When Europeans first arrived in North America they typically struggled to outlive within the unfamiliar wilderness they encountered. For a lot of early colonists, the assistance of the Native American peoples was a godsend. As a result of they have been accustomed to the vegetation, animals and local weather of America, the natives had a tremendous means to search out the meals they wanted, typically with out farming in any respect. The brand new arrivals realized a few of these expertise, and have been capable of hold themselves fed.
After all the colonists shortly established farms, constructed cities and recreated the subtle European societies they’d come from. Fairly quickly, most of them have been shopping for meals as they wanted it from markets, butchers and bakers. Agriculture and early meals processing – by the 17th century beef and pork have been being salted on an industrial scale, for instance – meant meals was accessible all 12 months spherical.
The Native People lived a really completely different way of life. Most of them have been nomadic or lived in small settlements. They normally lived off the land, as hunter-gatherers – and that meant typically that they had extra meals than they might eat, whereas different instances they struggled to search out any in any respect.
To outlive they needed to discover methods to protect the excess so it was accessible within the lean instances. They did discover methods to try this, and people strategies can nonetheless be helpful to preppers at this time. Listed here are among the important methods Native People ready meals for storage.
Drying
Virtually all meals have a really excessive water content material. Most fruit and greens are round 90% water by weight, and a few of them are above 95%. Meat comprises much less moisture, however even then it’s normally someplace between 70% and 75% water.
Associated: The way to Construct a Photo voltaic Dehydrator
Usually that is wonderful; we’d like water to outlive, and normally we get a number of it from our meals. It’s a distinct story in case you’re attempting to protect meals, although. We’re not the one ones that want water to outlive; the micro organism and different organisms that make meals spoil want it, too. Extra importantly, they don’t simply want it to outlive – they want it to breed. When you can take away a lot of the water you possibly can gradual their replica dramatically. Meals that will spoil in a few days can final for months – and even years – in case you can take away sufficient of the water.
Native People liked dried meals. Not solely might or not it’s safely saved for for much longer, however with the water eliminated it was rather a lot lighter. Many Native People have been semi-nomadic, both following the sport they hunted or transferring between summer time and winter areas. Dried meals was extra compact and, importantly, nowhere close to as heavy; that meant they might carry way more of it.
Many preppers already know the advantages of drying meals. I’ve a dehydrator in my kitchen, and in addition to making jerky I exploit it to show fruit into path snacks, dry surplus herbs and dehydrate greens so as to add to home-made MREs.
Native People clearly didn’t have entry to electrical dehydrators, although, so as a substitute they used the vitality of the solar. Many tribes made drying racks from branches, and hung skinny strips of meat or different meals over them so the solar and air might evaporate their water content material. Youngsters and previous individuals watched over the meals because it dried, driving off bugs and scavengers. When you’re drying meals on a rack your self a much less manpower-intensive resolution is to cowl the rack with a mosquito internet.
One other technique to dry meals is to put it within the solar on flat stones. The stones could be heated in a hearth first to hurry up the method, but when they get too sizzling the meals can find yourself cooked slightly than dried.
Smoking
Smoking has lots of the advantages of drying; it reduces the water content material of meals, slowing down the spoiling course of. It will probably additionally coat or impregnate it with substances from the smoke that assist to protect it even higher.
As a bonus, smoking additionally provides a particular taste.
Native People smoked meat and fish, turning them into compact however tasty and nutritious meals that will final for months. They did this by constructing picket racks, laying the meals on them then leaving it within the smoke from wooden fires for days.
Nomadic tribes had particular tipis that have been solely used as smokehouses; tribes that constructed everlasting villages used a hut or an underground room as a substitute. When you don’t have a smokehouse, you possibly can be taught right here easy methods to construct an affordable smokehouse in your yard. The woods used have been typically chosen for the flavour they gave the meals, with hickory being a favourite.
When Native People butchered an animal, lean meat was normally dried. Ribs and fattier cuts have been good candidates for smoking.
Rendering
Drying and smoking work finest with lean meat; each processes will take away the moisture from meat, stopping spoiling, however the oils in fats can nonetheless flip rancid over time. When you make jerky you understand how necessary it’s to make use of the leanest meat attainable, and the Native People knew this too.
They didn’t wish to waste the fats, although; it’s additionally a helpful supply of vitality and vitamins. Once they butchered an animal, Native People would prepare dinner the fatty components on a sizzling stone or in a pan to render the fats out, making it simpler to retailer.
Associated: The way to Make Lengthy-Lasting Tallow for Survival
Probably the most well-known of their survival meals, pemmican, was constituted of rendered fats, pulverized dried meat and dried berries; it was excessive in protein and vitality, and would final proper by means of an extended winter. Rendered fats was additionally used for cooking and medicinal poultices.
Salting
Salt is a really efficient pure preservative, and Native People who lived close to the coast have been effectively conscious of its worth as a meals preservative.
They collected salt by letting seawater evaporate in shallow ponds, then gathering and drying the salt it left behind.
The Chickasaw individuals, who initially lived within the southeastern US, preserved meat by salting it – their identify for it was Nipi hapayimma. Meat may very well be salted by chopping it in strips then rubbing the floor with salt because it dried.
Alternatively it may very well be soaked in robust brine for round a month.
With the brine methodology herbs and spices have been typically added to the answer to offer the meat extra taste.
Freezing
Like salting, freezing wasn’t a way all Native People might use – however those that might, did.
In winter, hunters would butcher the animals they killed then take the meat they didn’t plan to eat immediately and bury it in snowdrifts. As soon as it had frozen, it could be faraway from the snow. If the tribe was transferring, the frozen meat may very well be wrapped in a disguise and the chilly air would hold it frozen till it was wanted.
In the event that they have been settling in for the winter it may very well be saved in a pit or root cellar to guard it from animals.
Burial
Even at this time we protect some meals by burying them. Potatoes are sometimes saved in “clamps”; lay some straw on the bottom, pile the potatoes (or different root greens) on it, cowl them with extra straw, then pile earth over the entire thing and dig a drainage ditch round it.
Native People additionally buried meals for storage. Some tribes ate potatoes – these unfold by means of the Americas earlier than Europeans arrived – and most ate corn, squash and different greens.
All of those may very well be preserved for weeks, typically longer, by burying them in a pit lined with dry grass. Earth makes an amazing insulator, defending buried meals from the warmth.
The fashionable world has some ways of preserving meals. Any grocery retailer will promote us a variety of dehydrated, canned and frozen meals, and these are nice choices for build up your stockpiles.
However even your stockpile would possibly run out throughout a protracted disaster. That’s why it’s necessary for all of us to change into as self-sufficient as attainable. We don’t all must change into cattle ranchers, however holding just a few chickens and sustaining a small backyard can present an countless provide of meals. For extra info, take a look at this information on easy methods to create a year-round, self-sustaining backyard and begin dwelling independently.
However when these fashionable assets are gone, and also you’re on the lookout for methods to protect the meals you’ve grown, hunted or foraged for your self, the previous Native American strategies work simply as effectively now as they did centuries in the past.
If you understand how to make use of them, you’ll be capable of protect meals to get you thru the winter and different exhausting instances.
You may additionally like:
The way to Make Penicillin Soup
The ‘Superweed’ That Saved Giant Communities Through the Nice Despair (Video)
Why You Ought to Put a Silver Coin in Water
6 Ingenious Tasks for Infinite Sizzling Water With out Electrical energy
Finest States for Self-Protection. Do You Stay in One in every of Them?
