Fermentation & Food Preservation Humans preserved food for 10,000 years before refrigeration existed. Fermentation, drying, salting, smoking, and canning are not quaint hobbies — they're core survival technology. A $5 head of cabbage and a tablespoon of salt becomes sauerkraut that lasts 6 months. A bushel of cucumbers becomes 30 jars of pickles. A sourdough starter lives forever and costs nothing after day one. This skill covers the practical methods, starting with the easiest (lacto-fermentation, which needs only salt and a jar) and progressing to canning and dehydration. Safety rules for e…