Your Top 5 Galley "must-haves"

[andreasduess]

My favourite knife isn't one of my chef knives, it's a relatively cheap copy of a French peasant's knife made by Lee Valley Hardware. High carbon blade, wood handle, brass riveted and a decently long tang.

Holds an edge like a knife ten times the cost and is the perfect size for almost any job. Even at home it is the knife I end up using 80% of the time.

Peasant Chef's Knife - Lee Valley Tools

[Ntex]

Don't forget a cutting board to go with that knife. I bring a small one and a larger one. I use them every trip, even if we are just doing wine and cheese before going out to dinner or having pastry and fruit for breakfast. The pizza stone is important for making the oven work well...you can read lots of posts about that. And finally, I adore the four place settings of high end, non dishwasher safe cutlery I bought just for the AS.

[Janet H]

1. An epicurean cutting board (or two) they are thin, strong, easy on knives and the slate colored ones are flat out sexy to look at.



3. A good coffee press - I like this one by Frieling



3. Dawn detergent - seriously. It cleans better than anything else.

4. Foil sheets - the prefolded kind. Great for all sort of things including going under the english muffins (under the broiler) and then wrapping them up around an egg and a slice of Canadian bacon. You can find these at any restaurant supply place and some grocers.



5. Tongs - metal ones, several pairs, various lengths. Great for serving, cooking, getting hot stuff out of campfires, fishing things from drains, and removing critters, etc. be SURE to get ones with the metal bail that keep them closed when stored. open tongs in drawers make a giant rats nest and take up space.

[Big C]

My lovely wife creates a menu for our trips and we pack accordingly...

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by Janet

5. Tongs - metal ones, several pairs, various lengths. Great for serving, cooking, getting hot stuff out of campfires, fishing things from drains, and removing critters, etc. be SURE to get ones with the metal bail that keep them closed when stored. open tongs in drawers make a giant rats nest and take up space.

So important. I have several of these as well.

Beautiful coffee maker too. I am not a French Press drinker (prefer my Chemex) but Frieling makes nice stuff.

[cameront120]

Chemex is a little hard to get in some areas and I need my coffee too much to rely on mail order. A close second would be a Melitta cone filter.

[andreasduess]

Originally Posted by cameront120

Chemex is a little hard to get in some areas and I need my coffee too much to rely on mail order. A close second would be a Melitta cone filter.

Absolutely. I don't think there's any perceivable difference (for me) in the quality of the resulting coffee.

[andreasduess]

Here's one of ours: Dr. Bronner's soap. Careful, hippy alert
Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps All-One!

We wash everything with that stuff. Ourselves, floors, dishes. Organic, rapidly biodegrades, nothing nasty in there of any kind. Oh, and it cleans beautifully too.

[Fenghuang]

More ideas at: http://airstreamlife.com/historysafariexpress/
1. Stove-top Pressure Cooker uses:
· With water heated on the stove-top, used as a dish washing pan
· As a steamer with a trivet or metal perforated colander (doubles as a spaetzel maker, and with the lid loose to cook, reheat, steam dough recipes/dim sum
· As a stock pot, Dutch oven (used like a wok)
· Tiered pressure cooking Pressure Cooker Recipes
2. Volcano portable collapsible grill (available at Camping World) for outdoor cooking to reduce clean-up and limit heat inside the trailer
· 30K BTU adjustable propane burner (adjustable heat for frying, cooking with a wok, grill, cooking pizza in a cast iron skillet
· Use as an above ground fire pit
· Charcoal grilling
· Wok lid as a smoking dome
3. Cast iron skillet or Dutch oven with lid
· Baking iron skillet pizza on the Volcano
· Frying, braising, making paninis, heating tortillas
· Baking no knead bread recipes
4. Frying is done outside to avoid oil vapor from depositing inside the trailer. With hook-ups, an electric skillet is used.
5. Plastic box to store spices/herbs/spice mixes in small medicine bottles, filed in alphabetical order or to keep bottles from shifting around while in transit
6. Remote digital refrigerator thermometer. Ambient temperature affects the refrigerator’s performance requiring setting adjustments.
7. Microwave safe plastic storage containers, table settings that nest into each other for compact storage
8. Paper goods
· Sandwich trays (Smart & Final) are great for serving small servings/snacks
· Paper plates
9. Rocks glasses that stack and do not easily tip over. Used for serving:
· Cocktails, wine
· Desserts, soups, snacks
· As a vase for flowers

[Protagonist]

I define a galley "must have" as in "If I don't have one and can't get one, I'll go buy fast food instead." That helps focus me away from the nice-to-haves that I've grown accustomed to.

In no particular order:
1 - skillet, smallest I can get away with (I have a 7" stainless)
2 - cutting board, no way am I cutting food directly on a Corian countertop
3 - cookpot, again, smallest I can get away with (2-qt. stainless with lid)
4 - can opener, during hurricane season my Airstream is stocked with canned goods that will keep until needed for a storm
5 - kitchen knife, because some things won't fit my skillet or cookpot without being cut into smaller pieces first

If I add in nice-to-haves, the list gets WAY longer.

