β All ancient topics
How did they preserve food?
Salt, smoke, ice and sunshine
Grab your imaginary time machine and let's see how people kept their food yummy before refrigerators were ever invented!
1/5
- Long ago
The Spoil Problem
Fresh food goes bad quickly because tiny living microbes love to eat it. Ancient people needed a clever way to save summer food for cold winters.
The big idea
Long before electricity, people used nature to keep food safe and delicious for months.
Fun facts
- β¨ Ancient Roman soldiers were sometimes paid in salt because it was so valuable for saving food!
- β¨ Delicious pickles are just cucumbers taking a long, salty bath in vinegar.
- β¨ Jam was invented to save summer berries so people could eat fruit during frozen winters.
Science words
- Preserve β To save food so it stays good to eat for a very long time.
- Microbes β Tiny living creatures that are too small to see without a microscope.
- Dehydrate β To remove all the water or moisture from something.