Period Food Preservation Techniques

THL Giles fitz Alan

Food preservation techniques used in period varied depending on locale and the type of food. In general meats, including fish, are preserved by smoking, salting, pickling, drying or potting. Occasionally these will be used in combination. The methods that were used for fruits and vegetables include pickling, drying, and salting / fermenting (controlled spoilage). Milk products are normally fermented. All of these techniques are an attempt to create an environment that is unfavorable for the growth of unwanted bacteria, much like modern refrigeration. Many of their techniques are still in use today.

Meat and Fish

Smoking Smoke is used in meat preserving methods documented as early as the Roman Empire and is mentioned in meat preservation recipes throughout out study period. We are instructed to hang it in smoke or to hang it in the chimney repeatedly in sausage and preserved meat recipes originating all over Europe. The receipt usually calls for the meat to be salted or brined (sometimes referred to as pickled) before the meat is exposed to smoke. In the case of sausages the salt can be added to the meat mixture, or applied after the meat is stuffed into the casing. In most 59 If you would make good smoked cases the meat is not cooked prior to salting and beef we are told to avoid exposing the meat or meat Then prepare the meat for smoking, product to an excessive amount of heat. as wide as three man's fingers, and Normally this meat was stored by hanging it in salt it well so that it becomes white a cool, dry, well-ventilated location. Sources from the salt, and when the salt has dissolved, then skim it off and pour it indicate that if properly stored, smoked meats over again or from the bottom to the will last an entire year. top, so that the salt comes over it all. Smoke is still used today, notably for sausage, ham, bacon, fowl, and some fish and cheese. The modern process is quite similar to those used in period, most differences are in the curing process before smoking takes place. The temperatures and smoking times used today are similar. The type of wood used is different today. In period many of those woods used today were used. Many that were used then are not used today. Salt or Brine Curing Man has also used salt to preserve meat for nearly 2000 years. In period salt was applied both dry and dissolved in liquid, to both raw and cooked meats. Salted meat, when properly cured, will last until it is too desiccated to be considered edible. Several period recipes specify that the meat should be cooked in a liquid as salt as the sea or more, or that the cooking liquid should contain enough salt to float an egg. Often brine-cured meats were left in the brine for long-term storage. Periodically the brine was drawn off, boiled and the scum removed, and it was returned to the storage barrel, or it was replaced by fresh brine. Brine storage was not commonly used for fish, even when the fish was
And when it has laid for four days in

cured in brine. Both dry salted and brine cured meats were stored packed in salt. Frequently we are instructed to close the storage container tightly to stop the air from entering. Both of these salting methods often included spices other than salt, many of which contained tannins, essential oils, or acids that contributed minimally to the preserving qualities of the cure. Several cures contain saltpeter (potassium or sodium nitrate), which is still used today as a preservative in many food products and meat cures. Many of the salt meat recipes suggest soaking the meat in fresh water (freshening) before using the product. Some indicate that it is best when marinated in an acid solution before use. It is interesting to note that this process is exactly the same as that used in the 19th century. In many cases this extends to salt proportions and curing times. Some of todays cured meats (corned beef) contain flavoring ingredients other than salt. Pickling Most of the pickles used for meat were of the acid sort, and contained large amounts of vinegar, sometimes diluted with wine or water. Most also contained spices and sweeteners in addition to an acid liquid. Occasionally onion and garlic are added to the pickle. Meat and fish pickled in period was usually cooked, often in the pickling liquid. Occasionally these pickling liquids were primarily or entirely syrups or honey. Salt and other spices were often added for flavoring, or to temper the acid flavor of the preserved meat. Pickled meats were usually stored in the pickling liquid. A moderate weight was placed on the meat to ensure that it remained under the liquid, and the container was closed tight to inhibit airflow. In some instances we are told to remove and boil the pickle, and skim it as it boils, then it is cooled and returned to the storage container. Most of the meat pickling sources indicated that when the storage is properly maintained these products will last for 6 months to a year. Many of these recipes appear similar to those used today, at least for the acid pickles. However differences in the vinegar available today and that available in period will make a large difference in the effectiveness of the pickle. The vinegar available today, which is lower in acid content, would probably make a pickle too low in acid to preserve meat and fish properly. The flavoring agents used are similar to those used in pickled meats today. The practice of preserving meat in sweet pickles is not widely used today.

