Would hate to live without my 'fridge (and freezer compartment). But
this convenience has only been available for maybe 70 yrs -- a
eyeblink in historical time. I know that rural folk in the US had root
cellars and often harvested ice from a pond to supply an underground
facility of some sort, but what did regular ol' people do in, say,
London or NYC to store food? I've always thought of daily shopping as
a charming habit of the French, but people lived in hot climates with
no refrigeration for most of human history. What are historical
foodstuffs that could be preserved for more than a couple of days? Is
fresh milk common? How 'bout the current emphasis on fresh veg/fruit?
What *can* be kept without refrigeration?