How "clean" is the food?

[Cruising4]

Does anyone know how "clean" the food is on the ship?

 

For example - is a turkey burger made of turkey / spices / veggies or would it have soy protein, wheat, hfcs, caramel color (etc...).

 

Is the hamburger or steak 100% beef?

 

Is the mac and cheese made with mac and real cheese (ya know --- milk, flour, butter, cheese) or that neon stuff my kids love?

 

There are some local restaurants that cook like you'd cook at home and there are some that are completely dependent on processed ingredients.

 

It's not important enough of a question for me to ask guest services but I'm curious if anyone knows.

[Beaner38]

Great question... I'd like to know the answer also.

 

 

[kcwingwalker]

Does anyone know how "clean" the food is on the ship?

 

For example - is a turkey burger made of turkey / spices / veggies or would it have soy protein, wheat, hfcs, caramel color (etc...).

 

Is the hamburger or steak 100% beef?

 

Is the mac and cheese made with mac and real cheese (ya know --- milk, flour, butter, cheese) or that neon stuff my kids love?

 

There are some local restaurants that cook like you'd cook at home and there are some that are completely dependent on processed ingredients.

 

It's not important enough of a question for me to ask guest services but I'm curious if anyone knows.

 

IMO I do think it is an important question and hope you will receive some informative answers. My guess and experience with NCL leads me to believe that many items are not processed, but certainly there are more than a few that are processed. Example milk is not powdered milk. But some say the scrambled eggs are powdered..........not sure they have never tasted like powdered to me.

 

I do know the bacon is really bacon:) We still don't know what the syrup is, but for sure it's not maple.

[russianmom]

It's basically banquet food for 2000-4000 people. I wouldn't hold my breath for "clean" food, locally sourced ingredients or organic anything.

 

It's a mainstream cruise line galley not the latest and greatest food trend restaurant.

 

Please don't take my response as rude or snarky. I eat like what are are talking about but would never expect to find that unless I was on a ship like Seabourn or Crystal.

[RJ2002]

On the subject of eggs, unless you order them fried, they are probably institutional. I have seen what look like cartons of milk in the buffet area at breakfast, but it was an egg mixture.

[pieshops]

Does anyone know how "clean" the food is on the ship?

 

For example - is a turkey burger made of turkey / spices / veggies or would it have soy protein, wheat, hfcs, caramel color (etc...).

 

Is the hamburger or steak 100% beef?

 

Is the mac and cheese made with mac and real cheese (ya know --- milk, flour, butter, cheese) or that neon stuff my kids love?

 

There are some local restaurants that cook like you'd cook at home and there are some that are completely dependent on processed ingredients.

 

It's not important enough of a question for me to ask guest services but I'm curious if anyone knows.

 

I have cruised many times with NCL and I am also a chef and own my own catering company.

 

Not sure how to answer these questions. Is a steak 100 percent beef, I'm not trying to be a wise ass but what do you think it would be squirrel or ostrich?

 

Can you imagine the lawsuits and outrage if someone was served something that was not steak from a cow when it was called that on a menu.

 

If you have a question ask to speak with the chef on board, they could certainly answer any of your questions.

 

If something is labeled as something on a menu or buffet, I am sure that is exactly what it is. If it says Mac and cheese it is Mac and cheese, ask if they make from scratch or use kraft.

[pieshops]

On the subject of eggs, unless you order them fried, they are probably institutional. I have seen what look like cartons of milk in the buffet area at breakfast, but it was an egg mixture.

 

 

The cartons of eggs are frozen pasteurized eggs, I buy them sometimes for big buffets, they are 100 percent egg, sometimes some sugar or citric acid is added but nothing not natural.

[SissasMomE]

On the subject of eggs, unless you order them fried, they are probably institutional. I have seen what look like cartons of milk in the buffet area at breakfast, but it was an egg mixture.

 

You can ask them to scramble the real eggs. I always do. I can't eat that carton crap.

[DorothyB]

You can ask them to scramble the real eggs. I always do.

 

Last cruise I asked for my omelets to be made with real eggs - no problem at all :)

[chengkp75]

While the food is not of the "organic" quality, or top end chef's restaurant, there is quite a bit of quality, but also lots of processed food. Remember, the average cruise ship prepares 8000+ meals per day (pax and crew).

 

The eggs are not powdered (virtually no one uses powdered eggs anymore, other than the US Army:D). They are, however, "pasteurized egg product", which means that eggs are taken from the shell, scrambled, pasteurized, and then packaged in gallon jugs. This is a USPH requirement for eggs that may be used in things like dressings, mayonnaise, and sauces like hollandaise where the eggs may not be thoroughly cooked. "Real eggs" or eggs in the shell are only used for fried eggs at breakfast.

[EnsignPulver]

I have cruised many times with NCL and I am also a chef and own my own catering company.

 

Not sure how to answer these questions. Is a steak 100 percent beef, I'm not trying to be a wise ass but what do you think it would be squirrel or ostrich?

 

Can you imagine the lawsuits and outrage if someone was served something that was not steak from a cow when it was called that on a menu.

 

If you have a question ask to speak with the chef on board, they could certainly answer any of your questions.

 

If something is labeled as something on a menu or buffet, I am sure that is exactly what it is. If it says Mac and cheese it is Mac and cheese, ask if they make from scratch or use kraft.

 

Great response! All foods served are exactly as they are described.

[ImaKrazyKruizer]

Whatever it is, we found all of the food to be very tasty. Breakfast had a made to order omelette bar that was amazing.

