Here's another "farm home convenience" I like, from a USDA Famers' Bulletin, March 1918.
We use a version of this concept for our pantry, involving keeping a window cracked and the door shut, so that the whole room stays quite a bit colder than the rest of the house. Not as ideal as a root cellar, but a good compromise for our house. The idea below would be pretty easy to manage, assuming you have a north-facing window you wouldn't mind giving up for the duration. We're also exploring the old-fashioned cool-cupboard idea, involving vents cut into the wall/floor/ceiling to best allow flow of cooler air through a cupboard or storage area. My house in Seattle had wall cupboards in the kitchen with built-in screened vents. A dandy low-tech way to extend food storage!
We use a version of this concept for our pantry, involving keeping a window cracked and the door shut, so that the whole room stays quite a bit colder than the rest of the house. Not as ideal as a root cellar, but a good compromise for our house. The idea below would be pretty easy to manage, assuming you have a north-facing window you wouldn't mind giving up for the duration. We're also exploring the old-fashioned cool-cupboard idea, involving vents cut into the wall/floor/ceiling to best allow flow of cooler air through a cupboard or storage area. My house in Seattle had wall cupboards in the kitchen with built-in screened vents. A dandy low-tech way to extend food storage!
And our customary critter pic - Newt enjoying corn on the cob. Who knew kitties liked corn?
4 comments:
Wouldn't stuff freeze in there?
One thing most old-fashioned storage methods have in common is that they require more monitoring. So with the cold box, you'd have to make adjustments or move food if you lived in an area that froze.
Or maybe you'd only store stuff there parts of the year....
We're ending up moving food around more than usual, to take advantage of temperature zones. The garage is too warm in summer, but right now it's nice and cool & dry. I used it to store squash, potatoes, onions and dry some beans. Now it's getting close to freezing, so we're putting the food in the pantry.
So more hassle, but it also means I keep a good eye so no produce goes bad and spoils the rest.
I've known several kitties who liked corn and one who liked broccoli.
LGP
She enjoys it best when proferred by her human servant.
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