Survival food of the 1600s

During the 1600’s the superpowers of Europe developed boat-building technology to sail around the world, and this new type of ship construction allowed them to reach new and exotic lands, meet unique and interesting individuals, and promptly declare war on them.

During the 17th century, many nations engaged in levels of exploration never before seen by man, and the discovery of new lands only led to this race of exploration to speed up greatly, with the idea being whoever found it first owned it. With so many people sailing for months on end and hiking thousands of miles around foreign terrain, the demand for food capable of surviving such a journey was enormous, but in a time when there was no such thing as refrigeration and no one knew what bacteria was, it was difficult to produce goods that were safe to eat for anything more than a few days.

Here is some common survival food of the 1600’s people would take with them on long journeys in the age of exploration. These foods were intended to survive being kept in nothing more than the shade, and no special measures were taken to keep them edible other than sealing them in a crate or some kind of container.

1) Hardtack

The single longest lasting survival food of the 1600s

Any list of historic survival foods wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Hardtack. It’s nothing more than bread that has been baked 2 or 3 times to remove all of the moisture, but the extra long baking time makes the bread so dry that it simply doesn’t decompose unless you get it wet. There is a piece of hardtack from the Minnesota Historical Society’s collection in an American Civil War museum that is still thought to be edible at 150 years old, but feel free to swap the word “edible” for “safe” to eat as I imagine it would be like eating wood.

This was the most common food for people to eat on long voyages as not only was it lightweight and cheap to make, but could be smashed into pieces to thicken up soups and stews. During the 1500’s the standard British navy ration for a sailor was 1 pound of hardtack and 1 gallon of small beer per day.

2) Stock-fish

This is simply just fish that has been gutted and dried until as much moisture as possible has been removed, leaving the meat feeling like rough fabric. A very popular food in colder countries as the drying process can sometimes take weeks, but if done properly can preserve the fish for several months.

To eat stock-fish you must soak it in water for several hours, preferably overnight so the flesh can properly reconstitute and become edible again. This would have been one of the most common survival foods eaten as it could be produced any where there’s fish, and doesn’t require someone to spend three months farming grain.

3) Potted meat

To make potted meat you cook the meat of your choice, normally pork, and shred it to pieces. You then mix the meat with some liquid fat and cram it as tightly as you can into some kind of pot. The top is sealed by pouring some melted fat or butter over to create an air-tight seal, and if enough air has been pressed out of the meat then it can last for up to 6 weeks.

I wouldn’t advise leaving pork in a jar for 6 weeks before you eat it though, but in a time when you had few other options, this was a good way to have a ready-to-eat, pre-cooked meal on the go.

4) Pemmican

The longest-lasting meat product of the century by a long shot, pemmican is just meat and fat that has been prepared in such a way that it can last for years in the right conditions. Invented by the native Americans and a food that could be found in every village, pemmican was made in mass as a winter food and also one of the most commonly traded goods with the settlers.

To make pemmican you take thin strips of bison meat and dry them in the sun until they are dry enough to grind into a powder. Some fat from the animal is rendered and while still hot mixed with the dried meat in a 50/50 ratio and mixed in well. As the fat cools and hardens the pemmican is formed into bars and placed into air-tight containers, with the native Americans usually sowing pemmican inside a buffalo skin. If made correctly and kept out of contact with the air, it can be safe to eat for years and contains a high amount of fat and calories, making it the perfect winter survival food.

5) Salted pork

Pork is by far the best meat to preserve by salting since it already naturally contains more salt than any other available meat. A container would be taken and a layer of salt poured over the bottom, then a layer of meat usually no more than 2cm thick would be placed on top followed by another layer of salt. When the container is full very heavily salted hot water would be poured in to fill in the gaps and push out the air, followed by an air-tight lid.

Salted pork cannot be eaten without soaking it in fresh water for several hours, changing the water a few times as you go. If you eat salt pork as it is, you will most certainly make yourself sick or at the very least dangerously thirsty. The product can last for up to 2 months safely but may possibly remain safe for up to 6, though the stories of people eating it after this amount of time may be down to starvation.

6) Grain

If you didn’t have enough money to buy meat products and didn’t have access to catching your own fish, then grain would be the food for you. Oats, wheat, and barley were the most common grain crops of the century and if dried properly can last for years.

The downsides to eating nothing but grain are many, and apart from lacking the nutrients you need from meat and vegetables, the mental drain of eating nothing but boiled wheat for weeks on end would also affect your health and energy.