Beer, wine and citrus fruit have changed world history more than any other products, amirite?

I dunno, I'd say learning to smoke, dry, cure and ferment meats gave our pre-agricultural ancestor's the ability to utilise food from a hunt for much longer. Meaning hunting would have to be conducted less infrequently, and giving them more time to do things like, discover agriculture and settle down.

Alcohol has massively shaped our culture throughout the world, but without the extra free time to learn this process thanks to preserving meats, we probably wouldn't have had time in the day to discover farming, or brewing, or distilling, or anything like that.

Jerky is the cradle of life