Great Galley Gadgets!

I am often asked how I manage to cook on the boat - and what kitchen gadgets I have on board.

I'm not one for having lots of gear, however there are a few items which I feel make my life easier.

Although I am not a big one for over-processed foods, it can be difficult to eat fresh especially when we are voyaging for weeks, even months at a time. You tend to rely on what you can catch at sea, what you can find at markets, and tinned goods.

One secret to cooking on-board is to have everything you need at hand, get in, cook, then get out!

Easy Yogurt Making:

One thing we both enjoy is fresh yogurt - and we consume around 1L each week. I feel that paying upwards of $9 for a tub of yogurt, as we used to, is outrageous. I don't care what they call the flavours! Plus, I always like to have yogurt on hand. So I did some research on making my own, and came up with this blend.

I purchased an EasiYo Yogurt maker. It's really a large purpose made Thermos.

I didn't like the idea of then paying upwards of $37 for a 10 pack of artificially flavoured 'starter' (plus getting items posted to remote locations can be difficult to say the least), so I initially used a few tablespoons of my favourite 'Yalna Greek Yogurt' as the starter. Now, each time I make a batch, I take out 3T and keep that aside in the fridge as the starter for the next batch. I haven't purchased yogurt now for over 2 years!

So how do I make it? It's pretty easy...

Plain Yogurt Recipe:

Ingredients:

Powdered Milk

3T Yogurt

Water

- Mix 500ml Powdered Milk with water in the 1L EasiYo container. Shake vigorously a few times

over a period of say 30-minutes to ensure it is well blended.

- Add 3T of (favourite yogurt) and shake well.

- Pour boiled water into the Thermos up to the mark.

- Place EasiYo container inside Thermos and seal.

Yogurt will be ready after 12hours. (I have accidentally left the yogurt brewing for up to 18 hours and it comes out fine – just a little tarter in flavour).

Refrigerate for an hour or so prior to serving and remember to take out 3T to keep in fridge to keep as the 'starter' for your next batch.

Hint: I have also made this using coconut milk which is delicious - and sometimes add pulped up fruit to flavour the yogurt for a change.

This not only saves us around $400 per year, just on yogurt! Plus it also ensures we always have a ready supply.

Give it a go!

Bullet Multi Blender:

I love this! I make protein smoothies, dips, soups, hommous and many other blended delights – plus our favourite early morning kicker - lemon and parsley juice.

Admittedly, I am not a fan of the juices themselves (I prefer less fibre) however Darren is a big fan.

We have the Magic Bullet as it draws only 250watts and seems to blend just as well as the Nutri Bullet which draws 900watts.

So, as an all round multi-function gadget – this one gets a big YES

from me!

Pressure Cooker:

We have a Silampas Stainless Steel 6L Pressure Cooker on board – which I just love! It cuts cooking and galley time in half, uses less gas and saves on wash water as you use just the one pot.

I make up batches of food which I either freeze, or finish over the coming days. You can also make bread in it. Great gadget!

Stackable Cookwear:

This is on my 'to get when the old gear is on it's last legs list'. Magma Stacking Cookware. It's made of 18/10 Stainless Steel with a Sandwich Pressed Base.

The best thing about this brand is the handles come off - and they stack inside each other, which enables you to maximize storage on board. Quality and space saving. A big YES for me!

Silicone Cookwear:

I do like silicone baking gear on board – it doesn't rust! I have a few muffin trays, a loaf tray, oven mitts, some folding cups and a folding kettle. You do have to be careful when taking goodies out of the oven, as their sides aren't as sturdy – however once again these are great space savers and they don't clang and bash around the cupboards – which is a definite winner for me!

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Jaffle Iron:

Thanks to a sailing sister of mine, I now have the ultimate toast maker on board – a jiffy! I just can't seem to made good toast in those camping grills. Plus the jiffy makes great toasted sandwiches, works well with puff pastry and heats up the good old beef pie!

So, I hope you got some great ideas from this article. If you think this would help others, I would be grateful if you would share via the links below - and as always feel free to ask me any questions through the comment box!