[sdmike]

You can ask them to scramble the real eggs. I always do. I can't eat that carton crap.

 

So what do you think is in the carton? It's eggs, generally those with cosmetic defects that would make them less interesting packed with 11 others. I have zero issues with an omelet made from eggs poured out of a carton, but maybe that's just me.

 

:)

[rednose83]

My guess would be not clean at all. I read an article (can't remember where) that said the mass market cruise lines spend less than $10 pp per day on food.

[che5904]

My guess would be not clean at all. I read an article (can't remember where) that said the mass market cruise lines spend less than $10 pp per day on food.

 

I've actually read anywhere from 7.50 to $20 pp / day. But that is really neither here nor there to this topic.

 

Your cost of your food comes from quality not "clean". It is a lot cheaper to prepare things from scratch than start with processed foods.

[ImaKrazyKruizer]

I've actually read anywhere from 7.50 to $20 pp / day. But that is really neither here nor there to this topic.

 

Your cost of your food comes from quality not "clean". It is a lot cheaper to prepare things from scratch than start with processed foods.

 

Also with the huge volume they do the price per person per day will be substantially lower. Think of CostCo 100 times over.

[RJ2002]

The cartons of eggs are frozen pasteurized eggs, I buy them sometimes for big buffets, they are 100 percent egg, sometimes some sugar or citric acid is added but nothing not natural.

 

Thank you. For grins, I googled "egg mixture carton" and the first hit was from ConAgra, the big food supplier.

 

Here are the ingredients of their scrambled egg mix:

 

Whole Eggs, Whole Milk, Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate And Monosodium Phosphate (To Preserve Color), Xanthan Gum (Stabilizer) And Natural Flavor.

 

I think I will stick with a whole egg from the shell. :)

Edited March 18, 2014 by RJ2002

[ImaKrazyKruizer]

Thank you. For grins, I googled "egg mixture carton" and the first hit was from ConAgra, the big food supplier.

 

Here are the ingredients of their scrambled egg mix:

 

Whole Eggs, Whole Milk, Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate And Monosodium Phosphate (To Preserve Color), Xanthan Gum (Stabilizer) And Natural Flavor.

 

I think I will stick with a whole egg from the shell. :)

 

Actually that list is not far off form what you get when you eat fresh eggs. Especially once you add anything at all to them.

[RJ2002]

Actually that list is not far off form what you get when you eat fresh eggs. Especially once you add anything at all to them.

 

Perhaps at your house, but not mine. :)

[ImaKrazyKruizer]

Perhaps at your house, but not mine. :)

 

Has nothing to do where the food is served. Unless you pull that egg out ofthe chicken yoruslef and add nothing to it, that is what you are eating. :D

[ImaKrazyKruizer]

Actually that list is not far off form what you get when you eat fresh eggs. Especially once you add anything at all to them.

 

From, sorry I am typing with one hand in a cast.

[Fishbait17]

I have allergies to many ingredients in processed foods, especially some "flavor enhancers", plus a few other ingredients (disodium products, sulfites, and phosphates are some of the more common ones). I have had allergic reactions on board to some frozen drinks, which later I found were sometimes made with cartons of mixers (ie the Dirty Banana, one of my faves IF made with fresh banana and not banana mixer). I often react to Asian foods when made with pre-packaged sauces, so I just skip them altogether. While it's a little more difficulty to eat on board than it is when cooking myself, I simply stick with as much unprocessed food as possible and generally do just fine. For example, just returned from the Gem. We brought a small blender for our included alcohol bottles, and I requested various mixers, as natural as possible. When reading ingredients, I found I could have the Peach mixer no problem, but the piña colada mixture contained ingredients dangerous to me, so I skipped it and instead used pineapple juice, the peach mixer, and fresh fruit from the buffet.

 

I have found that most of the regular food on NCL is fairly pure - if you know what health issues you have - and is generally as safe as eating out locally. It's not easy to deal with allergies with processed food ingredients, and it's not like an allergy to a specific food (ie nuts, shellfish, etc) and not worth it for me to go thru the special needs department as its very hard to monitor. Instead I always get fresh, simple food if possible, have never had a problem with any of the specialties (except the Asian one whcih i don't dare try) and even Teppanyaki is more pure than the restaurant I visit at home. I tend to avoid any dishes that are typically processed just like at home restaurants (avoiding gravy, foods that contain phospahtes like some scallops, etc) and only occasionally will react to something. So far it has worked for me, so I suspect that most of the simple food on NCL (meats, fish, pasta dishes, veggies, etc) are generally not chemically processed, but instead made from fresh, frozen, or canned ingredients. Hope this helps!

 

Robin

Edited March 18, 2014 by Fishbait17

[SissasMomE]

So what do you think is in the carton? It's eggs, generally those with cosmetic defects that would make them less interesting packed with 11 others. I have zero issues with an omelet made from eggs poured out of a carton, but maybe that's just me.

 

:)

 

Well, someone else just posted there is sugar added. There is no sugar in a "real" egg. I'm sure a lot of people do not have problems with processed foods. I have a lot of food allergies, and need to eat as close to "whole food" as possible. Even artificial coloring is bad. So, I avoid it.

[ImaKrazyKruizer]

Dealing with allergies in general but especially so when it comes to food. The more obscure your allergy is the harder it is to navigate through the process of ensuring that everything you eat is safe for you.

[SissasMomE]

Dealing with allergies in general but especially so when it comes to food. The more obscure your allergy is the harder it is to navigate through the process of ensuring that everything you eat is safe for you.

 

Whole foods are always the best.