It can be hard to find butter and cheese in some cruising grounds. You certainly want it to last once you find it. Here’s how–whether you have a refrigerator or not.
Links:
Eating Well with a Tiny Fridge
Lock & Lock Storage Containers (Amazon)
Canned Butter (Amazon)
Bega Canned Cheese (Amazon)
Cheddar Cheese Powder (Amazon)
Prefer to Read? Check out Storing Butter and Cheese on a Boat.
Click to see all podcast sponsors, past and present.
Music: “Slow Down” by Yvette Craig
Be sure to subscribe to The Boat Galley podcast to get new episodes automatically in your podcast player.
Steve says
Thanks for you helpful tips here. From your tip we tried the Lock-n-Lock containers, and we like them very much.
I found that parmesan wedges can be left in ambient conditions, while I cut off or grate what I want when I want it. Over a long period of time (such as weeks, if I am that slow to use the cheese!) the wedge will slowly dry a bit, but unless I leave it out and wrapped in something that holds humidity, it stays completely edible. In hotter conditions it will sweat a some of its oil faster, so when I leave a wedge out I place it upon a piece of paper towel (folded small so it just fits underneath). I suspect other dry aged cheeses will also do well handled this way.
I use a butter bell year ’round, even when the temperature in the galley gets into the 80s, and the butter does fine except in those rare occasions when the butter itself spends too long at the melting point. But adequately frequent change of the bell’s water has been enough to prevent the butter from going bad.
My experience with the bell led me to wonder if unwrapped pieces of butter can be stored unrefrigerated fully submerged in water, as long as the water temperature does not rise to the melting point of the butter (this seems to vary based on fat content). So if a month-long temperate climate voyage is planned during which ten pounds of butter is desired and the provisioner wants to avoid putting all that butter in the reefer, why not stow the butter submerged in fresh water or brine, in one or more leakproof containers? If necessary due to declining water quality, the water could even be poured off and replaced as needed. I think I may test this.
Also, I found that freeze dried powdered butter is worth buying for reduced weight (Emergency Essentials brand is particularly excellent quality… there are other butters out there, but the EE product is noticeably excellent taste and fat content) and very loooooong storage life and situations where there will be no access to a fresh market, such as when voyaging, or when in quarantine in a foreign port or during yet another civil crisis, etc.