Throughout the ages of civilization, man did not have the grace of abundance and the first and foremost concern has always been obtaining food and water and making it last for as long as possible. The preservation of food was essential for the preservation of human civilization. Food starts to break down right from the very moment of its harvest. When our ancestors figured out ways to skilfully preserve and store food, they no longer had to consume their prey or harvest immediately and were able to settle and form communities.
While browsing the shelves of local grocery stores, we are often concerned about the shelf life of the products as well as the worldwide opinion divide between the use of natural preservatives against chemical preservatives. Even when we store each food product appropriately, sometimes a simple mistake can make them go bad. Before relying on another trip to the grocery store we should think about the value of the food.
The Age of Drying
In 12000 BC along the communities in the Middle East and Oriental regions, the food tended to break down faster due to the hot and humid conditions. The people used the heat and intensity of the sun to their advantage by drying fruits, fish and meats. The Ancient Romans, Sumerians and Egyptians were especially fond of dried fruits. Dried food extended its shelf life naturally due to an absence of water and along with sealed storage containers it allowed the food to be stored exponentially longer. In 2003, a 2,400-year-old shipwreck from the bottom of the Black Sea was found and contained the bones of a seven-foot catfish that had been dried and cut into steaks to feed the ship’s crew during the ill-fated voyage.
During the Middle Ages in Northern Europe, where the sunlight was not strong enough to dry food, still, houses were built with a controlled fire to develop heat to dry food. It was in the year 1795 in France that the first effective dehydrator was developed for drying fruits and vegetables.
The Role of Fire
Wood smoking is a natural and traditional way of dynamically increasing the shelf life while also imparting a unique flavour. It is a process similar to drying where the food is partially or fully dried in the presence of an open wood fire. Smoking was the ideal choice for nomadic tribes in North America and Northern Europe in cold climates where the heat from the fire reduced the water content and slow-cooked the food allowing for a long shelf life and providing a plentiful store of fish and meat in the harsh winters.
Nomadic Native American tribes were the first people who successfully smoked salmon for harsher months. Younger members would be responsible for keeping the fire at just the right temperature for smoking and ensuring the food was cooked through. Fish had been smoked and dried in Sumer and Nordic regions as far back as 3500 BC. The Nordic people built smokehouses dedicated to smoking and storing their food. Researchers found a strange kind of large unit near Lake Biskupin in Poland for mass production of smoked fish and meat which may date back to around the ninth century.
Ice and Snow
The Nordic and North American cultures in harsh climates also took advantage of the extreme temperature conditions by naturally refrigerating or freezing the food by burying it in snow or ice. A millennium before the advent of mechanical refrigeration, the Chinese utilised snow and ice in insulated cellars in 1100 BC.
Perishable products such as fish and meat were placed in caves and surrounded by ice in different parts of the world. Ice export became a major trade in Northern regions. Medieval wealthy households would have ice houses built in their cellars and the common people would have smaller insulated icebox units which served as the predecessor of the modern refrigerator.
A little Salt and Pickle brine
Salt is the most commonly known natural and traditional preservative of food. Ancient Greeks and Romans as well as Chinese packed their meat and fish in salt to keep it edible for months. People in all parts of the world from a very early age have practised salting for the preservation of food. Salt helps to draw moisture out from the food and prevents any microbial growth. The evolution of salting gave rise to curing with raw salts along with spices to also impart flavours to meat.
The use of salt along with water or vinegar to make a brine became an ideal method of food preservation as the food absorbed the brine over time leading to complex flavours while being safe for a longer time.
Pickling began in Babylon around 5000 BC when the fruit of the date palm along with wine or vinegar was used as a pickling agent. Evidence of pickles of vegetables like cucumber in stone or earthenware jars was found in the Tigris Valley dating back to 2030 BC. Pickling was not only treated as a preservation technique but also a method of taste enhancement. Ketchup was an oriental fish brine which was used in cooking that travelled the spice route to Europe and eventually to America where someone finally added sugar to it. Pickling led to innumerable new recipes for condiments across Asia and Europe including chutneys, relishes and piccalilli. Worcestershire sauce was an accidental innovation from a forgotten barrel of relish that was lying in the basement of the Lea and Perrins Chemist Shop!
Natural Food Preservation
The preservation techniques developed and practised by early humans utilised natural elements and ingredients and a similar approach is followed extensively to make healthy food products. These natural preservation principles can be easily used at home to not only increase shelf life but also create clever and delicious recipes. Just make sure you don’t forget them in your basement!
