# Non-perishable food to keep on the boat?



## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

I'd like to stock the boat up with a couple of weeks of non-perishable food. So I'd like to solicit suggestions. I already came up with the following :

Canned stew
Canned Chilli
Canned vegetables
Canned fruit
Canned custard and Heinz puddings (!)
Canned and instant soup
Cookies
Instant oatmeal
Cup noodles and similar
Instant rice
Boil-in-the-bag curry
Quick-cooking pasta
Pasta sauce
Tea bags
Coffee
Long-life milk
Cereal (individual portions)

Thanks!


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## methridg (Jan 29, 2012)

For what reason are you stocking this food? I think that would make a difference as to what gets stocked.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

Are you cruising or is this just so you can lug fewer bags to the boat every weekend?


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

Canned stew, chili and particularly vegetables are nearly inedible! IMHO.

There are some great soups in the UHT boxes now. Not to mention milk. 

Granola
Pasta
Pasta sauce
Peanut butter
Saltines

Not sure of the purpose here.

I like keeping baking supplies. Flour, baking powder, crisco , cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, brown sugar, salt. Nothing like smelling something baking on a boat.


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## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

methridg said:


> For what reason are you stocking this food? I think that would make a difference as to what gets stocked.


Good question.

1) To have snacks & food available when I go there for a day or two, and for weekend sails.

2) As an emergency resource, in case of an earthquake etc. making the house uninhabitable.


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## MARC2012 (Mar 17, 2008)

I like the canned ham from & store.Canned ckn is also good,whole,.


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## glassdad (Feb 21, 2009)

You might want to look at the freeze dried food for backpackers. We have 6 dinners for 4 stored away for emergency use. They last for years and taste OK.


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## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

canned tuna or salmon? For condiments, you can acquire those individual packets of ketchup and mayonnaise and pickles, etc from fast food places.


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

wingNwing said:


> For condiments, you can acquire those individual packets of ketchup and mayonnaise and pickles, etc from *fast food places*.


*shudder* NO! Not you, Jaye! Say it ain't so!


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## Lake Superior Sailor (Aug 23, 2011)

MRE's -----Meals Rejected by Everyone!..Or Lil Debbie's--[ good for 20 years]......Dale


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## wingNwing (Apr 28, 2008)

DRFerron said:


> *shudder* NO! Not you, Jaye! Say it ain't so!


LOL @ Donna! Nope, on our boat we have refrigeration, so we have Trinidadian hot sauce for our primary condiment.

Just making practical suggestions for those without thermal control ...


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## bigdogandy (Jun 21, 2008)

Spam spam wonderful spam!


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## tomperanteau (Jun 4, 2009)

I'd leave the high fructose stuff out, but agree on the condiments. We have several bags of the little packet aboard. We carry about 300 pounds or rice and another 200 of beans. A LOT of canned foods, although you have to watch the dates and rotate them. We also carry several teas and lots of coffee. Organic honey, lots of spices, well-stocked tackle box...


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## INMA (Sep 13, 2011)

Thin bilton.

Search for "thin bilton" at this site.

Search Results


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## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

INMA said:


> Thin bilton.
> 
> Search for "thin bilton" at this site.
> 
> Search Results


I am more intrigued by the "Rooibos Vermouth" on the first page.


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

Best condiment ever. Pric nam pla. Ask any Thai. Make your own with dried hot peppers and fish sauce. Makes really bland kick butt.


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## Tree (Oct 10, 2004)

Costco Kirkland caned chicken
nuts (cashews, peanuts, pecans, etc.)
salsa.... la vic, Pace, Safeway select green sausa, etc.
instant oatmeal
real rice, not instant
instant potatoes
powdered milk
caned tomato sauce
spices...... garlic powder, salt, pepper, basil, pepper, italian seasoning, parsley, oregano, cayanne, ground chili, etc.
Canned beans
hot and sour soup mix by sunbird
ramen noodle soups
...... use your imagination


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## Tree (Oct 10, 2004)

a couple I forgot.....

canned tuna (again, kirkland from Costco)
Pilot bread
tortillas last a long time....
crackers ..... if well sealed
canned ham
canned stew..... Not bad if you add a cup of salsa..... try it!
good old canned soup by campbells soup.... like chicken noodle, tomato, bean with bacon, vegetable etc.

you can never have too much food on board!!!


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

The things I regularly restock are:

Dinty Moore Chicken 'n Dumplings
Dry soup mix
Oatmeal
Bisquick
Saltines
Canned tuna
Peanut butter
Tea (3 kinds, I don't drink coffee)
Sugar cubes (box fits in a ziplock, no spill, no mess)
Canned chilli
Spices & condiments
Maple syrup
Wheat thins and Triscut crackers
various oils & vinegar
hot chocolate & hot cider mix
pasta
cornmeal


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

tomperanteau said:


> We carry about 300 pounds or rice and another 200 of beans.


