Learn everyday techniques for living without refrigeration. Yes, it is possible to enjoy fresh meals without having a refrigerator to store them in. In her book, Storing Food Without Refrigeration, Carolyn Shearlock gives you details on how you can do this. You don’t have to shop in the canned food aisle only! Here are some tips from Carolyn.
Meal Planning
For brief trips, it’s best to plan your meals before you go shopping buying just what you need to help keep items from going to waste. That makes sense even with refrigeration but all the more sense without it.
What to Buy
For longer trips, Carolyn suggests you buy for the pantry then decide on what you will be making on a daily basis. For stocking up, think about how often you eat something.
What About Meats
Carolyn says that not having a refrigerator doesn’t equate to not eating meat. There are many canned meat options that bring variety to your menu. You can also get vacuumed sealed meats that are in thick plastic with no air. Look for heavily sealed edges.
Your Taste Won’t Change
Having no refrigeration doesn’t mean you will have a drastic change of taste. Carolyn shares, “For example, if you’ve never liked canned salmon, don’t buy it just because it’s there and your friend John says he loves it.
“Believe me, you’ll end up with those cans of salmon still sitting in the cupboard the next time you go to the grocery store.”
Don’t go against what you know will be eaten. If you probably won’t eat something, just don’t buy it.
Food Provision Help from Carolyn
A QR Code is included in the book to obtain a spreadsheet to help you with food provision.
For more great ways to enjoy the food you love while not having a refrigerator, pick up a copy of Storing Food Without Refrigeration by Carolyn Shearlock. You can purchase it here, or wherever books are sold.
About Carolyn
Podcaster for The Boat Galley
Long ago, Carolyn realized that there were two essential ingredients for great trips: sleeping well and eating well. Food didn’t have to be fancy, but it shouldn’t be a gray blob, either.
Over the years, trips have progressed from weekend Girl Scout camping trips to more rugged adventures on three continents lasting as long as four months. Both through her own trial and error and advice from others, Carolyn has refined her techniques for storing foods and cooking tasty meals, sometimes with a tiny refrigerator, sometimes with a cooler and sometimes with no way to cool food.
From 2002 to 2008, Carolyn lived aboard Que Tal, a Tayana 37 sailboat and cruised full time with her husband. In 2010, she created her website, The Boat Galley, to help others navigate the challenges of provisioning, storing food and cooking aboard a small boat. In response to reader questions, the site has expanded to include buying a boat and gear, living on a boat, cruising and chartering, boat work and potential problems.
In 2012, she and Jan Irons published The Boat Galley Cookbook, a collection of 800 everyday recipes and cooking tips they’d each collected while cruising with their husbands. It has become the go-to galley reference book for cruisers… and many RVers and campers also appreciate the easy from-scratch recipes and extensive substitutions and variations to suit what’s on hand.
In 2016 she began a podcast on Boat Radio. Carolyn, her husband Dave and dog Paz now live aboard their second cruising sailboat, Barefoot Gal.
For more lifestyle books, take a look around our website. Patoka Press is distributed by Cardinal Publishers Group and can be found here or wherever books are sold.