Can It! The Perils and Pleasures of Preserving Foods - Gary Allen

Hardback.  Near new condition.  2016

Humans have long been faced with the problem of alternating food scarcity and seasonal over-abundance.  Unfortunately, most foods are perishable.  Today we have developed refrigeration, freezing and freeze-drying, radiation, pasteurization, chemical preservatives, vacuum-packing and a host of other means of preserving.

Our ancestors developed ingenious methods to preserve food – drying, smoking and salting – sometimes alone, sometimes in combination.  Their most clever technique was the intentional use of fermentation, which is actually nothing more than controlled spoilage. They knew nothing of the chemistry, physics or biology behind their methods, yet they succeeded in storing perishable produce, simultaneously creating a multitude of new foods.  Raw foodstuffs were fundamentally altered: wine is more than old grape juice, just as cheese and yoghurt are nothing like milk.

The transformation of cabbage into sauerkraut or kimchee preserves the vegetable, but it also creates new flavours and textures that reflect the tastes and cultures of the cooks who have prepared them for centuries.

Can It! celebrates those transformed, and transforming, foods – born out of necessity – that have done so much to create the diversity of cuisines around the world.  Along the way, Gary Allen reveals the history and science behind our preservation methods, serves up historic and modern recipes, and allays the fears of food poisoning faced by would-be preservers as well as consumers’ suspicions of methods used in commercial food products.