Drying In The Middle Ages

“Drying

In ancient times the sun and wind would have naturally dried foods. Evidence shows that Middle East and oriental cultures actively dried foods as early as 12,000 B.C. in the hot sun. Later cultures left more evidence and each would have methods and materials to reflect their food supplies—fish, wild game, domestic animals, etc.

Vegetables and fruits were also dried from the earliest times. The Romans were particularly fond of any dried fruit they could make. In the Middle Ages purposely built “still houses” were created to dry fruits, vegetables and herbs in areas that did not have enough strong sunlight for drying. A fire was used to create the heat needed to dry foods and in some cases smoking them as well.

Freezing

Freezing was an obvious preservation method to the appropriate climates. Any geographic area that had freezing temperatures for even part of a year made use of the temperature to preserve foods. Less than freezing temperatures were used to prolong storage times. Cellars, caves and cool streams were put to good use for that purpose.

In America estates had icehouses built to store ice and food on ice. Soon the “icehouse” became an

Well… they probably do lower the levels of ethylene inside the plastic bag, so if you are comparing how long fruits and vegetables stay fresh in Green Bags as compared with other plastic bags, you might see an improvement. Or you might not, since ripening is not necessarily why produce spoils. Strawberries and raspberries, for example, usually mold long before the fruit itself goes bad. Most produce really shouldn’t be stored in plastic bags, so if you really want to extend its shelf life, leave the produce in the open (tomatoes and bananas) or use paper bags or loosely-wrapped damp paper towels. Some people have reported good results with Green Bags for certain types of produce, such as apples and peppers. I am unaware of anyone who has gotten the bags to preserve produce for the full 30