Preservation

We have always tried to make our food last. Catch a run of fish, take down big game, or pick fruit and vegetables at their perfect ripeness, and you're suddenly rich in food you can't possibly eat before it spoils — so for as long as there have been people, there have been ways to save it. I'm fascinated by all of them, old and new. I cure and can and pickle and dry and ferment, and I've spent years testing the truly ancient methods to see which ones still hold up. A lot of them are better than you'd ever guess. This is everything I've learned about keeping food — done carefully, and done safely.