How did people survive without refrigeration?

Before refrigerators, perishable meat or dairy products were stored in cool cellars or spring houses, a small building constructed over a natural spring. Food could be stored in containers in the stream of water or in the cool atmosphere of the spring house.

What did humans before refrigeration?

Before 1830, food preservation used time-tested methods: salting, spicing, smoking, pickling and drying. There was little use for refrigeration since the foods it primarily preserved — fresh meat, fish, milk, fruits, and vegetables — did not play as important a role in the North American diet as they do today.

How did they preserve food without refrigeration?

Many preservation practices other than refrigeration — like salting, drying, smoking, pickling and fermenting — have been used for a long time.

How did they keep food cold before refrigerators?

The natural ice harvesting industry in America began to take off in the early 1800s. A large block of ice was stored inside to keep these early refrigerators chilly. By this point, cold had become the clear choice among food preservation methods, proving less labor-intensive and more effective at preventing spoilage.

How did they keep food fresh 300 years ago?

Salting was the most common way to preserve virtually any type of meat or fish, as it drew out the moisture and killed the bacteria. Vegetables might be preserved with dry salt, as well, though pickling was more common. Salt was also used in conjunction with other methods of preservation, such as drying and smoking.

How did people store their food back then?

To survive, our early ancestors had to find a way to make that food last through the cold months. In frozen climates, they froze meat on the ice; in tropical climates, they dried foods in the sun. These early methods of food preservation enabled ancient man to put down roots and form communities.

How was meat stored before fridges?

During the Middle Ages, people preserved meat by salting or smoking it. They would also dry many foods, including grains. Vegetables were often salted or pickled. Many fruits were dried or turned in preserves.

How was ice kept frozen before electricity?

Ice was cut from the surface of ponds and streams, then stored in ice houses, before being sent on by ship, barge or railroad to its final destination around the world.

How did they smoke meat in the old days?

Smoking Meat and Fish Meat would be cut into relatively thin, lean strips, immersed briefly in a salt solution and hung over a fire to absorb the smoke flavoring as it dried — slowly. Occasionally meat might be smoked without a salt solution, especially if the type of wood burned had a distinctive flavoring of its own.