(Source: Beijing Evening News)
American nuclear-powered aircraft carriers use 72,000 eggs every month.
How many tens of thousands do American aircraft carriers eat a day?
No matter which country has an aircraft carrier, the aircraft carrier concentrates the elite strength of a national navy, so their dietary needs can always be met as much as possible. For example, in the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier restaurant of the US military, all kinds of food are available; The ration standard on the French "Charles de Gaulle" is far above that of ordinary warships. The crew can enjoy steak, fish steak, vegetable salad and dessert for three meals a day. Indian aircraft carriers are mainly chickens, ducks, fish, shrimp and mutton, as well as various vegetables. Living at sea, the food supply of aircraft carriers can be said to be extremely rich, far exceeding ordinary ships and second only to top luxury cruise ships.
Behind the variety, we must consider the huge supply of personnel on the aircraft carrier. Aircraft carriers range from one or two thousand to five or six thousand. Preparing three meals or more a day for so many people, the ingredients consumed by itself are an astronomical figure.
Take the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in the United States as an example. A ship with an average of 5,000 crew members will probably be equipped with 70 to 90 chefs. Every day, 65,438+06,000 to 65,438+08,000 meals will be prepared from 6 am to 65,438+02 midnight. Monthly consumption of fried chicken 1.3 tons, fish 1.3 tons, bacon 3.6 tons, steak 3.6 tons, potato 3.5 tons, lettuce 4 tons, rice 5.4 tons, hamburger 1 1 ton, hot dogs 20 tons, 72,000 eggs and soda water.
According to the data released by the US military, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier consumes an average of $45,000 to $65,000 worth of food every day, and needs to supplement $654.38+$8,000 worth of food every week. In this way, an aircraft carrier only consumes $265.438+0.000 billion of grain, or about 65.438+0.30 billion yuan, in a three-month deployment cycle! Therefore, we saw the feast in the American aircraft carrier and the "barbecue party" on the deck on the Internet, which were actually based on extremely huge material consumption, and put forward extremely high requirements for maritime logistics support capabilities. On the one hand, the means of transportation of materials must be able to supply in overseas ports, and it is best to have overseas military bases.
Shorten the menu cycle and make the nutrition more balanced.
Although it seems that there are many kinds of food, the aircraft carrier actually has a regular menu to meet the needs of officers and men due to the limitation of sea replenishment and food storage means. For example, the US aircraft carrier used to implement a menu of 2 1 day, and after 2007, it changed to a circular menu of 14 days. Recently, it began to test the 7-day menu, while the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle has been implementing the 14-day menu.
U.s navy aircraft carrier meals
Judging from the operational characteristics of the navy, the shortening of the menu cycle means that the opportunities for officers and men to eat unhealthy fast food such as hamburgers and hot dogs are greatly reduced. Although from the photos on the internet, the diet of American aircraft carriers is extremely rich. However, considering the combat and patrol pressure of the US aircraft carrier, many officers and men are still forced to eat high-calorie and high-fat foods such as hamburgers and hot dogs to meet the heat requirements of high-load work. Moreover, this kind of food is easy to store and has less supply pressure. From this point of view, the food of the aircraft carrier "Charles de Gaulle" is likely to be better than that of the US military. This is not only because the French cooking is better, but also because the scope of activities of the French aircraft carrier "De Gaulle" is much smaller than that of the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, and the logistical pressure is not so great.
A "gourmet party" on the deck of an American aircraft carrier
Now that the US military has shortened the menu cycle, the officers and men on board are naturally very welcome. The new diet is more balanced in nutrition and more conducive to the health of officers and soldiers on board. In particular, increase the proportion of roast chicken, grilled fish, vegetables and salad in the main course, and reduce the proportion of fast food. Technically speaking, the means adopted by the US military is to start using a large number of semi-finished and finished foods, that is, according to the nutritional collocation, the amount of main dishes and seasonings are matched in advance, and the chefs on board only need to heat each staple food. On the one hand, it reduces the pressure on the supply of goods, and also reduces the work pressure of the chefs on board. Although the taste is certainly not as good as that of restaurants, it is much better than fast food.
