Stocking Up for The Long Winter

Wintering The Homestead/ August 26th, 2021

A look inside a root cellar stocked for the winter

The winter months were long and pioneers did not have easy access to most of their food sources. As a result the summer and fall months were spent getting their food stores ready for the long and cold winter ahead. 

Families would collect food throughout the growing season and preserve it for the winter months. Many foods were preserved through the process of canning which you can learn more about by checking out one of our previous blogs linked here. Not all foods could be canned or even required it. Apples could store for a very long time in the right conditions and would be kept in cool and dark root cellars. Corn, onions, garlic, squash, cabbage, cauliflower, pears, oranges, cucumbers, and pumpkins all kept well without being canned as long as they were in a cool and dark place. Corn could also be ground into cornmeal for better storage. Foods kept in the root cellar would often be kept in sawdust or a similar material, which would keep it dry and help it last longer. 

Once the family had their fruits and vegetables ready for the winter they needed to ensure they would have enough meat. Meat that was caught during the cold winter months could easily be stored by freezing it in an ice house or other cold locations that kept the food away from hungry wildlife. Families would also need to store meat caught during the warm months as game was rarer and harder to catch during the winter and often had less meat. In order to store meat they caught before the winter they would salt and dry the meat. This would be done by cutting up the meat, coating it in salt and often brown sugar and then sealing it in a barrel. This would ensure that vital proteins would be part of the daily diet throughout the winter months. 

You might say, well couldn’t they go into town? The answer in the later days is yes, however, it is important to remember that winter travel was often dangerous and was avoided unless necessary. Stores in town would also have less access to fresh foods in the winter because of the lack of refrigeration which allows our food today to travel around the world without spoiling. 

𝓗𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 & 𝓜𝓲𝓪