Food Preservation

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress

This page on food preservation discusses a few of the specific methods that were used in the late 1800s to early 1900s to preserve food. Wasting food was frowned upon more back in those days than it is now. Families in the 1800s did not have the technology that we have now, so they had to have creative ways to keep food safe to be eaten at a later time and not wasted. This page of the website shows off some of these creative food preservation techniques. Families worked hard to provide food for themselves. They found ways to prevent wasting the extra food, and now we get to learn about these exciting ways.

The Mason Jar

This man seen here is John Landis Mason. In 1858 he invented the Mason jar that is still commonly used today. Before then families had to be extra careful not to gain too much produce or it could be wasted. The Mason jar fixed this problem because it came with a screw on lid that sealed in air to keep fruits and vegetables safe to eat long after harvested.

Image courtesy from the Library of Congress

The Fruit Press

The contraption here is called the fruit press. This particular press is located at the Nodaway County Historical Society Museum in the Caleb Burns House. The fruit press was invented by Madeline M. Turner in 1916. The purpose was to turn fruits into juices by using two or more plungers in a cylindrical compartment to extract the juice. The press was necessary because it took the juices to give fruits some worth before they were about to be spoiled beyond consumption. This particular fruit press was used for apples to make apple cider because there was an apple tree close to the property on which this press was used.

Image courtesy of the Nodaway County Historical Society Museum

Salted Meat Curing

The idea of Salted Meat Curing has been around for hundreds of years. Nobody is quite sure who even came up with the original discovery. Never the less, meat curing was used in the 1800s to preserve meat. Curing is done by rubbing salt on meat, hanging it up, and letting it sit. The salt helps to prevent bacteria from developing on the meat. The image included here is an example of meat being cured by salt. Meat curing is also called "meat corning". This is where the term "corned beef" comes from.

Image courtesy from the Library of Congress