On 2/8/04 5:18 PM, in article ,
"Frogleg" wrote:

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?

Icebox in some cases - ice would be delivered on a weekly basis. You can
see them in some antique shops/junk shops in the US sometimes.

The rest was preserved food - an ancestor of mine lived on a barrel of
pickled herring while at University in the 1870's. Dried, and preserved,
canned food in most cases, too. An in season the market would have some
fresh foods, too.

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?

Dried beans, rice, meat. Pickled vegetables, canned foods as well later on.

Is
fresh milk common? How 'bout the current emphasis on fresh veg/fruit?
What *can* be kept without refrigeration?

Good question. I know curry can cover up the taste of "off" meats -
probably not the primary use, but it still works for this well.

The knowledge about a balanced diet is relatively recent, too - people
pretty much ate what was available.