» Pirates Table Menu
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Kitchens aboard ships were also known as galleys. To maximize limited space, cabinets and longitudinal units were built overhead for storage, while cooking pots hung from hooks in the walls. Stoves in below-deck galleys were typically gimballed (fitted with pivot support) to prevent spillage.
However, most pirate ships did not have established cooking areas. Food
preparation often took place over a "sandbox" on deck (camboose),
where cauldrons could be suspended above the fire. Wood stoves were also
used, with tiles or bricks placed underneath to prevent fire from
spreading to wooden ship timbers. As cauldrons and wood-burning stoves
could easily be tossed about during bad weather, cooking was usually
undertaken during periods of calm sea waters. Therefore, hot meals were
not served on a specific schedule but taken whenever possible.
Fresh drinking water was hard to come by, so pirates made do with generous portions of ale and rum. Because they were often at sea for long periods of time, fresh meat and vegetables were not common due to lack of proper cold storage. Most pirates subsisted on dry beans, grains, pickled food and salted meats. The absence of a healthy diet accounted for scurvy amongst pirates, a debilitating condition caused by a deficiency of Vitamin C which often led to death.
A staple food aboard a pirate ship was
Hard Tack (also known as
Sea
Biscuits, pictured at right). The hard biscuits were sometimes softened by being soaked and
boiled in rum and brown sugar to produce a mixture similar to porridge.
Sea turtles were considered a great delicacy on pirate ships, likened to
the richness of beef. As they were at sea, fish was a common edible.
Other foods consumed, often indigenous to their environment, might
include papayas, pineapples, plantains and yams.
Pirates were known to prefer eating with their fingers rather than using utensils.
