Page 42 - The Lost Book Preserving Food Naturally

The Lost Book of Preserving Food Naturally

These sorts of coolers work more efficiently in areas where there is low humidity. The
lower the humidity and the greater the ambient heat, the more water will evaporate,

cooling the food. Even so, they will still provide some help in higher humidity areas.

The Zeer Pot is an ancient evaporative cooler, still in use in some parts of Africa to keep

food fresh. It consists of two unglazed but fired ceramic pots, nested one inside the other.

The space between the two pots is filled with sand and the food is put inside the inner
pot. It is essential that the pots be made of unglazed ceramic, or it will not work.

To use the Zeer Pot, water is poured into the sand between the pots, saturating it. This

water then wicks into the ceramic, saturating it as well. The water will start evaporating

from the surface of the outer pot, cooling it and the contents.

For the Zeer Pot to continue working, water needs to be added to replenish what

evaporates. Its efficiency can be increased slightly by placing a wet cloth over the top, so
that the contents are not exposed to the hot ambient air. Used in this manner, Zeer Pots

have kept vegetables fresh for four times as long as they would remain fresh if left sitting

on the table.

This concept is effective enough that a company in India is manufacturing small home

refrigerators in the same manner. The rectangular refrigerator is a double-walled
ceramic box. The space between the walls is filled with water, rather than sand and food

is placed inside the box, with a closable door to protect it. The unit not only keeps the

food cool, but works as a water cooler too, as there is a spigot to get cold water out of it.

In an emergency, you can make a temporary evaporative refrigerator by hanging heavy

fabric over a free-standing metal or plastic shelving unit. Be sure to totally enclose the
shelves, leaving no gaps in the fabric. For a door, overlap two layers of fabric. Wet the

fabric and leave sitting in an area with good airflow. Replenish the water as needed.

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