Didn’t Even Know You Wanted To Know!

“In the Pacific Islands, where a warm, humid climate causes rapid food spoilage, native communities have preserved fruit in fermentation pits for two millennia. The chambers are dug in well-drained locations and lined with banana leaves as a protective barrier against the soil. The pits were especially useful for accruing surplus food for ceremonies and natural catastrophes. If a hurricane were to take down a community’s fruit trees, local people would quickly harvest and store the fruit to prevent spoilage. So important were storage pits in Fiji that before a man could propose to a woman, her parents would inspect his storage pits to make sure he was good marriage material.“

You can check out some more pickle history information here:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/pickles/history.html

If you have the time/inclination/boredom factor to want to learn some more food facts, check out the main site here:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/