On the "Liaoning Ship" in China, chefs rely on cooking equipment such as multifunctional steaming oven, vegetable cutter, dumpling maker and large steamer. And processed in five food processing zones, three staple food processing zones and 1 bakery at the same time to ensure food supply. In addition, the meal time has also been extended, and a combination of six meals a day, self-help and food delivery is adopted.
Chinese aircraft carrier meals:
It is advisable to take the road of finished products and combination of Chinese and western.
China has its first aircraft carrier, which actually poses a new challenge to the China navy on how to ensure the food of large surface ships. From the point of view of cooking, western food is simple and nutritious, but the equipment is complicated, while Chinese food is delicious and the equipment is simple, but the production process is complicated, and the demand for cooking water is large and the amount of sewage is large.
For naval kitchens, ships with one or two hundred people can also follow the traditional practice; But for an aircraft carrier with thousands of people, the pressure of China's traditional cooking methods on chefs is unprecedented. It is hard for us to imagine how much precious fresh water is needed to wash vegetables and how much manpower is needed to cut vegetables and stir-fry if we cook an ordinary shredded pork with fish flavor for the whole ship. Now, let's look at the meals of American aircraft carriers. The standards behind the big fish and big meat are: high heat supply and simple processing. Except for senior officers, the tastes of ordinary officers and soldiers are not much better, and they are not suitable for the specific situation of China.
Therefore, the meals of Chinese aircraft carriers definitely need to take the road of combining finished products with Chinese and western. On the one hand, on a large platform like an aircraft carrier, it is difficult to meet the physical consumption of officers and men in combat training completely according to the eating habits of Chinese food, and the pressure of food production is also great, so it is necessary to introduce some western food types (such as fried chicken, western pastry, juice, etc.). ); In addition, in order to ensure the taste of domestic officers and soldiers, it is necessary to further increase the supply of finished dishes. For example, the People's Liberation Army Daily revealed that our submarine force has been using finished collective grain. This kind of food, which draws lessons from aviation meals and is packed in tin foil bags, only needs to be heated, and the dishes with meat and vegetables are "out of the pot".
From what Chinese and foreign aircraft carrier officers and soldiers eat, it can be seen that the aircraft carrier is not only a weapon platform, but also a huge systematic project. In addition to high-tech equipment, seemingly ordinary factors such as eating will also become the key to overall combat effectiveness and need to be arranged as a whole. Chinese food is more difficult to finish than western food, but with the continuous improvement of China's catering technology and logistics support ability, Chinese aircraft carrier officers and soldiers will be able to eat world-class meals.
Recently, China Navy Network published several photos of officers and men of China's mother ship "Liaoning Ship" dining and cooking, which made readers interested in the problem of "eating" such a large ship as an aircraft carrier.
u.s. aircraft carrier
Fried chicken legs, ham, steak, seasonal fruits and vegetables, salads, desserts, ice cream and various drinks are all available. The kitchen will also regularly "improve life" for officers and men, and supply "chef's recommended dishes" such as lobster, crab and special steak. When it is calm, officers and men will "pull the carrier aircraft aside" and hold an open-air barbecue party on the deck.
French aircraft carrier
Officers and soldiers can enjoy three kinds of appetizers, one steak or fish steak, two kinds of vegetable salads and three kinds of desserts for three meals a day. There is also a vending machine in the main crew lounge outside the restaurant, where you can buy drinks such as beer, juice and mineral water.
Indian aircraft carrier
Although the food is not as rich as the United States and not as exquisite as France, it is equally delicious. Mainly chicken, duck, fish, shrimp and mutton, with tomatoes, onions, potatoes, eggplant, cauliflower and other vegetables, of course, curry is the most important. Another common food is Indian pancake, which is very popular with officers and men because of its simple preparation and sweet taste.