Clipper Crew Food
Although sailors of the time collected spices, food at sea was usually very bland.  Even though the sea cook prepared the daily grub in a tiny galley, he had to cope not only with a limited food supply but with the sometimes violent rolling and pitching of the ship. The stove and tables were designed with metal rails to keep the pots and pans from sliding off the stove and landing on the cook.  The sailor's diet consisted of casseroles and lots of carbohydrate type foods.  Some of their daily choices would be to prepare stews, chowder, fish cakes, puddings and hardtack.
   "It's Joe Froggers for tonight!"

Dry goods:             flour, grains, corn meal, beans, raisins, sugar
Dried or Salted:      beef, pork, fish, fruits and vegetables (but these lacked both flavor and vitamins)
Live/penned:           pigs, chickens for eggs, goats for milk
Fresh catch:            giant sea turtles (caught and stored for several weeks)
Catch o' the day:     fish
Beverages:              tea, coffee, alcoholic beverages

Create a daily menu for your crew

Hardtack was cooked on shore and loaded on board by the barrel, It was a basic food of the sailor.

Hardtack  In a large bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups old-fashioned or quick oats, 3 cups unbleached flour, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. baking soda.  In a separate container, mix 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, 3 tablespoons honey, 1/2 cup melted bacon drippings or shortening.  Combine the two sets of ingredients.  When dough is thoroughly mixed, roll it out on a flour board to a thickness of about a quarter inch.  Cut out circles of dough with a large drinking glass dipped in flour and put them on a lightly greased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 5 1/2 min. at 450 degrees.   The resulting hardtack should be dry and browned around the edges.  Let the hardtack cool on a wire rack before serving with jam or jelly.
Corn, as a dried vegetable or as cornmeal, travels well and was taken to sea on long voyages.  Two recipes that are long favored by sailors are corn bread and hasty pudding.
Galley Corn Bread  In a large bowl sift together 2 cups flour, 1 cup yellow cornmeal, 1 Tbs. baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt.  In a separate bowl, put 2 eggs and 3/4 cup sugar.  Beat until smooth.  Then add 1 tablespoon melted butter and 1 1/2 cups milk.  Combine the two sets of ingredients and pour into into a buttered 13x9 pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Remove and let cool.  Then cut into squares and serve with soft butter.
 
Hasty Pudding  Stir together until smooth, 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup cold water, and 1 tps salt.  Set aside.  In a large double boiler, bring to a boil 4 cups water.  Add the soaked cornmeal to the boiling water, stirring constantly, preferably with a wire whisk.  Cook for two minutes.  Cover and cook 30 to 40 min., stirring constantly to avoid burning.  Serve with maple syrup, brown sugar, molasses, or honey. 
To break the monotony of the  highly salted meats, rotted potatoes, and bland foods, the sailors looked forward to this spicy cookie.
Joe Froggers  In a bowl, mix together 1/2 shortening with 1 cup sugar.  Add 1 cup dark molasses and 1/2 cup water.  In a separate container, mix 4 cups flour, 1 tps baking soda, 1 1/2 tps ginger, 1/2 tps ground cloves, 1/2 tps nutmeg, 1/4 tps allspice, and 1 1/2 tps salt.  Stir this mixture into the shortening and let the dough chill overnight.  Roll the dough to quarter inch thickness on a flour board.  Using a large drinking glass dipped in flour, cut out circles of dough and sprinkle them with sugar.  Cook on a well greased cookie sheet.  Let cookies cool on the sheet before removing them.  Makes 3 dozen.
Duff is a traditional dessert of flour, shortening and dried fruit that is mentioned in Treasure Island, Two Years Before the Mast, and many other books about sea-faring.  Often referred to as "Plum Duff," it didn't necessarily have any plums in it.
Duff  In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs well.  Add 1 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 cups chopped raisins, and 1/3 cup shortening.  Blend.  Sift together and stir in 1 cup sifted flour, 1/2 tps. salt, and 1 tps. soda.  Pour into a well greased one quart mold (a 1 lb. coffee tin is ideal).  Cover the pudding with wax paper.  Then cover the tin with a double layer of aluminum foil.  Tie the foil on tightly with a string to prevent water from seeping in while the pudding is cooking.  Place tin in a large pot of boiling water.
Drying apples is one way of preserving them for sea travel.
Dried Apples  To dry apples, begin by peeling and coring them with paring knife.  Slice apples crosswise into rings and hang them on a string in a warm, dry place.  Be sure not to let the slices touch and let them dry for two to four days.  Now a days, apples are dipped into lemon juice before drying, to keep them from turning brown.
"Left-overs" were a way that the cook would mix together ingredients as the ships supplies would run low or as the voyage was coming to an end.
Harriet Lane  This is a hash made of chopped up beef and stirring beans.  Harriet had been an English woman who had been murdered and chopped up.  Sailors said that this hash looked like Harriet's remains.
 
Strike-Me Blind  That's what the sailor said when he first saw this rice pudding with raisin's and that  name stuck.
 
Cracker Hash  The broken remains of the hardtack can made into serviceable dessert by pouring on the milk and sugar and topping it off with jam.
   Return to Sailor's School

   Return to Home Page