How to Preserve Food Safely: Meat, Fish, Fruit and Vegetables

🥫 Keep food

How to Preserve Food Safely: Meat, Fish, Fruit and Vegetables

Drying, salting, smoking, canning, fermenting and pickling, plus how to tell if meat and fish are still safe to eat. Learn the methods that work without a fridge, and the rules that keep you from getting sick.

⚠️ Botulism and many food bacteria have no smell or taste. Follow tested times and temperatures, never taste food to test it, and when in doubt, throw it out.

Food Storage Basics

Step 1 · 4 min

Food Storage Basics

Cold, cool, dry and the danger zone

Is It Still Safe to Eat? Meat and Fish

Step 2 · 5 min

Is It Still Safe to Eat? Meat and Fish

Spoilage signs, the smell-test trap and power cut rules

Preserving Meat Without a Fridge

Step 3 · 6 min

Preserving Meat Without a Fridge

Cooling, curing, drying, smoking and canning done safely

Keeping Fish Safe From Catch to Plate

Step 4 · 6 min

Keeping Fish Safe From Catch to Plate

Bleed, chill, salt, dry, smoke and freeze without the risks

Preserving a Catch Without a Freezer

Step 5 · 6 min

Preserving a Catch Without a Freezer

Salt, brine, air drying, smoking and how bacalhau really works

Drying and Dehydration

Step 6 · 5 min

Drying and Dehydration

Sun, oven and dehydrator basics

Freezing, Salting and Smoking

Step 7 · 6 min

Freezing, Salting and Smoking

Three classic ways to hold food for months

Safe Canning Principles

Step 8 · 6 min

Safe Canning Principles

Water bath for acid, pressure for everything else

Fermentation Basics: Sauerkraut

Step 9 · 5 min

Fermentation Basics: Sauerkraut

Two percent salt and a little patience

Pickling: Quick and Fermented

Step 10 · 5 min

Pickling: Quick and Fermented

Vinegar pickles, brine pickles and reading spoilage

Keeping Food Without Electricity

Step 11 · 5 min

Keeping Food Without Electricity

Root cellars, clamps and cool larders

Games

Fridge, Pantry or Freezer?

Fridge, Pantry or Freezer?

Keep food fresher for longer and waste less

How Long Does It Keep?

How Long Does It Keep?

Know your food's lifespan when stored properly

Keep or Throw Out?

Keep or Throw Out?

Decide like a food safety inspector

🛒 Gear we recommend

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