by Edith Cody-Rice
I cannot recall how I heard about “Frostbite”, a book published last summer, or exactly why it intrigued me but it turned out to be a delightful and illuminating book on the subject of refrigeration. Refrigeration does not, at first glance, sound too fascinating, but in fact, our whole way of life, and particularly our way of eating is dependent on the existence and development of refrigeration. Food writer Nicola Twilley’s fascinating book on the history and recent development of refrigeration exposes just how central to our lives artificial refrigeration has become.
Some of us, old enough, may recall the root cellars of our youth, where food was put up for the winter in a cool environment to preserve it. We may also recall how winter vegetables and fruit revolved around cabbage, turnip, squash potatoes and apples. A fresh orange was an occasional treat. And even a few of us remember ice boxes, cooling boxes into which a slabe of natural ice fit into an upper compartment. In my small town that ice was delivered by a dedicated iceman once a week or so.
This style of cooling has existed for thousands of years. A cave discovered in England which was assumed to be a Roman temple then assessed to be a butter storage depot for the Knights Templar may actually have been a prehistoric ice house, which stored ice for summer use. Such caves have been discovered by the thousands all over the British Isles. Local authorities are largely unaware of the existence if not the purpose of these now abandoned caves.
In the 16th century, wealthy French or Italian households that aspired to elegant living had a private snow store in the grounds of their mansions. The British caught up a century later and fashionable estates had subterranean icehouses.
n America, with its abundance of fresh lakes, ice harvesting became a thriving industry up until the mid twentieth century. Visiting Europeans were thrilled with the cool beverages and icy creamy treats available in early America.
Modern refrigeration only began in the mid 19th century and its development has changed patterns of settlement, transportation, warehouse locations, eating habits, health and much else. Twilley guides us on a very readable and fascinating journey through the development of our modern refrigerated world.
We see the insides of huge cold storage facilities, the methods of preserving orange juice to meat (you may not want to touch steak again after reading how it is aged and preserved), the transformation of our diets by the ubiquitous availability of fresh food year-round and we visit Uganda to witness the effects of a lack of refrigeration on the lives of individuals and the economy. Uganda is moving quickly to provide a “cold chain” to improve the economy.
In the western world we are dependant on the existence of a cold chain of storage and transportation options. Why do we have fresh bananas year-round and when did we first purchase an avocado in Canada (not that long ago)? All of this is due to the continuing development of refrigerated storage and transportation options which prevent rot from setting in before fresh food reaches distant markets.
And all of this is dependent, of course, on the availability and reliability of electricity. Gone are the days of natural cold storage. This book is a truly intriguing exposé of a world about which most of us know little and which all of us take for granted.
Published by Penguin Press
387 pages
available by special order at Mill Street Books in Almonte
