Pirate Food?

[Hester]

Hi, all:

I'm wondering what sort of food would typically have been eaten on a pirate ship in the GAoP?

I assume salted meats, such as salt pork or corned beef would have been a staple, as well as hard biscuits.

But, would the food on pirate ships have included luxuries and delicacies that would not have been availabe to Navy or merchant crews? Would pirates have stolen such luxury foods from the officers and wealthy passengers of the ships they boarded? Would they have spent some of their booty on such luxuries while in port, and brought the delux foodstuffs aboard with them?

And would pirates have been more likely to fish while at sea than other sailors, as they would not be on a strict timetable?

Looking forward to any information people might have on this topic.

Cheers, Hester

[MorganTyre]

Regarding fish, I can say from experience that it's very difficult to catch any quantity of fish at sea while underway. Most likely to have been caught were dolphins, sharks, and turtles which were especially prized as they could be stored alive for quite some time before being eaten but none of these in enough quantity to really supplement the staple diet of biscuit and preserved meats. Of course any time one hits land everything that can be grabbed is - coconuts, conch's, pigs, chickens, fruit, etc. though nearly everything that isn't living would spoil within the first few weeks. One would also imagine that it's while on or near land that the bulk of the fishing would be done though once again spoilage is at issue. Those problems extend to the officers who ate only slightly better than the men - most of which food you probably wouldn't touch today - so the idea of stealing from them wouldn't get you much. All in all, the staples with an occasional treat were probably the standard fare.

[JoshuaRed]

Once again I find myself recommending the travel writings of the great William Dampier. In them, he goes into a good bit of regular detail on what his crews ate while buccaneering their way around the world. The answers might surprise you, too. They were quite "civilized" in their tastes, and while there were certainly lean points near starvation, they also dined in style more than you'd think. Often they picked up local dishes from various tribes, including delicious sounding fish stews in coconut broth with plantains, heck they even made hot chocolate, coffee and more!

[Hester]

Once again I find myself recommending the travel writings of the great William Dampier.

Thanks, Joshua:

I'll look for his books at my local library.

Cheers, Hester

[Hester]

turtles which were especially prized as they could be stored alive for quite some time before being eaten

.... pigs, chickens,

Hi, MorganTyre:

Good point about some of the food being kept "alive".

Makes me think of Norrington and the goat in PotC2.

Indeed, when I saw that scene, I wondered how well livestock actually fared/produced out at sea. Would a milk animal such as a goat or sheep be very happy in the hold of a ship? Similarly, would chickens lay eggs in such conditions, or would they be too upset to produce? ['Course, if they didn't give you milk or eggs, you could always just cook the animals themselves.]

Cheers, Hester

[Red Dog]

On page 50 of "Pirates and Patriots of the American Revolution" is a weekly menue for "victuals" for the typical privateersmen.

Sunday: Beef and Pudden

Monday:Pork and pease

Tuesday:"Missing entry"

Wednesday: Beef

Thursday: Beef

Friday: Pork and Beans

Saturday: Salt Fish

There was always "lobscouse" where dried potatos, salt beef or pork and peas where hashed together to form a type of stew, or "salamugundi" which was the sea-food equivilant of the above substituting fish for the beef or pork.

[Hester]

On page 50 of "Pirates and Patriots of the American Revolution" is a weekly menue for "victuals" for the typical privateersmen.

Sunday: Beef and Pudden

Monday:Pork and pease

Tuesday:"Missing entry"

Wednesday: Beef

Thursday: Beef

Friday: Pork and Beans

Saturday: Salt Fish

There was always "lobscouse" where dried potatos, salt beef or pork and peas where hashed together to form a type of stew, or "salamugundi" which was the sea-food equivilant of the above substituting fish for the beef or pork.

Hi, Red Dog:

Thanks for that info!

Hmmm ... "pudden" -- I wonder if that was the savoury Yorkshire type, or the sweet Figgy Duff type. [Either would be a Sunday treat.]

Cheers, Hester

[Red Dog]

Hmmm ... "pudden" -- I wonder if that was the savoury Yorkshire type, or the sweet Figgy Duff type. [Either would be a Sunday treat.]

Ya know, I have no idea, well, off to the books again.

A recipe book from the time of the American Colonies might help. I gotta get one.

[Black Dog]

Food stuffs - I believe the name of a very good book is "Feeding Nelson's Navy" or something like that. It is based on the written records of what the Royal navy feed their sailors. While it is later than the GaOP the foods of that period would not have changed much since the preservation technology was the same. A friend of mine recommended the book but I have not purchased a copy yet. A topic search here will also give you much more resources to pull from.

Willie the rumrunner

[Fox]

I'm quite surprised that nobody has yet mentioned THIS 5 page thread on food in the GAoP...