice house
where the blocks of ice were as solid as material compressed in a black
hole. The casserole blocks would go into the bottom of the ice chest which
in our boat had to be 4 feet deep and topped by those ice blocks which were
beyond penetration by the ordinary ice pick. It would take several days for
those casserole blocks to reach a semi-defrosted state, but we would have a
week long menu of terrific dinners. As the children grew and grew away from
sailing with Mom and Dad, we discovered Lean Cuisine and similar packaged
foods. You can get a lot at places such as Eastern Mountain Sports and REI,
but they tend to be heavily salted and spare. I have fond memories of a
night in Cuttyhunk when a friend with a powerboat tied up alongside our 30
foot sloop. All he had on board was a terrific cut of beef. All we had was a
ton of Lean Cuisines. That night we dined on thinly sliced prime rib,
lobster newburg, chicken al fresco wth penne and a ton of other fun foods
topped off with a couple of gallons of Chardonnay. A couple of candles on
the salon table and it was a terrific evening of food, wine and banter.
Those are the memories.

I will not tell you what happened the next morning when barnacles blocked
the head discharge hose.

Tom


"Glen "Wiley" Wilson" wrote in
message ...
On 27 Jul 2004 02:03:01 -0700, (Steve
Smith) wrote:

Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Regards

Steve

Remove defcv if replying by email.
Not exactly on point, but this site:

http://www.internet-grocer.net/Shop/

may interest you. The canned meats and cheese are of excellent
quality. They also have some eclectic survival/outdoors products that
make sense on boats

__________________________________________________ __________
Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, my NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/

Conserving food without a fridge
 

Unless you see mold growing in there I don't think this storage method will
develop any toxins. The oil might go rancid (oxidize) and taste/smell
pretty foul but if you wash this off I think the cheese would be fine. I
think cheese can also be preserved by coating with wax. You dip cold cheese
into melted wax a few times to build up a layer. Sodium silicate
("waterglass") has been used to preserve eggs but flash boiling, as
mentioned, is less messy. I have read that eggs straight from the chicken
house are most easily preserved. Something about them retaining a natural
coating which is washed off the store-bought versions.

I think Mother Earth News probably carries articles on preserving foods but
I've not actually looked.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/

"Steve Smith" wrote in message
om...
Hi all

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. I have actually read
most of the books mentioned - Hill's, most of the Pardey's, a couple
of Smeeton's etc. great books and all recommended but I will look for
Roth's and Beebe's and Rogers. I have limited time on the Net and
value the comments of people in this group, and I did look on the Net
for techniques some time ago with little success. I think that many of
the skills and techniques from the past for preserving food may be
being lost and I am interested in finding any that could relate to
cruising. I intend hopefully to have at least an icebox but would like
to have the knowledge to conserve/preserve food as a backup.

The container was just a standard glass preserving jar with a rubber
sealing ring and clip. The oil was normal vegetable cooking oil from a
supermarket filled to as near the top as possible. It looked as if the
cheese would last about a year in those conditions as it had not
deteriorated significantly and there was little penetration of the oil
into the cheese or the cheese into the oil. Is there any possibility
that toxins could build up due to the reaction between the two? I am
not a chemist or food technologist but I am still alive after tasting
the cheese!. I do realise the effects of motion and temperature could
affect the results quite a bit, perhaps a more viscous medium would be
more immune to these? I was wondering if other food items have been
preserved similarly that is not common knowledge?

Thanks again for all your comments.

Regards

Steve

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Conserving food without a fridge
 

Egss that have never been refrigerated (not the ones you get in a
store) will keep for weeks if you 'turn'; them twice daily.

Conserving food without a fridge
 

Best way to conserve food would be to eat less.

Doug
s/v Callista

"Steve Smith" wrote in message
om...
Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Regards

Steve

Remove defcv if replying by email.

Conserving food without a fridge
 

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box?

http://cruisenews.net/db/pagetemplate.php?cat_id=94

Conserving food without a fridge
 

I think the word you're looking for is ,,, preserving ,,, food. My
grandparents preserved all kinds of stuff in glass preserve jars ,,,
venison, moose, mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, potatoes etc), various
fruit. Dried fruit is easy to come by these days. Powdered milk tastes not
too bad these days. And there's all kinds of canned stuff ,,, remove the
paper labels (and mark the cans contents to avoid those chef's surprise type
meals). But if you think I'd eat 8 month old oil dipped cheese out of sight
of a hospital, ferget it :-)


"Steve Smith" wrote in message
om...
Hi

Having read that cheese could be stored in oil for long periods I
tried this and found that hard cheese (cheddar) in vegetable oil was
still OK after 8 months (tested at home).

Has anyone else any tips for other long term storage without a fridge
or ice box? Can other items be stored in oil or other mediums?

Regards

Steve

Remove defcv if replying by email.

Conserving food without a fridge
 

About 40 years ago, give or take, an English teacher in northern
Georgia (state) US got his students as an exercise to start
interviewing older people to learn how they had lived in times past.
The resulting stories and instructions on how to accomplish things
without electricity were so good he published the collection as the
Fox Fire book. It became quite popular and resulted in a whole
series. I am certain that the Fox Fire series contains many articles
on how to prepare and preserve food prior to the invention of
refrigeration.

Another, perhaps even better source of knowledge, which is even
relatively inexpensive, are the books and pamphlets that you can get
from the US Department of Agriculture. To get a list of the titles
available and the costs, go to the US Government Printing Office.
Many of the pamphlets are short and quite specific. You will be
amazed at the topics that are available and how cheap they are to
purchase. In addition to helping farmers grow and produce food, one
of the major mandates of the Dept of Agriculture is the preparation
and preservation of food.

For modern foods and containers that would work well on a boat, check
out camping, backpacking, etc. books and magazines.

Lee Huddleston
s/v Truelove

Conserving food without a fridge
 

"Bowgus" wrote in message .rogers.com...

But if you think I'd eat 8 month old oil dipped cheese out of sight
of a hospital, ferget it :-)

Hi

I was a bit dubious at first but the oil didn't change at all over
time and there was only a little sediment in the bottom of the jar. I
scraped away the first few millimetres and the cheese looked and
tasted as good as new. As no air had gotten to it apart from that
disolved in the oil, it appears there was little reaction between the
two. I think perhaps wrapping the cheese in sterilized muslin might
help the cheese from breaking up in the violent motion of a yacht.

Regards

Steve

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Conserving food without a fridge
 

"Gordon Wedman" wrote in message news:kwxOc.30$T_6.16@edtnps89...
Unless you see mold growing in there I don't think this storage method will
develop any toxins. The oil might go rancid (oxidize) and taste/smell
pretty foul but if you wash this off I think the cheese would be fine. I
think cheese can also be preserved by coating with wax. You dip cold cheese
into melted wax a few times to build up a layer. Sodium silicate
("waterglass") has been used to preserve eggs but flash boiling, as
mentioned, is less messy. I have read that eggs straight from the chicken
house are most easily preserved. Something about them retaining a natural
coating which is washed off the store-bought versions.

I think Mother Earth News probably carries articles on preserving foods but
I've not actually looked.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/


Hi

Thanks for your comments. Found the following two articles, quite old
but relevant, from the site:-

Article about fruit and vegetable preservation; storage, drying and
canning, from 1971, -
http://www.motherearthnews.com/index...ge=arc&id=5258

Also another from Pat Kenoyer, from 1975

http://www.motherearthnews.com/index...ge=arc&id=4560

Regards

Steve

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Conserving food without a fridge
 

Raisins are high in nutritional value and
cheap!