History of Food Preservation

Before refrigerators, freezers, supermarkets, and expiration dates, humans had a serious problem: food did not want to stay edible.For thousands of years, people experimented with salt, smoke, sunlight, ice, fermentation, drying, pickling, sugar, and eventually machines and modern food science to make dinner last a little longer. Some methods were elegant. Others were strange. Many were surprisingly clever.History of Food Preservation explores the fascinating public history behind the techniques humans developed to fight spoilage and survive lean seasons. From ancient drying and salting traditions to icehouses, smoking methods, fermentation, canning, refrigeration, freezing, and modern preservation technology, this book follows the evolution of one of humanity's most practical inventions: making food refuse to disappear.Along the way, discover how preservation shaped travel, trade, warfare, exploration, agriculture, household life, and the growth of cities. What began as a necessity for survival eventually became an enormous global food industry.With an accessible historical narrative and a fascination for the unusual, this book reveals the ingenious—and occasionally bizarre—ways people have tried to keep meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, dairy, grains, and other foods edible.Because long before anyone could simply put leftovers in the refrigerator, humanity had to get creative.And apparently, humanity was very determined not to let dinner die.