Question

highlight details that support a central idea.
in such circumstances poor harvest, storage of food is most important. the principal rule is to have separate places for different types of commodity: dry things can be kept in a pantry with bread and dry linen; wet things are normally stored in the buttery. wine and meat must be kept apart, and cellars should be avoided on account of their dampness. meat should be seethed in summer to keep it fresh, then kept in a cool cellar, soaked in vinegar with juniper seeds and salt. most yeomen will have vats and presses for making cheeses—a valuable source of protein in the long winter season. similarly, most livestock owners have troughs for salting meat or allowing it to steep in brine.
—the time travelers guide to elizabethan england,
lan mortimer
what is the central idea of this passage?
elizabethans had to be very careful about properly preserving and storing food.
elizabethans who did not have cellars were unable to properly preserve and store food.
many elizabethans did not know how to properly preserve and store food.

Explanation:

The passage details various storage methods (separate places for different commodities, seething meat, using vats/presses and troughs) which show Elizabethans' care in food preservation. The option about not having cellars is incorrect as the text says cellars should be avoided (not that those without couldn't preserve food). The option about not knowing how is wrong as the text shows they had methods.

Answer:

Elizabethans had to be very careful about properly preserving and storing food.