Before The Electric Refrigerator, Here's How People Kept Food Cold

It seems impossible to imagine life without refrigeration, but until a century ago, it was standard practice to rely on much more rudimentary practices. Iceboxes, ice harvesting, root cellars, and even streams and wells were used to keep food cool before the mass production of domestic refrigerators began in 1918. Humans attempting to keep their snacks chilled goes as far back as B.C. times, when Greeks and Romans would lug snow and ice home from nearby mountains to keep their meat from going bad. Versions of ice houses or ice pits, often underground or insulated structures packed with straw, were built in Mesopotamia and Persia during these ancient times, some of which are still standing today. 

By the medieval period, food containers were commonly submerged in cold streams or wells to stay naturally chilled. Underground storage was also an option: Caves, stone basements, and root cellars dug into the ground all took advantage of the earth's naturally cool temperatures. By the 1800s, large-scale ice harvesting and transporting had become an international trade. New England states were at the heart of the ice industry because of their cold winters and plentiful freshwater sources. The labor-intensive practice of cutting large blocks of ice from frozen lakes and rivers, and storing them in insulated ice houses before shipping to warmer climates seems incredibly extravagant today. But by the end of the 19th century, ice harvesting was the ninth largest industry in the U.S., along with being the second largest export, right behind cotton. 

Like all luxury goods, commercial ice was reserved only for the very wealthy in coastal cities with major ports. These well-to-do Americans needed a way to keep their ice cold after purchasing it, which led to the invention of iceboxes. Iceboxes were typically made out of wood and lined with zinc, tin, or porcelain for insulation. A tray or compartment at the top, separate from the food, held the large block of ice. By the end of the 19th century, iceboxes were a standard household appliance, especially in urban areas where the "ice man" could deliver blocks of ice almost daily. But the natural ice industry didn't last long. 

By the beginning of the 20th century, industrial refrigeration and mechanically produced ice were starting to arrive. With so much rapid industrialization and metropolitan growth, the sources of natural ice were becoming contaminated or polluted. New innovations in air circulation allowed large industrial plants to produce ice for home delivery. Until the 1930s, many folks continued to receive a once-weekly delivery of ice (and there were some fancy tools to break a piece off the ice block). In 1927, General Electric introduced one of the first mass-produced electric refrigerators, but again, it remained off-limits to most of the middle class because of its high cost. It wasn't until the end of WWII that 85% of Americans households hosted a refrigerator in their kitchen, thereby changing our diets, and our lives, irrevocably. (And, thankfully, getting rid of the practice of using frogs to keep milk fresh.)