Long before modern supermarkets, potatoes were traditionally grown or purchased in fall, and stored in root cellars for winter meals. A root cellar is an underground structure that is protected from freezing temperatures, but maintains cool and humid conditions ideal for holding foods for months after harvesting.
How did the pioneers keep food from spoiling?
Drying: Pioneers would hang food up to dry. Taking the moisture out of the food helps make it last longer. Pioneers would string foods up close to the fire where the heat from the fire would help dry them out, or they could place some food outside, and the heat from the sun would dry things out.
How I store 200 lbs of potatoes without a root cellar?
Make a root clamp: Instead of building a root cellar, just dig out holes in the hard ground to store cabbages, potatoes, and other root vegetables. Use hay in between each vegetable. Cover with a thick layer of straw, and then the dirt to keep out any frost. Then cover with more straw (a bale or two).
How did they preserve vegetables in the 1800s?
Vegetables and even eggs would be put in glazed crocks, soaked with vinegar, and covered with either leather, clarified butter, or a pig bladder, which would stretch and act like plastic wrap. The highly acidic environment created by the vinegar protected the vegetables from spoiling.
How do you preserve potatoes without a cellar?
Choose unbruised, unblemished potatoes and let them cure (if freshly harvested), spread out in a single layer, at room temperature in a dark, well-ventilated place such as an outdoor shed for about 2 weeks. This will toughen their skins and make them last longer.
How did pioneers keep bacon?
Usually, thick slabs of smoked bacon would keep as long as it was protected form the hot temperatures. One way to preserve bacon was to pack it inside a barrel of bran. Also, eggs could be protected by packing them in barrels of corn meal – as the eggs were used up, the meal was used to make bread.
How did pioneers store onions?
Pioneers dried fruits and herbs and preserved and pickled fruits and vegetables to ensure year-round nutrition. Herbs were hung to dry and peppers and onions were often hung in braids or wreaths. Fruit was often covered in cheesecloth, and then dried on the roof after harvesting.
How do you make a cheap root cellar?
Dig a hole about 2′ x 2′ x 4′ feet (or larger) and construct a wooden box to put in it. Drill a few holes in the bottom for drainage. Line the box with mesh hardware wire to keep out rodents. Place a layer of leaves, straw, sand or moss on the bottom then add your vegetables.
How do you store potatoes for years?
Potatoes need airflow to prevent the accumulation of moisture, which can lead to spoilage. The best way to allow free circulation of air is to store them in an open bowl or paper bag. Do not store them in a sealed container without ventilation, such as a zipped plastic bag or lidded glassware.
How do farmers store potatoes?
Potatoes store longest if they are unwashed. After harvesting from the garden, lay them out in a single layer in a dark and airy place to let the soil dry on to the tuber. Lightly brush off excess dirt before you pack them. Pile dry, unwashed potatoes in a clean wooden or waxed cardboard bin.
How did pioneers keep meat fresh?
Most early settlers used a smokehouse, hanging hams and other large pieces of meat in a small building to cure through several weeks of exposure to a low fire with a lot of smoke. The process began around November. The meat would keep all winter and most of the summer.
How did pioneers store butter?
Bogs offered early agricultural communities a way to preserve perishable foods, like dairy products, for a longer period. According to Smyth, there are ethnographic mentions of people burying their summer butter in bogs for storage.
What is the oldest food preservation method?
Drying
Drying is the oldest method of food preservation. This method reduces water activity which prevents bacterial growth. Sun and wind are both used for drying.
What is the best container to store potatoes?
Instead use burlap sacks or breathable containers like paper bags, cardboard boxes, baskets and bowls to allow for air flow. Don’t freeze raw potatoes. Store potatoes away from onions, bananas, or apples. These items give off ethylene gas, which makes potatoes spoil faster.
How long will potatoes keep in a cellar?
5-8 months
With a good in-ground root cellar, potatoes can be stored for 5-8 months. As a sustainable alternative to refrigerated or electrically cooled storage for crops needing cool damp conditions, traditional root cellars are a good option.
How do you make a good root cellar?
Basement Root Cellar
The best method is to use the foundation walls on the northeast corner as two sides of your root cellar. Build the other two walls in the basement with stud and board. Insulate the interior walls, ceiling, and door (and any pipes or ducts) to keep the heat out.
How many miles a day did wagon trains average?
The covered wagon made 8 to 20 miles per day depending upon weather, roadway conditions and the health of the travelers. It could take up to six months or longer to reach their destination.
Why didn’t most pioneers ride in their wagons?
People didn’t ride in the wagons often, because they didn’t want to wear out their animals. Instead they walked alongside them, getting just as dusty as the animals. The long journey was hard on both people and animals. It was even hard on the wagons, which usually had to be repaired several times during the trip.
How many wagons were usually in a wagon train?
What exactly was a wagon train? It was a group of covered wagons, usually around 100 of them. These carried people and their supplies to the West before there was a transcontinental railroad.
What did people eat in the winter before refrigeration?
More breads and salted or dried meats and fish not requiring refrigeration were consumed. Fruits and vegetables were seasonal – eat them while you have them. Or they could be preserved by drying, fermenting (like sauerkraut), or pickling.
What did pioneers use for sugar?
They gauged the food’s readiness by the way it looked. Sugar was made from beets, corn stalks and watermelon. It was also made from maple sap, a process that settlers learned from the Indians.