Sailors’ rations: ship’s biscuits and provisions on their voyages
For centuries, the sea was the main route for communication and trade in the Mediterranean. Sailors and merchants spent long periods, even months, aboard their vessels, facing the major challenge of keeping food in good condition during the voyage. Before the advent of modern refrigeration, sailors’ diets relied on simple, durable and easy-to-store products, some of which have survived to this day in forms very similar to the originals.
What did sailors eat in the old days?
What seems straightforward to us today was a real feat back then: ships were rudimentary, there were no communication systems as we know them today, and above all, feeding the crew on board was a real challenge.
Providing for the sailors for days, weeks and even months was very problematic because, with no refrigerators, provisions would easily go off.
By way of example, we might mention that Juan Sebastián Elcano’s expedition, which circumnavigated the globe in 1519, went through periods of up to five months without being able to land and stock up on water and fresh food. On leaving Spain, their five ships had loaded up with water, wine, rice, pulses, flour, quince, figs, honey, cheese, herring, sardines, vinegar, salted meat and, above all, the indispensable ship’s biscuits.
The major problem with scurvy
Scurvy is a serious disease caused by poor nutrition, specifically a lack of vitamin C. This leads to the rapid deterioration of various parts of the body, such as bones, ligaments, skin and gums. After several weeks or a few months without eating fresh fruit or vegetables, the first symptoms begin to appear: extreme fatigue, weakness, and muscle or joint pain. However, the most visible signs are the appearance of spots and bruises on the skin, or inflammation of the gums, which turn purple and bleed easily.
In the most severe cases, it can lead to death, due to internal bleeding or multiple organ failure. This is what happened to thousands of sailors in ancient times, particularly on the longest voyages when they were unable to call at port and obtain fresh vegetables.
Ship’s biscuits, a treasure for sailors of old
Wheat bread, a staple food in the West, would become soggy and go mouldy, so our ancestors devised a way to produce a type of bread that did not suffer from these problems. It was a hard, dry bread made from unfermented wheat flour that was baked several times to remove the water. A version of this bread, Panis Nauticus, was already in use by the Roman fleet in the 1st century.
Later, during the Age of Discovery, ship’s bread had taken the form of biscuits, which were much more practical for storage and rationing. They greatly facilitated feeding crews during long voyages and made it possible to reach distant lands.
From sea biscuits to today’s sailor’s biscuits
However, sea biscuits were a very rustic food, extremely useful for sea voyages but too coarse for life on land, so over time they evolved into a different version: oil biscuits.
A few years ago, the original concept was revived and updated, giving rise to modern sailor’s biscuits. These biscuits, which are flatter, now come in many varieties to suit all tastes: with rosemary, with spices, with seeds, plain or spicy, wholemeal, etc.
They are ideal for eating on their own, as tapas or paired with a wide range of foods, such as cheese, jam, pâtés, cold meats… and, of course, our beloved sobrasada. You may buy online: Discover the best gourmet products from Mallorca
The history of Mediterranean seafaring is full of little tricks that helped sailors survive long voyages. Among these are certain foods that are still commonly eaten today. One of these is sea fennel, known in Mallorca as fonoll marí, a plant highly prized in the Balearic Islands for its vitamin C content, which helped sailors avoid scurvy.
If you’d like to find out more about this very special plant, follow this link: Fonoll marí