7 tips for the pantry in a motorhome and on a sailing boat

Managing space in a motorhome or sailing boat is essential for a successful holiday: here's how to optimise your pantry

With the arrival of summer, it is time to start planning the holiday we have been waiting for.

Anyone who enjoys travelling in a motorhome or on a sailing boat knows how important it is to manage space optimally. Even in the larder. Here are 7 tricks for a pantry that will satisfy even the most demanding holidaymaker.

Perfect pantry: 7 tips signed Ghiotto Galfrè

1 - Small is better

Space inside the kitchen of a motorhome is always limited... even if the motorhome is an EleMMent Palazzo! The same goes for the sailing boat: considering the average size of a refrigerator installed on board and the wall cabinets in the kitchen, when you go shopping choose small packages.

2 - No glass

When choosing food to store in your motorhome or boat, prefer food packaged in metal, cardboard or plastic. Sudden braking, a pothole or bumpy road, or rough seas can cause food stored in the larder to jump, resulting in what you have crammed into the cupboards falling out. If you do not carry glass, the risk of food packages breaking is drastically reduced. Another positive aspect of this type of wrapping is the reduction in weight: compared to glass, they weigh much less for the same size.

3 - Pay attention to the expiry date

When buying supplies for the larder of your caravan or sailing boat, pay attention to the expiry date of the products. The farther out in time, the better; you will be able to store them inside the motorhome for future trips as well. Always having a Ghiotto, a Po or one of our tasty specialities on hand can always be useful: even for a brief stop on the road during an impromptu trip, and if there is Ghiotto Galfrè in the pantry, lunch is saved!

4 - Watch out for temperatures

A motorhome parked in the sun can reach very high internal temperatures in summer, as can a boat sailing for hours under the sun: storing food unsuitable for these temperatures in the larder can be a problem. Avoid (alas) chocolate bars or confectionery products that can spoil in these temperatures. The same applies to travelling in the big freeze: foods that can suffer from excessive cold (and partial freezing) should be avoided. Always carry pasta, rice and ready-made products with you. Ready-made sauces and salad dressing for first courses during the winter, and all our specialities for the summer, can be a lifesaver or lunch-saver, especially when travelling, when there is little time to stop... and hunger is great!

5 - Fresh food, fruit and vegetables

Who wouldn't love to bite into a juicy apple, or eat fresh peaches or a salad of freshly picked seasonal vegetables? It is well known that fruit and vegetables are good allies of our organism: a little less so than our camper van and our sailing boat! This type of food should be bought during the stages of our journey, in small shops or harbour shops, and not piled up on board. They may suffer in the heat in summer, and above all they take up a lot of space. We buy the bare minimum, from time to time and for a couple of days' consumption at most.

6 - Waybread

It would be very nice if the Waybread were a reality: the elven food featured in Lord of the Rings would solve space problems, because one bite would be enough to feed an adult person (excluding Hobbits!) for a day. A perfect food for another reason too: long shelf life. The Traveller's Waybread? All types of dry and dry bread, crackers and breadsticks are an excellent substitute: they have greater heat resistance, keep for a long time, are easier to digest than packaged breadcrumbs and are more convenient. Incredible to say, they are also a useful remedy against nausea (especially for seasickness). In short, it won't be like having Waybread... but almost!

7 - Don't waste water!

Water is fundamental: you need to fill up well before setting off, and above all, you must not waste it. A couple of tricks to make it last longer? Here they are! When you make pasta while sailing, use two-thirds fresh water and one-third seawater. You'll feel like Bear Grylls, you won't have to use salt and you'll get great pasta just the same. Don't throw away the pasta cooking water: you can reuse it to cook boiled eggs or potatoes, for example, or to wash the dishes after the meal. In fact, the degreasing properties of pasta starch can substitute detergent very well.

Do you have any tricks or tips for a perfect travel larder? Share our post on social media and add your secret in a comment!