Naval Grazing in Nelson's Fleet

Contrary to popular myth, the diet of sailors in the Royal Navy in Nelson’s time was both plentiful and of good quality; most of the stories of dreadful food come from merchant sailors, for whom there were no regulations and little recourse other than changing ships in the hope of finding a more sympathetic captain. For the naval seaman, there were numerous regulations, including a specified ration for each man, and a system by which they could reject sub-standard food and opt for alternatives or cash in lieu.

By Nelson’s time, the basic diet consisted of ship’s biscuit, salt beef, salt pork, dried pease, oatmeal, butter and cheese, with substitutes of mutton, flour, raisins, suet, rice and sugar or molasses. Each man was entitled to quantities which averaged out at over 5000 calories per day. The official diet had been laid down in Pepys’ time, and between then and the late 1840s (when tinned food became good enough and cheap enough for general use) the only major change was to drop stock fish and increase the meat ration.