TIPS FROM TAIPANS GALLEY

 OTTO Coffee Expresso
If you demand excellence in coffee look no further. Taipan purchased this Little Guy and we love it. The one thing we missed sailing was good coffee. This device just goes on the gas stove and pronto.... coffee.

 


Taipans Otto (Name Changed to Little Guy)
Link to Site












EasiYo Yoghurt Maker

 The yoghurt maker is simple, power free and takes about 12 to 24 hours to make a litre of delicious yoghurt. 

Just boil the kettle, fill the thermos to the correct level. Place the sachet of yoghurt of your choice mixed with cold tap water into the jar and place in the Thermos. That is all there is to it. 
Hint..If the yoghurt is reaching its use by date i sometime add the contacts of an Acidophillus capsule.
The yoghurt is available in many flavours and there is an ice cream version as well. The unit retails for about $35 US.









WONDERBAG

Taipans Wonderbag is indispensable. Wonderbag Link. This simple slow cooker cuts cooking times therefore saving gas and trips to the have the bottles refilled. Terry Lee our diver in Cape Town introduced me to this great product. I can only suggest you check out the website and decide for yourself. If you are wanting to keep the boat cool in the tropics or make great warming comfort food in the colder climes this is the tool for your boat.

The Wonderbag site also has some great recipes for starters.

I use a pressure cooker to speed up the preparation but any pot will do. Throw everything in as per your favourite Slow Cooker Recipe and bring to pressure for 8 to 12 min. depending on amount. Then simply bag it and leave it to sit for up to 5 hrs. It will still be hot enough to eat but I usually re heat and reduce and finish off on the stove top. To get started with recipes I checked out the website recipe book.
My latest coup with the bag is jam and Marmalade. I just prepared as usual, bought it to the boil with about half a cup of water then bagged it overnight. Done. In the morning I bought it to the boil again, threw in the sugar and boiled for 15 Minuit then bottled. Saved hours of slow cooking and stirring on the stove top.

BREAD MAKER

A must-have aboard Taipan. Everyone just loves warm fresh crusty bread.

We are on our second machine and we choose our machines according to the space available in the cupboard. Our current machine is a Sunbeam.

The captain will probably start up with the objection "we don't have enough power available" end of discussion! This galley wench just doesn't buy that line.

A bread maker only uses significant power during the final 3/4 hour of the 3-hour cycle. The bulk of the time is spent without any power draw as it will be proving the dough or occasionally kneading it. 

We have a 1000w pure sine wave inverter and the bread maker uses approximately 40 amps for several seconds at a time during the cooking cycle. It runs very comfortably off the inverter. It is also possible to plan so the heavy usage is during generator or motoring time.

In the tropics it saves heating the boat up as the oven is well insulated and tiny as opposed to the gas stove. Most boat stoves are very poorly insulated and the gas consumption will be high with bread results unpredictable. The captain will be off with the empty gas bottle seeking refills regularly or you will learn to live without bread.

Bread Makers come with various other functions among which include cake functions. Not being big cake eaters this one is for you, the reader, to experiment with. I do make a nice fruit loaf in mine. Easy and delicious.

You are only limited by your imagination once you have mastered the basics. Banana bread, Fruit bread and rolls. Rolls need to be baked in a regular oven. They do take less time to bake so an oven is reasonably practical for this purpose.




VACUUM SEALING MACHINE.

The Vacuum Sealing Machine aboard Taipan is the second of its kind. Again the brand is a Sunbeam.

POWER SUPPLY

Our Sunbeam unit is very specific about the Hz and voltage input. It must be steady 240V and 50Hz. It it is too low it will fail to properly heat seal.

USER CAUTION

These small domestic machines with their plastic suction pump pistons are not happy long term if you use it to vacuum powdery products like cereals of flour. I think the small particles cause excessive wear in the chamber and will shorten the life of the machine by reducing its sucking ability. i believe this was the cause of the failure of our earlier unit.

BAGS ARE REUSABLE.

Wash them well in soapy water then spray neat bleach inside. Roll up tightly for an hour or so then rinse and dry.

I cut the bags large, about 350mm or 1+ foot long then they gradually get shorter with each use.

Freezing the bags shortens their life. They are often holed in the freezer by the action of other products rubbing on them. I freeze only bags that don't properly seal or use cheap freezer bags.

MEAT PRESERVATION

All our meat requirements are vacuum sealed for long life. There are some steps you need to take in preparation if you wish to maximize the length of time. We purchase meat for longer periods in bulk. Around 3 to 6 months supply at a time.

CHICKEN

All chicken meat should be treated before sealing for longer life. Breast fillets will need to be blanched. Minced and diced meat should be par-cooked. It will keep in this form for up to 3 months in the refrigerator.

I usually bake several while chickens at a time in a turkey oven bag in the BBQ. Cool overnight and disassemble, discarding all the bones and unwanted fat and skin as desired. The meat is formed into a roll in the bag and sealed. The result is a delicious chicken roll suitable for slicing for sandwiches or wraps, or it can be crumbled in salads. It will keep for up to 6 months in the refrigerator.

PORK

Pork will keep satisfactorily for up to 2 months in the fridge without  blanching or pre-treatment  however blanching pre- treatment will guarantee longer life

BEEF

I purchase beef strip fillet in the commercial vacuum wrap and process it later into a voyage as the beef will keep longest. After I open the commercial vacuum seal I will immediately re vacuum into portions. These will keep a couple more months.

 

BLANCHING MEAT

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a generous spoon of salt. Place the pieces of meat, poultry, pork, fish etc, piece by piece into the boiling water for several seconds and then remove and drain. This process is suitable for meat cuts such as chicken breast, pork loin steaks and fish fillets. Ie. larger pieces of meat.

For cubes, strips or mince you will need to fry lightly.

SODA STREAM

 The newest addition to the galley. Tired of lugging bottles of Soda and Tonic we purchased the Soda Stream, 3 bottles, 2 more large gas canisters and some syrups. So far so good. We are impressed. Captain Hook is experimenting with the mix for Sparkling "Shiraz". Being Australians this is one of our favourite summer tipples but quite difficult and verging on impossible to buy it in the USA. Well, I can report we are enjoying his experiments. More info when we get the proportions sorted. Suffice to say it is possible to aireate wine in a soda stream!

CHOCOLATE

1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup Coconut oil
2 to 3 T spoons Maple Syrup optional
50g pkt coconut milk powder
6 large Dates well mushed up. without stones


Mix all ingredients adjusting with either oil or cooa or milk powder until it forms a ball you can handle.

Divide into 4. 
Roll into a sausage and put onto foil
fold foil over and make "Toblerone" shape by running forefinger and thumb down the length of the sausage foil
roll again until a foil stick is made and refrigerate. 
unroll refrigerated sausage. Cut into chunks and store in a box in the fridge. They keep well.

Also, try instant or espresso coffee 
Orange marmalade rind.
Ginger, about a little finger.
Coarse salt approx I t spoon
Chile 1 dried chopped fine.
Maraschino Cherries well drained
Desiccated Coconut