The ability of dried seeds, grains, tubers, and fruits to resist spoilage was probablyrecognized by humans even before their discovery of agriculture. Subsequently, thissimple method (drying) was practiced to preserve the large volume of foods producedduring growing seasons to make them available during nongrowing seasons. Later,reduced
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was also extended to preserve other foods (e.g., meat, fish, and milk)not only by removing water by drying but also by adding solutes (e.g., salt, honey,and starch) to bind water.