In the past, it was extremely important to ensure that the food on the ship did not deteriorate and last for a long time. When the necessary precautions were not taken on this subject, the food left in the damp environment would quickly rot or be saved. It was also the main enemy of these foods in rats on board. In addition to the mice leaning on these foods, food could be transmitted to the feces of these creatures. This led to the emergence of epidemics on the ship.

XIX. YY. The products that seafarers could consume were very limited. Generally, dry foods and salted meats were consumed. Also, it was rarely consumed in oil, fish, cheese, beans, and similar foods. Sailors usually preferred rusks as bread. This is because the product is more durable and has a higher nutritional value.

Hard and nutritious products were always preferred foods for seafarers in tough working conditions. Generally, hard and dry foods were preferred in the period conditions. Egyptian sailors, for example, used to carry millet bread in flat form. The famous king of England Richard III. He took with him some kind of bun made of rye, barley, and beans for his mortared voyages.

In the old times, biscuits, the most preferred product in ships, were baked twice specifically. The products desired to be used on longer trips were baked four times. These rusks were usually made with products such as beans, barley, wheat, corn, and chickpeas. A special plain flour was made only for captains. Besides, biscuits were made 6 months before the trip.

The only downside of these rusks, which were specially prepared to withstand harsh conditions, was that they were extremely hard and sometimes the teeth of those who ate were broken. The seafarers had to soften it with products such as coffee or brine to eat these rusks. Crumbled biscuits were often used in fish soup.

The very hard rusks often softened over time due to moisture at sea. Unfortunately, the products survived this situation. Even under the conditions of that time, even these wolves had an important place for malnourished sailors. To remove insects from these rusks, a fish was usually placed on top of the crops and then thrown into the sea. Special methods were used for meat and fish which are among the important food products. For the long-term stability of these products, methods such as salting, drying, processing or pickling were preferred. Wooden barrels or crates were generally used to avoid deterioration in marine conditions. Many kinds of meat were preferred. Pork, beef and even horse meat were preferred under the conditions of the period. Sometimes there would be live animals on the ships to satisfy the need for eating. These animals were slaughtered and consumed on-demand. Under period conditions, the problem of balanced nutrition was frequently experienced and the crew members were killed. Daily food for the Royal Navy in 1588 was 1 pound rusks and 1 gallon beer. These were very inadequate nutrients for a human being and often caused scurvy disease in seafarers due to insufficient nutrients.

Besides, many fatal diseases were experienced with it. On long journeys, almost half of the crew would die of vitamin C deficiency. Before the voyage, fresh vegetables and fruits were taken to the ships but they were consumed immediately at the beginning of the journey. Sometimes when they had the chance to land ashore during the journey, they would buy fresh vegetables and fruit again, but this was very rare.

To protect the vegetables for a long time, sailors would prefer the drying method. Especially on long voyages, sailors were given a certain amount of dried vegetables for nutritional supplements. One of the most durable foods on long sea voyages was dry legumes. In the Far East, the most suitable legumes for seafarers were rice. The rice was extremely durable and abundant in the region made it possible for sailors to consume this food. However, seafarers who consume this food also had a deficiency of vitamin B1, and a disease called since-ever appeared among seafarers. Another method preferred by sailors to preserve vegetables was to keep them in pickles. It was known that especially German sailors learned this method from Turks. Seafarers who consumed plenty of pickles got rid of catching scurvy, which was very common at that time. Captain Cook first noticed that sauerkraut especially had a protective effect against this disease. Over time, he had replaced the pickled cabbage with lemon, which had the same protective effect. Butter and cheese were also among the products that were sometimes given to meet the calcium needs of seafarers on the journeys. Of course, because of the difference in rank on ships, pages were given much less such products than officers. To protect the cheese, it was sealed with wax and kept at suitable room temperature. Unfortunately, the same method could not be applied for butter, this product would start to deteriorate in a short time.

One of the most interesting things that sailors ate for survival was undoubtedly gunpowder. From time to time to meet the needs of products such as cheese sprinkled consumed. The British used gunpowder instead of salt in the early 19th century.

Another important problem during long sea cruises was the storage of drinking water. These waters, which were kept in barrels under harsh conditions, would usually deteriorate after a few weeks and become non-potable. However, the crew had no choice but to drink this water. Most of the time, seafarers suffered from diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, and cholera. Therefore, the most important thing for seafarers who set foot ashore was finding clean water. Onboard, alcoholic beverages were much more durable than water and could remain intact for a long time. For this reason, a certain amount of alcohol was given to the crew until the liquor stock was exhausted on the ships. From time to time rum alcohol could be added to make the degraded water drinkable.

Since the longitude degrees could not be calculated precisely in the returning conditions, it was not possible to predict how long the journeys would take. For this reason, the journeys usually took much longer than expected and the food and drink onboard was not enough for the crew as planned. However, it was not possible to take any measures since it was very difficult to predict.

Until the production of canned foods, unfortunately, the most important food of sailors was brine meats and rusks. In 1814, the first canned meats were introduced. Since these canned cans were produced in tin cans, they were extremely durable on long journeys and in many ways were capable of meeting the daily nutritional needs of seafarers. For this reason, it became an indispensable food for sailors in a short time. The only negative aspect of canned food was the fatal poisoning of seafarers due to lead soldering of the covers.

Another method of storage in ships in the 19th century was cooling and preserving. For this purpose, ice molds whose melting was slowed down using special materials were used. The food stored in these ices was a very effective preservation method. For ordinary ships, this method was extremely expensive and impractical. Therefore, they could not get enough efficiency from this method. At the beginning of the 20th century, refrigerators and cold air systems were finally developed to prevent the deterioration of products on ships. Thanks to these products, food, and drinks could be kept intact for a long time.