Right Jokuhl!

Krauts, and their Korean equivalents, Kimchis, require NO heating. The raw, fresh food straight from the garden is preserved, using sparing amounts of salt, and sometimes vinegar, to cut salt quantities even further.

The classic preservation process is a lactic acid ferment, done at low temperature. Food is never cooked or heat-treated.

The resulting gravies, as the krauts/kimchis mature, are reckoned to be health foods in their own right.

Literally all sorts of vegs and fruits can be included, together with all sorts of flavouring herbs and spices. Kimchis in particular are hugely varied, with a wide range of flavours, going from savoury to sweet.

This is my second year at practical preservation of food by krauting/kimchiing. Google Sandorkraut's site for a good intro. Sharon Astyk also has a good deal of practical information on traditional low-energy, low-tech methods of preservation. I'm also in my second year of drying in a passive drying cabinet, driven only by sun power. (No mirrors or lenses needed. Just a regular air-flow, and fine-grained excluder meshes to keep small creatures out while the sliced food dessicates.)

My experience is that this has huge potential for cheap, lowtech/energy storage, with excellent food-value preservation. But of course, traditional ways of storing root crops, such as clamping, plus the other way that I use a lot -- just letting hardy leaf-food vegetables continue to stand in the garden through the Winter, picking a little as needed, also works well. Always something fresh, to go with something cheaply preserved.

Next year, as my duck flock expands to the poit where culling becomes essential: smoke-dried pemmican/jerky/biltong. Jesus, I can't wait, especially with the delicious flavour of Muscovy-Duck meat, even before it gets the spiced salting and smoke flavour! Some biltongs are sold as savoury treat-snacks hereabouts, and no wonder!