History of food preservation during ancient times

Food processing dates back to the prehistoric age when crude processing including various types of cooking, such as over fire, smoking, steaming, fermenting, sun drying and preserving with salt were in practice. Foods preserved this way were a common part of warriors’ and sailors’ diets.

Ancient people adopted different preservation methods to store excess foods of plant and animal origin, particularly those which are seasonal and have a short lifespan.

The Romans were particularly fond of any dried fruit they could make. In the Middle Ages “still houses” were purposely built to dry fruits, vegetables, and herbs in areas that did not have enough strong sunlight for drying.

Hippocrates described sauerkraut (preserved cabbage) as a health food and medicinal remedy in his writing. The Romans have also valued the beneficial effect of sauerkraut.

Plinius the Elder is said to have been the first who described the production of sauerkraut by preservation of so-called salt cabbage in earthen vessels in Italy in the first century AD.

The earliest recorded instances of food preservation date back to ancient Egypt and the drying of grains and subsequent storage in seal silos. Egyptians perfected a number of food preservation techniques over the ages. They preserved cheese, cereals, fruit, legumes, vegetables (including dark green leafy vegetables), fish, meat, grains, aromatic seeds and condiments.

Fermentation, oil packing, pickling, salting, and smoking are all ancient preservation technologies.
History of food preservation during ancient times