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Agriculture-3 |
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Although most of the food for some early settlers was produced at home, this was not as true for the townfolk. During the growing season, the food grown on the farm could be eaten fresh, but saving some for winter posed many problems. Here are some of the ways our ancestors around the U.S. solved them.
Root vegetables, squash, turnips, cabbage, apples, and pumpkins were kept in cool, dry root cellars |
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The spring house was kept cool by running water. Milk, butter, cheese and eggs were kept there. A less sophisticated cooling method was to place the milk, etc., in a stream or lower it into a well. |
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Hog killing day was a cool day in the fall or winter. Since there was no refrigeration on the farms of the period, the meat was preserved by pickling, curing by a method using salt, or in a smoke house |
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The smoke house was a well sealed building where the meat was hung from the ceiling and smoked. It was a slow process, but properly done produced a delicious nutritious food. |
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Dr. John Gorrie, a physician from Apalachicola, Florida, invented refrigeration in 1850, but it was not used in homes until much later. |
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Preserving fruits using sugar was done, but canning vegetables was not common because little was known about the prevention of food spoilage. |
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Sausage was usually made by hand, but there was a mechanical device that was very helpful. |
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The pork was smoked, as were the hams and sausages. The crocks contained pickled, spiced, and salted meats. |
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Drying was another method of preserving foods. Apples, pears, peaches, figs and berries were dried. One method of drying apples was to peel, core, and arrange them on a broom handle.
