Apparently
it was never hard to be cool in the past.
I’m
talking about the time before iceboxes and refrigeration were perfected — and
obtainable. In other words, the olden days, which is the temporal setting for When
Shadows Stir, book two of The Kavenaghs series, 1870-1879.
Major
cities benefited first in terms of electronic innovations, because while the
majority of homes in urban settings were having electricity installed in the late
19th century, that luxury was still not available in many rural
areas until the 20th century. So even if there were refrigerators,
there wouldn’t have been any electricity to run them.
Nevertheless,
just like the generations before them, people found ways to keep their food
safe for eating without the use of the conveniences we know today. We’re all
familiar with product labeling that warns us to refrigerate after opening, so
how was food kept from spoiling in the distant past? According to
vermontpublic.org, before refrigeration, food was stored for safekeeping in a
variety of ways. Options included smoking, drying, pickling, salting or
fermenting.
The
cool interior of a root cellar was also used for foodstuffs with high spoilage
rates such as milk and related dairy products, and of course perishable goods
like vegetables, fruit, meat and fish.
Those
who lived in colder climates had the easy advantage of an icehouse where chunks
of ice harvested from rivers or lakes during the winter, were stored. An
icehouse, or ice pit, was either cut into the ground, or built in a heavily
shaded area out of direct sunlight in order to keep the ice intact. The
harvesting of ice, initially by way of a long thin handsaw and eventually horse-drawn
cutting machinery, was understandably very dangerous work, but the risk was
necessary to meet the ever-growing demand.
As
set out in vermontpublic.org one enterprising gentleman, Frederic Tudor from
Massachusetts, even began shipping blocks of ice to hot climates around the
world in the 1800’s, even as far away as India! To maintain the integrity of
the ice, it was insulated with straw and sawdust, and kept in warehouses until
it could be transported.
The
icebox made its debut in 1802, although it would take several decades before it
became a mainstream appliance available for mass consumption. Still, it has a
pretty interesting history. According to jaxhistory.org, it was a farmer and
cabinetmaker from Philadelphia by the name of Thomas Moore who devised the
icebox to transport his butter to market. An oval tub with a lid made from
cedar wood, it featured a tin chamber inside the cedar box. For insulation, the
exterior box was lined with rabbit fur. A patent was issued to Mr. Moore in
1803 for his ingenious invention, and it was signed by none other than
President Thomas Jefferson himself.
Once
the icebox was refined and found its way into households nationwide, there was of
course an even greater call for ice. Aside from an increase in ice harvesting, another
occupation was created in answer to this burgeoning industry. Enter the iceman
whose job it was to deliver blocks of ice, in the requested size, for the
iceboxes of paying customers. A large block of ice (usually about twenty-five
pounds) typically sold for well under a dollar, and business was brisk as these
uniformed men with their large metal tongs, leather satchels and ice picks made
their rounds. It was known as the ice trade, or frozen water trade.
That
all began to change with the invention of the refrigerator, a complex machine
that eclipsed all other methods of keeping food cold. Its timeline is set out
in whirlpool.com:
·
1748 - William Cullen is
the first person to observe and demonstrate artificial refrigeration via
evaporative cooling
·
1834 - Jacob Perkins invents
the first vapor compression system for refrigerators
·
1876 - Carl von Linde
patents a new process for liquefying gases used in artificial refrigeration
·
1913 - Fred W. Wolf
invents the first home electric refrigerator
·
1918 - William C. Durant
begins mass producing the first home refrigerator with a self-contained
compressor
- 1927 -
The home refrigerator starts to see widespread popularity across the U.S.
And
that convenience didn’t come cheap, again according to whirlpool.com. The first
home refrigeration units would have been affordable only for the well-to-do.
Prices of those early models ranged from $500 to $1,000, and to make that more
relatable, today it would be the equivalent of about $6,575 to $13,150.
My
father recalled his family’s method of keeping cool what needed to be kept cool
on the family farm back in the day in rural New Brunswick, Canada. During the
summer the milk and cream stayed fresh by setting the large metal dairy cans in
a bubbling spring, ice-cold water coming up from the ground that provided just
the proper depth and temperature for chilling. For everything else, especially
storage for winter consumption, it was the unheated root cellar located beneath
the house. Since hens tend not to lay during the winter, eggs were stored,
pointy end down, after having been dipped in melted wax. They were also pickled
in vinegar. Turnips too were dipped in wax to preserve their freshness, carrots
and parsnips were buried in a box of sand to maintain crispness, and potatoes did
just fine in potato barrels. Squash, pumpkin and cabbage also kept well in that
cool dry environment. For beets, the tops were removed and stored loosely in
damp sand.
Cupboards
in the cellar were lined with pickles and jams and anything else from the
garden that could be canned, including garden greens. A large stoneware crock held
several pounds of dried fish packed in layers of salt, and sides of beef and
pork were smoked and hung outside for the winter.
In
the pantry upstairs, metal barrels held a hundred weight of flour and sugar
each, and other necessities such as coffee, tea, molasses and spices were all stocked
up before the roads became snowbound and impassable. In early spring they were
equally as difficult because of deep mud from snowmelt.
In
When Shadows Stir, it was the more common root cellar where foodstuffs were kept,
and that included milk, most often drunk as skim milk because the high-fat cream
would be separated and saved to make butter. Once enough cream had been stored
and the butter was churned, everyone enjoyed the refreshing treat of buttermilk
— the liquid remaining after churning was complete.
It’s
also interesting to note that long before there were freezers to store it in, people
made their own ice cream. China can lay claim to making ice cream in 618-907AD,
while Italy began making ice creams and sherbets in the mid 1600’s. The process
of whipping up a batch of ice cream became even easier when the hand-cranked
mechanical ice cream maker was invented in 1843 (hubertcloix.com) by Nancy
Johnson. During its heyday, well into the mid-1900’s and beyond, many enjoyed
the fun of making homemade ice cream with this modern contraption.
My
aunt and uncle had one of those old hand-cranked ice cream makers passed down
to them and they used it to make a type of pineapple ice cream. Bar none, it
was the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted. Period. Full stop.
Modern
ice cream makers are easy to come by now, but if you happen to have an antique
hand-cranked model gathering dust in the attic, this is how it’s described in
ice-cream.org:
“This
consisted of a wooden bucket that was filed with ice and salt and had a handle
which rotated. The central metal container, containing the ice cream was
surrounded by the salt and ice mixture. This churning produced ice cream with
an even, smooth texture.”
I’ve
been able to determine that rock salt mixed with the ice makes the ice cream
freeze faster for a better result, and it must be continually cranked for at
least twenty minutes. Some instructions say as long as forty minutes, but the
determining factor is how quickly the ice cream mixture firms up. When the mixture becomes really firm, the
harder it is for the handle to turn and your ice cream is ready.
And
here’s a homemade ice cream recipe (vaughnbarry.com):
2 Cups Whole Milk,
2 Cups Heavy Cream, 1 Cup White Sugar, 2 Teaspoons Vanilla, 2 Cups Fresh
Strawberries (Mashed), ¼ Teaspoon salt.
Enjoy!
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