The oldest family of food preservation methods, using salt to draw out moisture and inhibit microbial growth, smoke to add antimicrobial compounds and flavor, or plain air drying, singly or in combination, to keep meat, fish and other perishable food edible for months without refrigeration. The three methods are frequently layered, as in a smoked and salted fish or an air-dried, salt-cured ham, and together they underlie preserved foods on every inhabited continent. Also known simply as curing, salting, smoking or drying depending on which method is foremost.
Facts
Origin Period, From (Year) Origin RegionNo single point of origin; salt curing, smoking and drying were practiced independently wherever salt, smoke or a dry climate allowed meat and fish to be preserved. The earliest known dedicated salt production site is Poiana Slatinei at Lunca, Romania, built around a salt spring. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. The Earliest Salt Production in the World: An Early Neolithic Exploitation in Poiana Slatinei-Lunca, Romania (Antiquity)
Antiquity Publications LtdProject Gallery, discussion sectionQuote, Project Gallery, discussion section
These calibrated dates are consistent and confirm the early date for European salt exploitation as being the very end of the seventh millennium BC.
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004technique discussion: curing, smoking and drying
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004Expressed By: Salt, ch. on meat, curing and smoking
Larousse Gastronomique
Hamlyn, 2009Expressed By: Peking Duck, s.v. Peking Duck
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