A History of Food Storage
April 16, 2010
There have been leaps and jumps in storing food technology since the industrial revolution. While in olden times, the idea of storing anything in a pantry cabinet for more than a day seemed completely silly, we’re now able to freeze and keep a whole host of different food items in kitchen pantry storage safely and securely for anywhere up to a number of years, and still be able to consume the food after this storage without any negative health effects. How have such developments come about? In this essay, we’ll take a look at a few possible answers, and the effects these developments have had on our lives.
In older times, meat would be stored with salt, as this would have some impact on the amount of time it could be safely stored. While this did help to some extent, health problems still occurred when the food was left too long. On trips to other countries, which of course had to be on a boat and were quite lengthy, meat was one of the few edible items that could be reliably stored, so many on {boats|ships] were left with just this to eat. With no way to gain the vitamins and positive effects of fruits and vegetables, many diseases arrived throughout the boats, and things like scurvy were the obvious result.
The invention of refrigeration had a large impact on the way food was stored. Since the food could be stored at a cool temperature, the rate at which it went bad was greatly lessened, and it became much safer to keep various kinds of food for a number of weeks or more.
Now it’s quite simple to store a whole host of things for long periods of time. Canning has also improved the length of which we can keep perishables, as this provides a totally airtight space. It’s quite possible to leave a can of baked beans in your cupboard for a whole year, get it out and enjoy it and still have no negative effects on your health.
While these developments have been positive, that doesn’t mean we are totally immune from getting food poisoning. Mixing uncooked meats with salads, for example, can cause the virus of salmonella to be brought onto the person eating the food. If you’re combining meats with salads in a dish, be sure to wash your hands after every time you make contact with any uncooked meats.
Some foods are able to be stored easily due to their unhealthy attributes. For example, if you were to keep a McDonalds cheeseburger out on its own for a few days, it would take a lengthy amount of time for it to spoil. While at first this seems like a good thing, it’s actually due to the large amount of artificial preservatives that this can be done.
Food storage is a thing that’s fueled the advancement of our civilization. Next time you’re looking in the fridge for something to consume, think about how difficult it would have been for those of yesteryear to get all the food that’s available to you. Enjoy it while it lasts!
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