[Lily&Me]

Coffee pots, electric and stove-top
Good heavy skillet (mine is Calphalon from TJMaxx) with lid....for one-dish meals and stove-top baking...the most versatile and often-used item we carry
Good knives/sharpener
Silicone-tipped tongs
Heavy Wearever saucepans, with strain/drain glass lids


Maggie

[Someday'59]

Cooking with non-stick requires less water for cleanup.

Two things I love:

1) Magma nesting stainless steel non-stick cookware
Amazon.com: Magma Nestable Non-Stick Stainless Steel Cookware (Set of 10): Sports & Outdoors

2) Non-stick crockpot that goes on the stove too.
Amazon.com: Hamilton Beach Premiere Cookware 5-1/2-Quart Slow Cooker: Kitchen & Dining

We are coffee snobs but I still don't feel like I have the space for a grinder (there are 5 of us.) When we are in the trailer, I have our coffee ground when I purchase it. We buy smaller quantities at a time. We use both a french press and a moka pot.

I have a hand-held mixer for the trailer but have found I don't use it nearly as much as I use a wisk. (Finding a somewhat collapsible one that didn't take up so much space was more challenging than I expected.)

One other thing to keep in mind...I'm not sure I have an business commenting on this thread! More often than not we go out to eat when we travel.

[cameront120]

Another useful thing for baking is an oven thermometer. I have a small stainless steel one that stays in the oven. The temps on the dial aren't always accurate.

[AirKar]

Wow - my list of galley "must have's" seems to be growing, not shrinking after staring this thread - thanks guys ;-)

I measured the space on our stove-top and it just doesn't seem like my Dutch Oven will fit properly over ANY of the burners - can't wait to try it "real world" when our baby is picked up on Monday!

I also realized that our beloved Tervis Tumblers take up sooo much room because they are so thick-walled...we're rethinking that idea too.

Then there is the glassware vs. plasticware issue. Since we're full-timing, I really don't want to use paper all the time.

Good grief - I know it will come together all in good time. I also know we'll make "mistakes" and redo and retry as we start living in our yet-to-be-named home. One thing is for sure - this forum, and all of you, are really helpful and at the same time confusing the hell out of me!!

Thanks ;-)

Karis

[DKB_SATX]

You're down here in the hot/humid parts... Keep the Tervis tumblers. It's worth the space, and they're light and tough. The first time you go to an Airstream really you'll realize LOTS of people have them! I love mine esp. in the warmer months.

[Globie64]

I just read this this morning and thought it had some good stuff that applies to Airstreaming

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/di...tion.html?_r=0

must haves? Everything does multiple duty. Like Cameron said, good knives, baking sheets. A heavy Dutch oven can be used on a fire, stove or in the oven, but it needs to be small enough to fit on the oven. A good skillet, colander... bring stuff you enjoy looking at and using, not things you'd get rid of if you didn't have a trailer to use them in.

I brought a lot of stuff the first couple of trips because we had a lot of cool stuff. I then omitted what wasn't necessary or what didn't work well, and it's surprising how much you can do with basics.

[cameront120]

Originally Posted by AirKar

I measured the space on our stove-top and it just doesn't seem like my Dutch Oven will fit properly over ANY of the burners - can't wait to try it "real world" when our baby is picked up on Monday!

8 quart is pretty big. I use a 5 1/2 quart and it works fine for me. Maybe downsize the pot?

[SeeMore]

"As a professionally trained chef," one of my first questions is how frequently you'd make use of the oven. The uniformity of heat distribution is vastly different than what you are probably accustomed to in the kitchen: hot spots, temperature maintenance, etc.

The 'pizza stone' suggestions are more about improving cooking than making pizzas. A 12" stone tile (Home Depot or Lowe's @ $1-2) in the lower portion of the baking chamber does a great job improving temperature stabilization and uniformity so your baked goods don't end up overcooked on the bottom.

I'd suggest you practice with your oven early on to determine just how useful this appliance will or will not be on the road.

[AirKar]

SeeMore - HA! Some of the ovens I've cooked in are SOOOO uncalibrated, I've become used to it! I mostly use the stove top when preparing meals, but do some baking and quite a bit of roasting. I like the pizza stone suggestion for stabilization of temperature. It will be interesting to find out how much I use what is provided and what I bring along, as has been brought to my attention. I imagine I will do a whole lot more grilling on our BBQ - at least I know what to expect with that.

I will definitely downsize the dutch oven - I found a great oval shaped one with a top that doubles as a roaster that I think might work perfectly.

[urnmor]

Karis

I am not a full timer however when on the road I love to cook. Most of my baking is done before hand and frozen, like pie crusts, cookie dough and even scones. Then I cook them in our convection oven. So anyway here is my list for cooking.

It is tough to limit the list to five. I have now learned to get buy with the following:
A good saute pan. It can be used on the stove and also on a propane stove.
Mixing bowls (at least two) and of course a good whisk.
Plastic containers that fit inside each other.
A cutting board.
Two knives (1 chef and 1 paring)
Hand held mixer for baking
Dutch oven
Welders gloves for the hot pans etc

Like you I love my coffee. so depending on the length of the trip I will use either small drip machine or bring one of my espresso machines. No grinder as I have it ground before hand and yes two ceramic mugs. One for Claire and one for me.