Page 43 - The Lost Book Preserving Food Naturally

The Lost Book of Preserving Food Naturally

Like the Zeer Pot, the water on the outside of the fabric will begin to evaporate

immediately, drawing heat out of the shelving unit and its contents. It will be necessary

to wet the fabric several times per day to keep the system working.

Root Cellars

I mentioned earlier that ancient people kept food cool by keeping it underground. That

works because it is always cooler underground than it is on the surface, unless there is
volcanic action, which can include hot springs. Since heat rises and cold drops, air

underground will always remain cooler than that on the surface. Typically, a root cellar

will stay at 55°F or below, regardless of the ambient temperature. If it is built below the
frost line, it will never drop below freezing.

If you happen to have a cave on your property, all you have to do is create some means

of securing food in it and you’ll have a root cellar. If you don’t, you could dig your own.

Basically, that’s what a primitive root cellar is, a man-made cave for storing food in. If you

wanted a better one, you could cover the walls with cement block, brick or pressure-

treated timbers.

There is a company in Europe which is manufacturing modern fiberglass root cellars and
selling them as natural refrigerators. The root cellar is a six foot diameter ball, with

shelves built in and has an attached and enclosed staircase leading down into it. The

company claims that the installed unit will keep food at 55°F.

If your home has a basement, you can build an enclosed room and turn it into a root cellar.
In order to naturally cool the room, add a vent near the ceiling, for warm air to escape.

Then add a vent pipe from outside, close to the ground, which comes out close to the floor

in the root cellar. This arrangement will allow cool air at night to work its way into the

root cellar, while keeping the warmer air from the daytime from coming in.

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