I was standing in my kitchen last winter staring blankly at my outrageously loud fridge during one of our “£300 energy bill months”. There was a bag of carrots on the counter beside it going limp.
It suddenly occurred to me that humans had fed themselves for thousands of years without kilowatt hours burning holes in their wallets, but I couldn’t cook or store anything without my machines.
It also occurred to me that I didn’t know how to stop things going off without a fridge. Worse than that… nobody knew these days. We’ve entirely entrusted our food safety to little humming boxes.
I began researching the ways that our great grandparents necessarily preserved food as Standard Practice NotInstagramProjects.
Salt-curing vegetables. Fermenting everything. Storing fruits and vegetables in oil. Quick pickles. I learned how to do all these things and started playing around with different techniques.
What I can tell you now is that these methods really work. They’re not just romantic notions of simpler times. Most of them work better than you might think, and preserving food without electricity can cut down massively on your power bill and food waste.
Here’s why you should learn to do this right now.
You could save £60 a month by not running your fridge and freezer.
You’re almost certainly throwing away food that you could perfectly safely store without refrigeration if you just knew how to do it.
Learning a few of these food preservation techniques will save you money on energy, cut down your waste production, and give you options when the power goes out.
## How Traditional Food Preservation Works:
Before we go through all of the various methods, it’s worth explaining how they work from a scientific perspective.
Spoiler alert: it’s the same science we use today to keep food safe, they’re just techniques refined over decades (if not centuries) rather than in labs.
The four main factors that contribute to food spoilage are temperature, pH, moisture levels and oxygen.
Temperature: Most common forms of food poisoning occur in the range of 4°C and 60°C (Health.com). By controlling temperature, we prevent these bacteria from growing and multiplying.
Moisture Levels: Bacteria, yeast, and mould also need water to grow. Many preservation techniques work by removing water from the environment or making it inaccessible.
Salt: Salt literally draws water out of living cells through osmosis. It’s been used to preserve food since the dawn of civilization. Salt creates an environment where harmful bacteria cannot grow.
Acid (such as vinegar): Most strains of bacteria that cause food poisoning can’t survive in acidic environments below pH 4.6. You can pasteurize foods using acidic solutions instead of heat.
Oxygen: Some bacteria are harmful, but need oxygen to reproduce. If you remove oxygen from the equation, you can dramatically improve shelf life. This can be through fatty acid storage like confit style preservation or proper oil storage. Fermentation often excludes oxygen by packing food under brine.
So if you’re wondering how food can possible be preserved without electricity. Those are the four factors we have to control.
Most of these methods address every one of these factors. Freezing works because it drops the temperature and dramatically slows the growth of microorganisms. Pasteurization works by killing off bacteria first, then the packaging removes oxygen.
It’s less obvious with traditional methods but trust me, it works.
## Salt-Cured Vegetables
Dry Salt-Curing:
Hard vegetables can literally be stored in salt for months. I have cabbage, green beans, root vegetables, onions and garlic all curing in containers in my cupboard right now.
To do this you’ll need about 2% salt to vegetables by weight.
Prepare your vegetables as you would like them to be eaten. Chop cabbage for sauerkraut or shred forcoleslaw. Slice carrots, chop beets, etc.
Pack into clean containers, cover in salt and leave in a dark cupboard for up to two months. The salt draws out excess moisture from the vegetables creating an enviroment only good bacteria (lactobacilli) can live in. The end result is vegetables pickled in their own juices.
If you’ve never had homemade sauerkraut before you are seriously missing out.
Salt brining:
Vegetables can also be stored in salt water solution. This method will keep vegetables closer to their fresh crisp texture instead of soft and fermented.
A 10% solution of salt to water (100g salt to 1 litre water) will preserve most vegetables at room temperature for weeks. I’ve had green beans in a salt brine stay crisp and edible for 6 weeks.
Herb Salt Storage:
Layer fresh herbs and coarse salt in a jar until full. Cover with a lid and leave for a month. Your herbs will have created “herb salt” which can be used exactly as you would shop bought herbs.
It keeps the herbs you preserve usable for months and makes a genuinely better product than either herbs or salt alone.
Sounds too good to be true right? Don’t worry. There’s no way you’ll accidentally poison yourself by trying these methods.
Salt preservation is different to pickling in vinegar. You’re not making things salty. Properly salted vegetables are barely perceptibly salty once you rinse them off. They taste fresher than supermarket vegetables that have been slowly rotting in your fridge for who knows how long.
Cheap. A 25kg sack of salt costs about £15 and will preserve more vegetables than you’ll know what to do with. Salt preserving doesn’t even have any ongoing power costs.
Sauerkraut / Kimchi:
Technically fermenting vegetables is its own category, but with vegetables it always starts with salt.
Two percent salt by weight, shredded cabbage, and a couple weeks is all it takes to transform cabbage into sauerkraut. The salt draws water out of the cabbage creating a brine, and lactobacilli munch the sugars in the cabbage producing lactic acid.
Benefits of lactic acid fermentation include preventing harmful bacteria from growing, maintaining veggie nutrients and adding vitamin C.
It’s an old Danish tradition that dates back centuries because it genuinely works.
Salted vegetable fermentation times
| Vegetable | Fermentation Time | Salt Amount | Storage Length | Best Used For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cabbage (Sauerkraut) | 5-7 Days | 2% salt by veggie weight | 6+ Months | Sides, Sandwiches, Snacks |
| Mixed veg (Kimchi) | 3-5 Days | 3% salt by veggie weight | 4+ Months | Condiments, Soups |
| Green beans | 7-10 Days | 3% salt by veggie weight | 8+ Months | Sides, Salads |
| Carrots | 5-7 Days | 2% salt by veggie weight | 6+ Months | Snacking, Cooking |
Any questions about fermenting vegetables? Check out my comprehensive fermentation guide. It contains troubleshooting, veggie pairings, and info on fermentation crocks if you decide to get serious.