That's a lot of rice and beans. Do you break it down or keep it in the 50# bags? Wow.


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## jameswilson29 (Aug 15, 2009)

Tree said:


> Costco Kirkland caned chicken
> ...... use your imagination


Caning is illegal in the U.S. Were these chickens caned in Malaysia? Why were they being punished?


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## rbrasi (Mar 21, 2011)

Take this one to the bank: Tasty Bite Madras Lentils from costco. They are healthy, delicious and come in narrow sealed bags that can either be boiled or microwaved. They cost about $1.50 per bag (a box of four is $6.00). Plenty of protein and they take up virtually zero shelf space.


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## methridg (Jan 29, 2012)

MarkSF said:


> Good question.
> 
> 1) To have snacks & food available when I go there for a day or two, and for weekend sails.
> 
> 2) As an emergency resource, in case of an earthquake etc. making the house uninhabitable.


For the emergency thing, I'd go with some MREs. Well packaged, long lasting, tolerable to eat (for a short time). Just make sure you have lots of water.


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## MarkSF (Feb 21, 2011)

rbrasi said:


> Take this one to the bank: Tasty Bite Madras Lentils from costco. They are healthy, delicious and come in narrow sealed bags that can either be boiled or microwaved. They cost about $1.50 per bag (a box of four is $6.00). Plenty of protein and they take up virtually zero shelf space.


Our local indian supermarket has a big range of Tasty Bites. Good idea, must stock up.


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## WanderingStar (Nov 12, 2008)

Pop Tarts.
Canned meat, dried soup.
Jelly, bread (lasts a looong time unopened). Nut bars.
Rum.
I keep mustard, ketchup and relish aboard without refridgeration. They have plenty of vinegar to keep them.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

MarkSF said:


> Our local indian supermarket has a big range of Tasty Bites. Good idea, must stock up.


Yes they are great, but there comes a point where suddenly they don't taste good anymore. Seemed to be about 50 of them for me. Now I can't stand to look at them....

MedSailor


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## tomperanteau (Jun 4, 2009)

SVAuspicious said:


> That's a lot of rice and beans. Do you break it down or keep it in the 50# bags? Wow.


Yes, we break it down. We normally buy the size bags that are on sale, and when we open a bag, we have plastic, screw top, containers that we pour into instead of trying to reseal the plastic bag over and over. We have broken down our brown sugar into five pound bags (have about 50 pounds aboard). Salt, some white sugar, same thing. Lots of spices.

We're getting ready for a really extended cruise/voyage, and will be living aboard and probably gone for may months/years at a time.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Costco has some good deals on decent tinned chicken and beef. I wouldn't call either one anything to write home about, but for tinned meat it can dress up plain bean chili, etc. pretty quickly.

I also keep Progresso soups. Lots of variety, lots of meat in some of the beef soups. Again, add some noodles or bulk it up and you can turn it into a better 'stew" than Dinty Moore real quickly. And their clam chowders are actually pretty good, no excuses needed.

Then there's always Chef Ronzoni...aka "Purina batchelor chow". 

Real emergency food is unopened peanut butter (without the transfats) and a 20# bag of rice. As any VietCong can tell you, one 20# of rice can keep your whole crew going for full month. Ten dollar, you pay too much. MRE, you pay too much.


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## PaulfromNWOnt (Aug 20, 2010)

methridg said:


> For the emergency thing, I'd go with some MREs. Well packaged, long lasting, tolerable to eat (for a short time). Just make sure you have lots of water.


I'm sorry, and I understand where you were going, but it still sounds funny to recommend water to a guy on a boat :laugher


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

We usually have small tins of salmon on board. Mixed in with fresh tomato, cucumber, basil and mozarella with drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil makes a fabulous lunch. 

Recently tried some tinned chicken as an alternative and must confess it worked quite well. Doubt I'd use it for cooking though.

btw ... if you have a delicate constitution the above sans the salmon makes a good stomach settling first meal at sea .... well it works for me anyway. Not that I have a delicate constitution but the only times I get seasick is if I put to sea on an empty stomach. That wee salad seems to be enough to do the trick.


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

> 2) As an emergency resource, in case of an earthquake etc. making the house uninhabitable.


Emergency Essentials - Be Prepared Emergency Preparedness Food Storage

This is a dooms-day prep store. They actually might have some good deals. (I bought a sleeping bag there a really long time ago, and they keep sending catalog...yikes)


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

For a stash of emergency grub go to a life raft repacking shop.They toss out the blocks of Ithinkit'sedeble and neat little bags of water when they check out a commercial raft each year .I've got an ammo box full in the basement ready for the big one.I walked thru 30 thous dead in Turkey, missed the tsunami in Thailand by one day and the Tokyo shake by 5 days so I figure it couldn't hurt to be ready,especially if it's free. ps to paul water water all around ,nor any drop to drink.


