What did Pirates eat and drink?
When I think of Pirates I think of one eyed men eating meat with knives and sopping up sauce with their fingers, snarling under their breath while walking around with a goblet of rum in their hand. hahaha! This may have been how it was the first few weeks at sea because meat and rum was plentiful but the rest of the voyage was not so plentiful. In fact the food that was available further into the voyage was a bit scarce and a bit on the rotten and gross side of things; unless they lucked up on stealing food from a ships galley after a raid. Utensils were not exactly the fashion on a ship either; so if you're thinking about men eating with their fingers most of the time, you would be right.
The first couple of weeks at sea was full of meat, cheese, fresh veggies, eggs, and you name it. After that the food slowly but surely started to spoil, rot, mold and go rancid. That's why most of the food in storage was either dry beans, pickled food or salted food like salted meat. The quality and variety of the food was certainly found lacking after a few months at sea. Chickens were kept for the eggs until they were eaten or died. Cows were kept for the milk until the food supply for the cow had depleted. When the cow no longer had food to live, it was then time to eat the cow.
The meat was frequently rotten and it was very common to see maggots. The bread was full of weevils, even the hardtack sea biscuits which usually lasted for up to 12 months if kept dry. Pirates were known to catch a sea turtle here and there which was a welcomed meal. Bones from everything was kept to make Pirate Bone Soup for when the going got rough.
Galley cooks were known to use a lot of herbs and spices to cover up the taste of spoiled ingredients. Vegetables and meat were usually pickled or salted to preserve the food. Ships on long voyages relied on biscuits, dried beans and salted beef to live. Without proper food, many sailors got sick and died of scurvy.
Now, having said all that; it must also be said that in the Mediterranean Sea, ships were never far from a pirate haven, the crew would land as often as possible and could stock up on food - they could also eat and drink as much as they wanted while on land.
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Sour Krout/ Sour Kraut / Saucerkraut
Sour Krout (Sauerkraut pronounced / (ˈsaʊrkraʊt, German … The word comes directly from the German language , which literally translates to sour cabbage.) … was a common dish found on ships and was prepared in the German manner, with water and salt. Sour Krout would keep for a long time and part of it's popularity was because it would prevent scurvy. Sea water was actually used to boil the cabbage to make the Sour Krout. (see sauerkraut recipe)
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Bombo / Bumboo
They drank bombo or bumboo, a mixture of rum, water, sugar, and nutmeg. Rumfustian was another popular drink that blended raw eggs with sugar, sherry, gin, and beer. Pirates also enjoyed beer, sherry, brandy, and port.
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"Salted meat was a staple of the mariner's diet in the Age of Sail. It was stored in barrels, and often had to last for months spent out of sight of land. The basic Royal Navy diet consisted of salted beef, salted pork, ship's biscuit, and oatmeal (see National Oatmeal Month or porridge recipe), supplemented with smaller quantities of peas, cheese and butter. Even in 1938, Eric Newby found the diet on the tall ship Moshulu to consist almost entirely of salted meat. Moshulu's lack of refrigeration left little choice as the ship made voyages which could exceed 100 days passage between ports."
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Hard Tack or (better know as Sea Biscuits by sea goers)
Hard Tack was a pirates bread- it was used during long sea voyages and eaten along side of stews & soups like Bone Soup. Sea Biscuits were usually dunked in water, brine, coffee, broth (or some other liquid) ; floated on top of soup so it could soak up the liquid of the soup, or placed on top of food cooking in a skillet meal.
Example Recipe
Mix one teaspoon of salt with one pound of flour.
Add enough water to make a very stiff dough.
Flatten the dough to about 1/2 inch and cut it into about 4 inch circles. Punch holes in each circle with a fork.
Bake in a flat pan at 250 degrees for two or three hours.
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- O´Hanlons stew (Irish 16th century style)
- Honey Cake (Swedish, early 17th century)
- Stuffed hen (late 16th century)
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Here's an example of the standard allotment of food
for a week at sea:
4 pounds of salt beef
2 pounds of salt pork
2 pints of peas
3 pints of oatmeal
6 ounces of butter
12 ounces of cheese
There was also a daily allotment of a pound of bread and a gallon of beer (or some other type of alcohol depending on the availability). Rum was also a very popular drink item for sea goers.
Other variations included once a week flour, suet (beef fat) and currants or raisins being issued so a "duff" could be made as prevention against scurvy.
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.....Provisions now stowed in the hold of Endeavour as she starts her long journey include nine thousand pounds of flour, four thousand pieces of beef, six thousand pieces of pork, twenty bushells of salt, and nearly eight thousand pounds of Sour Krout, which Lieutenant Cook proposes to use as a Preventative to scurvy. In addition, there is livestock consisting of seventeen sheep, five fowls, four ducks, a boar, sow and piglets, and a goat to supply milk for the Officers. Lieutenant Cook proposes to replenish supplies with fish at sea, and fruit, animal life and water at various landfalls........
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The ship's galley
The ship's galley is the ships kitchen and was usually not much more than a fireplace with a few cauldrons to cook in and maybe a spit to roast meat on. A cook had to be very clever, and very resourceful, to create decent meals for the crew in such difficult circumstances.
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Are you having a pirate party and your looking for suggestions on what fun theme food to serve? Here's some suggestions for you.
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