On Sat, 12 Sep 2015 02:43:43 -0500, Alan Holbrook >
wrote:

>"cshenk" > wrote in news:GaKdnQtBKrnn527InZ2dnUU7-
:
>
>> Brooklyn1 wrote in rec.food.cooking:
>>
><<snip>>
>>
>> Oh give over Sheldon.
>>
>> 1) we have dishes. Even back in your days we had them in the CPO mess
>> and Officers mess.
>
>You won't find me siding with Sheldon too often, but if you want to keep
>this real, chief petty officers and officers did NOT make up a major
>portion of the crew. They may have had plates, but everyone else, from
>seaman apprentices up to first class POs, ate off trays.

On my ship the Chief's mess sat maybe a dozen, and they ate from the
same ss trays... officers ate from dishes but they had a compliment of
stewards (Phillipinos/Pineapples). Officers paid for their food so
they had to approve their own menu, officers were CHEAP, the crew ate
far better... weren't many officers either, maybe also a dozen but I
never counted ensigns as officers.

>> 3) Fresh fruits and veggies last only a portion if time. In your time,
>> less than in mine. You lacked the level of refridgerated storage of
>> today.
>
>For some. The ship I was on, a light guided missle cruiser, was unreped
>(underway replenishment) a couple of times during each 6 1/2 week cruise.
>So there was always some fresh fruit and veggies aboard at all times.

We always had basic fresh fruit and veggies, we'd replenish at sea
often and in the Med we'd send a party to local food warehouses for
fresh produce, naturally needed disinfection.

>Of course, we were Com7thFlt flag, so we may have gotten some special
>treatment. Can't have an admiral and his staff officers eating canned crap
>now, can we?
>
>>
>> 4) Your numbers are way off on number of cooks.
>
>Can't comment on ship's complement of cooks, never was in the galley on
>board. But I will say that food served on board wasn't half bad. Nothing
>you'd order purposely in a restaurant, but otherwide not half bad. With
>the exception, of course, of the green powdered eggs...

On larger ships the food wasn't as good. Being in the 6th Fleet we
sailed with The Big E. Their top brass would draw straws to spend
time aboard to eat my cooking, they readily admitted theirs didn't
compare. A lot of what was on our menu I'd still order at
restaurants, but actually I still cook the same dishes at home.
Powdered eggs were only used occasionally for baking. We almost
always had whole in shell fresh eggs, they were treated for sea by
dipping in olive oil. If we ran out of those we had frozen, 2 gallon
tins of whole yolks, for scrambbled no one could tell any difference.
I never followed the official recipes, I greatly enhanced them and
would regularly have big arguments with the supply officer for going
over budget, but Ens Gore was a know nothing fresh out of Annapolis...
I don't know why they allowed him sea duty, he was sea sick 24/7. I
was never sea sick, the rougher the sea the greasier I cooked, and was
always out of saltines during rough weather.