Storing Butter and Cheese on a Boat

I’ve gotten a couple of questions about storing butter and cheese on a boat while cruising. When we were coastal cruising, I never went longer than a month without reprovisioning. We generally provisioned every two to three weeks. But as the cheese selection was limited in some of the places we visited, I have stored cheddar for 5 or 6 months at a time. As the majority of cruising boats have refrigeration, I’ll first discuss long-term storage of cheese and butter with refrigeration. Then II’ll share some options if you don’t have refrigeration.

With Refrigeration

Even with refrigeration, you need to take some precautions to store butter and cheese longer than a week. Butter (and margarine, too — I’ll refer to both together as “butter”) will pick up flavors and odors the longer its stored. And cheese will mold if not properly handled.

Butter

Any butter that won’t be used in the next week should be double-bagged in heavy-duty Ziploc bags. Get as much air out as you can. Or vacuum seal it. This will really help protect it against picking up tastes from other things in the refrigerator. I put just one or two sticks in each package (particularly if vaccuum-sealing). Then I could easily take out a little at a time.

I usually put my entire stock (except what I’m currently using) into a plastic container with a tight lid (see food storage supplies). Then I tucked it into an out-of the way spot in the refrigerator — the colder the better. I’ve kept butter this way for as long as three months when I’ve found a particularly good price.

Note that I used olive oil and canola oil in place of butter in a lot of my cooking. So I reduced the amount of butter in the refrigerator. See reducing food in the refrigerator for more information. It’s also healthier!

The stick(s) that I’m currently using I put in a Lock & Lock plastic container (Amazon) I just use a small rectangular box out of the set I have. The Rubbermaid Lock-It boxes (Amazon) also do a good job of protecting against odors.

Cheese

I basically store in the same way. If it comes commercially packed, I leave it in its wrapper and put Ziplocs or a vacuum sealed bag over that. If it’s been cut from a larger piece, I wipe the piece well with white vinegar. You can use other types of vinegar but they may leave a bit of a taste. And make sure it’s dry before putting it in a Ziploc or vacuum sealed bag. I also put these in a larger plastic box for long-term storage. I keep opened cheese blocks in their own tightly-lidded plastic boxes.

If hard cheeses develop a little mold, you can just cut it off and wipe the remaining part with vinegar.

Cream cheese will keep for up to 6 weeks if you vacuum seal the blocks individually. Keep it in foil but take it out of its box). Using Ziplocs instead of vacuum sealing it, I’ve kept it 3 to 4 weeks before it developed mold.

Cottage cheese, ricotta and other very moist cheeses can generally be stored unopened for a week or even sometimes two if they came in a sealed plastic carton (the kind with plastic film or foil over the top). I’ve never had much luck with storing them longer, or storing very long once they were open. I’ve tried turning the carton upside down, as has been suggested in many places, but it just hasn’t done anything for me.

Without a Refrigerator

In cool weather, you can often store cheese and butter in the bilge or other cool area of the boat for a month or more. Just follow the techniques above. If you do this, be sure to put them in a high-quality plastic box with a tight-fitting lid. That way, nothing — bilge water or bugs — gets in. In the tropics — or even summer in the US midwest or south — it’s harder:

Butter

I’ve heard that in some locations you can get canned butter, particularly in the South Pacific. I have never seen it anywhere that I’ve been and have no experience with it. I’ve found it for sale a couple of places in the US (Amazon carries canned butter now) — a can contains the equivalent of three sticks of butter and costs $6 plus postage (Dec 2010). The manufacturer says it has a 3-year shelf life unopened. If you’ve used it, please relate your experience in the comments.

Otherwise, regular stick butter will last a week or so without refrigeration when the temperature is over 80 degrees. Be sure to store it in a tightly lidded plastic container as it will be very soft and will leak out of a Ziploc or a typical butter package.

Fellow cruisers have also recommended storing butter in a butter bell (Amazon). They report they can keep butter on the counter in one for up to 3 weeks. Just remember to change the water daily.

And, while I haven’t tried it myself, some cruisers also swear by freeze dried butter (Amazon). Just add water to rehydrate it and it’s ready to use. If you have experience with it, please share in the comments.

Hard Cheeses

These will keep well when encased in wax and then vacuum sealed, put in Ziplocs or wrapped in aluminum foil can be store maybe a month in hot weather according to some friends. The longest I’ve even tried to keep cheese without refrigeration has been a week, so I’m not an expert. The one thing that I do know is that the harder the cheese, the longer it will last.

UPDATE — Kim from Jack Tar Magazine says, “I can say from experience that unopened, plastic-encased solid cheddar can last over a MONTH without refrigeration in Mexico. It gets oily, but that isn’t a huge problem. I have lived many months in hot climates sans refrigeration. Most people would be surprised at how many things do not need it.”

As with butter, you can find canned cheese in some locations. And it has a very long shelf life before it’s opened. Here in the US, Amazon carries a couple of brands of canned cheese. When I looked, each can contained about a half pound. It’s not cheap, but if you’re headed on a long voyage in hot weather, it may be worthwhile.

Another, less expensive, option is cheese powder. No, you can’t nibble on a piece like you would a piece of cheese. But you can use it to make cheese sauces and macaroni and cheese.

With a Freezer Onboard

When we started cruising, few cruisers we met had freezers on board. But thanks to efficient stand alone freezers like the Engel 12 volt freezer (Amazon) and advances in power generation for boats, freezers are more common.

If you’re lucky enough to have one on board, you can keep cheese and butter in it long term. Cut large blocks into small sizes that you will use up quickly before freezing. Or, like one cruiser suggested to me, use a grater to take only as much of a frozen stick of butter as you need for a single use.

If cheese freezes, it will be more “crumbly,” but otherwise fine to eat.

Hopefully you now have some good ideas for storing butter and cheese on your boat. Let us know in the comments your favorite method.

Want some help with that tiny refrigerator? Check out our step-by-step how-to: