Continuation of Important Household Items to have while Cruising

Back to the top 10 Gotta Have Household Items aboard your boat...                                               Another favorite item we have aboard our sailboat is our cookware.

#.5 NESTING COOKWARE: We debated when we began cruising if it was really a big deal to have "nesting" cookware, the kind of cookware that are like Babushka dolls... they fit nicely inside one another to conserve space. They aren't cheap... about $200 for a set of three pots and one large-medium saucepan/skillet like pan. We opted for the MAGMA stainless steel non-stick cookware - 9 piece set. To this day, I feel like it was money well spent, and trust me... I have NEVER spent that kind of money on cookware!

The pots and pans have held up nicely... two years later they look used and loved on the outside, but the teflon is still in very good condition. We washed them entirely in salt water the first year, too. Amazon carries Magma and so does Spinnaker Jim’s, a grilling outfit online. Cuisinart also carries nesting cookware and I’ve heard good things about it from other cruisers.

#.5 PRESSURE COOKER: The other pot we just can’t live without is the pressure cooker. In fact, my mother’s old Presto came aboard with us and when a new gasket couldn’t be found here in Mexico, Jim and I opted to buy a new pressure cooker instead of waiting until we could get a replacement gasket for the old Presto. We bought a MANN in La Paz and we use it all the time! It is a 6 quart and the cost was about $70. There are fancier brands (my friend has KUHN RIKON... ooh-la-la!), but we found a cheaper model that fit our cruiser budget better.

I only knew how to cook pinto beans in the pressure cooker before moving aboard a boat. Thanks to creative cruisers, I now know how to cook meatloaf, bread, flan, fruit crisps, rice, taco meat, and a table full of other culinary delights using my faithful pressure cooker! I would never agree to cruise without it! It cooks fast and, therefore, doesn’t heat up the cabin or waste valuable cooking fuel. And unlike the crockpot, it doesn’t cook your meat and veggies down to sludge. It is also a large, versatile pot and so we also use it to boil water for spaghetti, potatoes, etc...