Drying Meat destined to be dried was usually partially cured in salt or brine before being hung to dry. In northern climes one is instructed to hang the meat in a chimney to dry. I found very little reference material in or near period that detailed the drying processes, enough to know that it was practiced, probably in period. There was no suggested storage procedure, as well there was no indication of shelf life, but the source did indicate how to cook and serve the dried meat. Although I have found no source describing the process to create stockfish, there are recipes for preparing it, so we know that fish was treated in this manner. This is used only for jerky today. This is not the same as freeze-drying, which was not done in period. There is no evidence to support jerky production in Europe, however there is some to support its production in Africa and in the Americas by the native population. Potting Several references to potted meats can be found close after period, but I found none in period. Nevertheless it is included. Even though it cannot be proved, it is very likely that this technique was used in period. The meat to be potted is cooked in all of the sources I have found. It is put into a ceramic, clay or stone container, sometimes with some of the cooking liquid, and immediately covered with hot, pure fat. This sealed the container and ensured that no air could come in contact with XVI. Game of fowl or beast in summer the stored meat. This technique does not appear to keep. to have been used often to preserve fish. Most Take the same game (if you need it in of the recipes suggest that when the fat seal is the snakes month) let it be well broken and meat removed, the remainder should leaned and lard it just as if it were to be used quickly. Shelf life varied greatly in the be roasted then. Put it in a clean sources that I found, ranging from several vessel and melt thereto as much butter as can cover the game in the weeks to several months. Potting as practiced in period is no longer done. The closest preservation technique that exists today is canning. The primary difference is that canning produces a vacuum within the storage container, and potting simply seals the container with no air inside. Both are similar in that they attempt to kill bacteria in the meat with heat or pressure, and then seal it in a container after purging all of the air.
vessel well. However the butter is clarified and the salt taken out which

Fruits and vegetables

Pickling The most often mentioned method of preserving fruit and vegetable foods was pickling. The pickling liquid was normally acid for vegetables and sweet for fruits. Almost all of the foods to be pickled were cooked before the pickling process. The cooking media could be water or the pickle, depending on the food to be pickled. Acid pickles frequently contained wine and spices. Both vinegar and alegar (vinegar made from ale) were used as acid primary sources; many contained citrus juice too. About half of the sources recommend layering the foodstuff between herbs before the pickling liquid is added. Sweet pickles sometimes contained wine, and frequently contained a variety of spice. Sugar and honey were both used as sweeteners. The storage containers were to be closed tightly, and stored in a cool room. The liquid was to be drawn off and boiled, then replaced periodically. Most of the sources indicate that fruit and vegetables stored in this manner would keep for 6 months to a year. Even today this remains a favored method of increasing the shelf life of vegetables of all types. Many of the recipes for these foods are the same as those used to create the same foods today. The usual differences are in the flavorings added to the pickle. The variety of vegetables pickled in period is as great as todays. I have no doubt that the pickle in period contained more acid than those of today; it had to keep without the added benefit of the refrigerator. The sweet pickles used for fruit in period are echoed in the fruit preserves of today. Period fruit conserve was probably very much like a heartier variety of todays reserve. Drying Fruits were frequently dried, vegetables not so often. The fruit was usually cooked before drying, normally in syrup similar to many of the sweet pickles I have found. It was then dried either in the sun or in a warm oven, after the bread had been removed. Most of the sources specify

that the fruit should be turned regularly until sufficiently dried. The dried fruit was stored in a wooden box or cloth bag, sometimes layered or dusted with sugar. Most of the receipts indicated that the dried fruit would last for several months when properly stored. This is in contrast to today. Most fruits dried today are dried raw. They may be powdered with sugar for storage, as in period. We still use the same methods for the actual drying process. Our ovens are just more sophisticated. Fermentation Vegetables and fruit juices are usual candidates for fermentation. Vegetables that are to be fermented, or soured, are prepared in a variety of ways. They may be shredded; they may be whole; they may be somewhere between. They are all salted, usually quite heavily. Frequently other spices, herbs, or flavoring vegetables such as onion or garlic are added. A moderate weight is place on the vegetable matter to ensure that it will remain submerged in the forming brine. The container was allowed to stand in a cool (not cold) location for 2 to 3 weeks. The soured vegetation was stored in the brine produced during the process, and would keep for several months. Fruit juices were fermented with yeast, often flavored with herbs and spices, and sweetened. When properly fermented and stored wine will keep for months or years. This too is just as popular today as it was in period. Most of the processes for fermented vegetable products today are quite similar to those found in period sources, so is the end result. Wine today, as in period, is made from every fruit juice available, although today there is little spice used.

Milk
Fermentation Cheese was made by precipitating the fat and protein out of milk with rennet. The resulting mass of curd was treated in a variety of ways, yielding different types of cheese. Some recipes call for the curd to be cooked at a low temperature, then to press out the whey. Others pressed the curd uncooked. Some sources indicate that the cheese should be kept for several months, but no mention is made of actual shelf life.

Much of the cheese made today is made in the same way that it was in period. In period some of the fresh cheeses contained sugar or eggs, something that is not done today.

Conclusions
We had developed a variety of quite ingenious methods to preserve our food supply by our study period. Many of them are quite similar to some in use today. Many are quite different from those in use today. Most of them would probably have worked for the time period stated if done properly. All of them have one thing in common, and they all share that with the food preservation methods in use today; they all create an unfavorable environment for the growth of unwanted bacteria, but they approach the problem in very different ways. We still use many of these preservation techniques today, often in conjunction with our additions, vacuum canning and refrigeration. This increases the shelf life still further.
Bibliography Delightes for Ladies, 1603 Epulario, 1598 The Good Huswives Handmaid, 1597 A Book of Cookrye, 1591 The Treasurie of Commodius Conciets, 1573, 1591 The Widowes Treasure, 1588 Curye on Inglysh Das Buch von Guter Spise, 1452 Das Kuchbuch von Sabina Welserin, 1553 Cook Book(Koge Bog), (Danish), 1616 Rare Receipts for Cookery, 1664