Cooking and storage facilities on a boat are limited.
Living on a boat provides a number of unique challenges for a cook. Storage and cooking space are always at a premium, and simple things such as water to boil ingredients with have to be carefully planned for. Any forgotten ingredient will require the exercise of some ingenuity, because the nearest convenience store can sometimes be a long way off. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Planning and Preparation
Boat cooking is very different from cooking on shore. Boat galleys have very limited storage space, so you'll need to prioritize and keep only what you need in the galley. Bulk supplies, or less-used items, will need to be relegated to storage in other areas of the boat. Food items will need to be protected from heat and cold, moisture, insect or rodent pests and the movement of the boat. Your work space will be smaller than you're used to, and you'll have relatively few pans or utensils to work with. All of these are major adjustments.
Selecting Ingredients
Choose ingredients that can be stored without refrigeration, since both electricity and fridge or cooler space will be at a premium. Durable dry goods, long-storing vegetables and cured or canned meats are all good options. Regular supermarket bacon will only last a few days without a cooler, but a slab of old-fashioned dry bacon will stay usable for months. Packaging is important too, since square and rectangular packaging is more space-efficient than round. Buy dry powdered milk, or shelf-stable UHT-pasteurized milk in Tetra packs.
Mealtime Considerations
Small meals are usually best. Storage for leftovers is limited, and galley stoves usually only have two or three burners. Pressure cookers are more popular with sailors than the shore-bound, because they cook quickly and use less fuel. Select meals that cook quickly when the weather is hot, so you generate less heat in the galley. When it's cold, indulge in longer-cooking meals and make the heat work for you. Water is always at a premium when offshore, so save pasta or vegetable water for soups, or at least to rinse dishes before washing.
Meal Planning
Buy and cook things you like, first and foremost. Rice is very practical, for example, but if you don't eat it on shore don't buy it for the boat. Stockpile recipes that incorporate canned or cured meats, since fresh will seldom be available. Catch your own fish for meals, and learn clean them. Acidic condiments and most pickles can be kept without refrigeration and perk up meals of canned and dried foods. Hard cheeses keep without refrigeration and add interest to many meals. Even eggs will keep for weeks without refrigeration for light and quick meals.
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