Chinese history on food preservation

Food preservation methods such as drying, smoking, freezing, marinating, salting and pickling had their beginnings thousands of years ago. The Chinese reportedly preserved vegetables by fermentation in prehistoric times.

The Chinese also used salted fish in their diets. Fermented sausages were prepared and consumed by the people of ancient China as far back as 1500 BC. The Chinese Confucian Analects of 500 BC warned against consumption of sour rice, spoiled fish or eating flesh, food kept too long or insufficiently cooked food.

Fermented vegetables

The Chinese have cultivated rice, millet, sorghum, and other crops for many millennia and they established the sophisticated preservation techniques of salting and fermenting many vegetables, seafood and grains to preserving them.

Many of these techniques are still part of the Chinese culinary repertoire and sauces (soy sauce, oyster sauce, black bean sauce, etc) and other condiments often are produced using these methods today.

Throughout Chinese history fermented vinegar was added to food. Pickling food in vinegar is one of the traditional techniques of food-preservation, and the presence of salt in vinegar frequently enhances the preservative effects.
Chinese history on food preservation