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

tomperanteau said:


> Yes, we break it down. We normally buy the size bags that are on sale, and when we open a bag, we have plastic, screw top, containers that we pour into instead of trying to reseal the plastic bag over and over. We have broken down our brown sugar into five pound bags (have about 50 pounds aboard). Salt, some white sugar, same thing. Lots of spices.


Wow again. You're working with really big quantities. We buy 50# bags of rice (20# for sticky rice) and beans in 10# bags. Sugars and flour is mostly in 10# or 20# bags. Everything gets broken down into 1#(ish) amounts and vacuum sealed. We use the Lock-n-Lock containers that working product is kept in to measure the amounts for sealing so that when we open a new vacuum bag it will fit in the container.

How do you manage all that stuff?


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## ncapener (Sep 1, 2008)

I am surprised, home canning was not mentioned. I bought a pressure cooker a year ago at a garage sale for 10 bucks, jars at walmart and have been cooking and canning ever since. 
Would you like to enjoy a can of store bought chili, wondering what "meat" is in that can (besides all the other ingredients you can't pronounce) or open a jar of your favorite, seasoned to your taste chili that actually has chunks of meat in it??? 
I can vegetables, fruits, salmon and crab. It is somewhat time consuming, but well worth it to me. 

Neal


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

Neal, check out other thread.7days food on board? I've been canning deer and oysters for years .


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

> For condiments, you can acquire those individual packets of ketchup and mayonnaise and pickles


As a person who runs restaurants I dont think I can condone this practice....I am shocked at you...:laugher:laugher:laugher:laugher


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

chef2sail said:


> As a person who runs restaurants I dont think I can condone this practice....I am shocked at you...:laugher:laugher:laugher:laugher


I'm going to give WnW the benefit of the doubt that she meant to 'acquire' them at a wholesale club (SAMs, BJs, Costco). 

Actually, buying a big box of them is a pretty good idea, if one has no refrigeration. Acquiring that many like a little old lady with an empty purse, probably requires one to spend too much money at the restaurants in the first place. Skip a couple of those meal tabs and you could afford a couple of year supply.


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## downeast450 (Jan 16, 2008)

Good stuff!

I will add:

various muffin mixes and a Bakepacker* ( If you haven't seen one of these you should check it out. It really works!)
Granola
Oatmeal
Dried dates
B&M brown bread !!***
canned sardines 
12 year old (or older) Scotch
Good rum

The last two won't keep well and should be replaced regularly. Ha!

*BakePacker

Down


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## tomperanteau (Jun 4, 2009)

hellosailor said:


> Real emergency food is unopened peanut butter (without the transfats) and a 20# bag of rice. As any VietCong can tell you, one 20# of rice can keep your whole crew going for full month. Ten dollar, you pay too much. MRE, you pay too much.


This is why we keep a couple of hundred pounds aboard. Rice is also a great way to soak up juices from meats to increase the meal. Nothing goes to waste.


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## Brent Swain (Jan 16, 2012)

Put your cheese in a jar and cover it with cooking oil. Keeps well ,and you can still use the oil for cooking. Works for margarine too.
I once sailed to Tahiti with 15 dozen greased eggs aboard. After three months in the tropics, 10 of every 12 were still good. I turned the whole carton over once a week.
Broke them one at a time into a cup first , to make sure I didn't throw a bad one on two good ones.


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## MedSailor (Mar 30, 2008)

chef2sail said:


> As a person who runs restaurants I dont think I can condone this practice....I am shocked at you...:laugher:laugher:laugher:laugher


Chef, where DOES a regular person acquire these individual packets of condiments in bulk? I've wanted to have a stash of 1/2 and 1/2 cream on the boat for years but never seem to be able to find the suppliers of these things. Do you have to own a restaurant and have a Sysco account or can the rest of us get them somewhere?

MedSailor


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## jsaronson (Dec 13, 2011)

stash of 1/2 and 1/2 cream - try Staples


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

MedSailor said:


> Chef, where DOES a regular person acquire these individual packets of condiments in bulk? I've wanted to have a stash of 1/2 and 1/2 cream on the boat for years but never seem to be able to find the suppliers of these things. Do you have to own a restaurant and have a Sysco account or can the rest of us get them somewhere?


Moo-Moo UHT creamer in the little single serving plastic cups is available in 20 and 50 (I think) packages at most large supermarkets in the US. You can get even bigger packages at warehouse stores like Sam's Club and Costco.

The warehouse stores carry the little packets of mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, and relish as well if you are so inclined.

I just boat a bunch at the Giant in Annapolis for my trip to BVI next week.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

Med, look for "restaurant supply" in the yellow pages. Assuming you can still find a yellow pages. A lot of the wholesale places will sell anything to anyone who comes in with cash, there are a lot of mom & pop businesses who deal that way.

Barring that, go to any diner or local eatery that's informal or knows your face, and tell them you need a case of this stuff to stock in your (well, boat might sound rich) whatever. Odds are they'll sell you the case at near their cost, for them it is good will.


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