If vegetables ferment too quickly they risk developing an off flavour. If they ferment too slowly harmful bacteria could have a chance to grow.
Cold temperatures slow fermentation. Hot temperatures encourage white mould growth on top of the ferment.
You’ll know your vegetables have fermented correctly when they have an acidic tang flavour.
Fermentation is safe at room temperature because the salt and acid environment only allows good bacteria to grow. White mould is harmless but indicates that your veggies were not fully submerged.
How long it takes vegetables to ferment depends on the ambient temperature. The higher the temperature the faster they’ll ferment.
Yes, literally anywhere in the UK. Our mild summers rarely produce temperatures hot enough to cause problems. Our cold winters slow fermentation instead of stopping it like they would bacterial growth.
Do your research first, but trust the basic principles and don’t stress about it.
Root Cellaring / Cold Storage:
Heat extraction:
Even without power you can store food at temperatures far below room temp if you know where and how to store it.
Learn to use your basement, north facing outbuildings, and surprisingly even areas of your house to keep temperatures between 8-12°C year round here in the UK.
Controlled ventilation:
Vegetables need air to stay fresh, but too much causes them to dry out. Learn how to create natural airflow regulators to keep your veggies perfect with this guide.
Moisture retention:
Root vegetables need humidity to prevent shrivelling, but not so much that they’re damp. Storage options include sand, peat, or sawdust. Add just enough water that when you squeeze a handful it holds it’s shape without dripping.
Long-Term storage:
Store each veggie type separately and follow these storage tips for best results.
Potatoes: Prefer darkness, temperatures around 4-7°C and high humidity. Storage time ranges from 3-8 months depending on variety. Exposure to sunlight causes sprouting and harmful solanine production.
Carrots, Parsnips & Turnips: Store in damp sand. Moisture needs are similar to potatoes but can be stored at slightly higher humidity.
Onions & Garlic: Store in dry conditions with lots of airflow. Temperatures around 13°C are ideal if you can manage it. Don’t store with potatoes because onions give off gases that cause spoilage.
Apples: Produce ethylene gas which causes nearby food to spoil faster. Keep away from everything else but can be stored long-term together.
Don’t have a basement or cold outbuilding? Here in the UK most of us don’t. There are still plenty of options, get the full guide here.
Oil Preservation:
Stored in oil:
As long as your veggies are completely dry and submerged they will keep for months.
I love preserving herbs in oil. Sun dried tomatoes work well too. Even roast vegetables will keep a few weeks stored in oil alone.
Layered under fats:
This traditional method of preservation is used in classic French cooking. Cook food in its fat then cover and store completely submerged in that fat.
Most often seen with garlic confit, you can store almost any vegetable this way.
Keep dry food in fats and oils!
Each type of fat has different properties. Most store solids at room temperature creating an airtight seal.
Olive oil is packed with antimicrobial compounds. It’s great for preserving foods.
Animal fats are great options too because they’re solid at room temperature. No air can get in to your vegetables if the storage liquid is solid.
Coconut oil has solidified at room temperature in every UK house I’ve ever been in. Creates an awesome seal and has some resistance properties too.
Don’t try and keep oil “leftovers” for months on end. Incorporate traditional food safety rules here.
If you’re going to store food in oil for long periods make sure the pH is below 4.6 or use traditional fermentation methods to sour the food before covering in oil.
Some Quick Experimentation will Teach You More Than I Ever Could.
Mistake #1: You need special equipment
Most traditional preservation techniques can be done with equipment you already have in your kitchen. You don’t need crocks specially designed for fermentation, silicone seals, or creepy aged preserving jars.
Clean glass containers, regular table salt, and kitchen scales are the only tools you need for almost every method.
I fermented vegetables in jars I stole from the jam I bought. I used clean stones wrapped in clingfilm for weights.
Mistake #2: Room temperature is dangerous
Trust the process.
We’re taught to fear room temperature storage but nothing could be further from the truth. Food which is properly preserved is designed to be kept at room temperature.
Salt-cured foods, correctly fermented veg, and properly pickled foods are actually safer than most fridge storage. Harmful bacteria can’t out-compete the salt, acid or beneficial bacteria that come from fermentation.
Mistake #3: Free interpretation of salt ratios
Too little salt and your food will rot. Too much and you’ll ruin food by making it inedibly salty.
Salt is important. Measure it properly. Don’t just guess.
A good kitchen scale costs £15 and pays for itself in perfectly preserved veg within weeks.
Most vegetables want between 2-3% salt by weight.
Mistake #4: Preserved food should taste fresh
Nope!
Preserved food isn’t supposed to taste like fresh food. If it does, it’s not been preserved properly.
Learn to love tangy fermented vegetables, concentrated salt preserved foods, and acidic pickles.
If your preserved food tastes anything less than these descriptors it’s not working.
Mistake #5: One bad batch and you give up
I promise you it won’t always be perfect on the first go.
Your first batch of sauerkraut may be too salty. Your first attempt at pickles may be too soft.
That’s normal.
Make notes on what you did and adjust accordingly next time.
Traditional preservation takes practice. Like anything worthwhile.
Mistake #6: You have to preserve everything
No you don’t. But it really helps if you do.
Traditional methods have never been designed to exist without electricity. They were the primary method of storage and preservation for centuries.
These methods are perfect for supplementing your refrigeration and saving on energy costs. Even if you preserve a fraction of what you buy you’ll save money and reduce waste.
Start small if you want but my recommendation is to dive right in and learn these techniques. You never know when you’ll need them.
