Introduction

Food by its nature begins to spoil the moment it is harvested or prepared. Food preservation enabled ancient man to settle and live in one place and form a community. Foods were preserved by a range of “ancient” methods such as sun-drying, salting, cooling, canning, smoking, and fermentation. Each culture preserved their local food sources using the same basic methods of food preservation. ese basic approaches are still being practiced in principle although signicant technical advancements have been made that enable us to preserve food and obtain high quality, in accordance with the requirements of the present-day consumer. We no longer consume all of the kill or harvest immediately, but preserve some for later use.