Dried meats, like jerky, were extremely popular. But dried plants could offer up a surprising amount of protein as well. Beans were a major item on pirate ships. Beans and other pulses also ensured that the average pirate had some fiber in their diet. Fruits and vegetables tended to go bad fairly early on in a voyage.
In this post
What is a pirate meal?
In his book Pirates and Piracy, author David Reinhardt provides a litany of ingredients one might find in the cauldron and the manner of preparation: Included might be any of the following: turtle meat, fish, pork, chicken, corned beef, ham, duck and pigeon.
What did pirates eat on their ship?
Vegetables and meat were usually pickled or salted to preserve the food. Ships on long voyages relied on biscuits, dried beans and salted beef to live. For drinking, seamen chose beer or ale rather than water.
What do pirates eat for breakfast?
Eggs, Milk And Biscuits
Many times, live chickens were brought onto the ships and kept on board for their eggs. Even larger animals such as cows or goats were essential in order to provide milk and cheese for the crew.
What was an important food source for pirates?
The pirates that were on very long voyages had to eat a very bland diet that consisted of dried beans, biscuits, and beef that had been salted. Several hundred years ago during the Golden Age of Piracy, it was difficult to find clean drinking water.
How did pirates poop?
How did Pirates relieve themselves? In most ships there would be a place at the bow ( front end ) of the ship called the head. This was a hole in the floor to squat over. Faeces would fall directly into the sea below.
Why do pirates eat apples?
When they fell under the Aztec curse, Barbossa and his crew suffered a living death, feeling and tasting nothing: “… drink would not satisfy; food turned to ash in our mouths.” The pirate captain was tormented by flavorless apples. He longed to be mortal so that he can once more taste the flesh of the fruit.
How did pirates bathe?
Pirates Had No Option But to Bathe With Seawater
But bathing didn’t involve freshwater; that was saved for cooking. When it came time for pirates to clean themselves, they most likely jumped into the ocean. Despite the abundance of seawater, bathing wasn’t a common occurrence amongst the pirates.
What do pirates smell like?
It smells like musty chlorinated water and synthetic fog (like that from a fog machine). My intent was to capture the smell of the chlorinated water, musty mildew (because the water doesn’t get changed often), and the atmospheric damp fog in the air from the pyrotechnic/smoke effects.
What would pirates drink out of?
Pirates sometimes drank from pewter mugs (see tankard) which often contained lead.
What’s a lady pirate called?
Many disguised themselves as men to be able to fit into pirate crews undetected. Female pirates were a minority – and openingly female pirates – even rarer. In today’s popular culture you can find references to girl pirates, women pirates, she-pirates and so on.
Did pirates drink water?
Stagnant drinking water
Water, rum, and lime was the pirate’s well-known drink of choice. The navy also used this drink for their sailors, so the sailors would stay hydrated, and this was rationed to them only two times a day, but the pirates drank their drink of choice anytime they wanted.
Why did pirates eat in the dark?
The water stank, the meat and fish were rotten, the biscuits were infested with large black-headed weevil maggots. The men could bring themselves to eat only in the dark.
How did pirates stay warm?
Hanging or charcoal stoves were used to dry between decks but were used to dry between decks but were of no value in heating the ship. With the advent of steam it became possible to heat our ships.
What did pirates use to cook?
Often a ship had nothing more than a metal box full of sand, in which the cook could light a fire and heat preserved food. In rough weather, the fire needed to be put out, and men ate raw, salted beef. A more sophisticated arrangement was to hang an iron stove from the beams above on chains.
Did pirates eat bananas?
History. During the Age of Piracy, bananas were used as a food by many people, including pirates.
How did pirates wipe their butt?
After using the head, the sailor could then clean his backside with the wet rag then drop the rope back over the side. The rag would then be cleaned either by being literally towed by the ship under sail or to be washed by the action of wave and current if at anchor.
How long did pirates live?
Often their families never knew what had happened to them. Life was hard for the sailors who were beaten and threatened with death on a daily basis. Life expectancy for men pressed into service was no more than two years. Many crews mutinied against their officers or just surrendered when threatened by pirates.
What do pirates do all day?
Putting the adventures aside, pirates also had to maintain their ships. This meant cleaning and repairing their ships so that these vessels would live to sail another sea. Stolen goods could be used to keep their ships in worthy condition.
Did pirates eat seafood?
And while seafood wasn’t a staple of a pirate’s diet, they might still have the occasional haul of fresh food from the open water. Even sea turtle eggs could find their way onto the menu if a pirate happened to spot a likely source.
Are pirates cannibals?
Pirate Henry Morgan’s and crew—stranded in 1670—were reduced to eating leather satchels (shredded and fried). Female pirate Captain Charlotte de Berry’s crew, shipwrecked and in desperate straits, turned to cannibalism, eating two slaves and Charlotte’s husband.