What did we use before refrigerators?

By the end of the 1800s, many American households stored their perishable food in an insulated "icebox" that was usually made of wood and lined with tin or zinc. A large block of ice was stored inside to keep these early refrigerators chilly.

What did people use before the refrigerator?

As the ages progressed other solutions developed including holes in the ground, nooks in wooden walls, and storing in cooler locations such as cellars, or in wooden or clay containers. Community cooling houses were an integral part of many villages to keep meat, fruit and vegetables stored.

What did Americans do before refrigerators?

Before 1830, food preservation used time-tested methods: salting, spicing, smoking, pickling and drying. There was little use for refrigeration since the foods it primarily preserved � fresh meat, fish, milk, fruits, and vegetables � did not play as important a role in the North American diet as they do today.

How did people preserve food before fridges?

As times changed though and hunting for food diminished, people had to start finding ways to keep food fresh. That's when people started pickling, smoking and curing foods. Natural sources such as streams and caves were also a great cooling option. The deeper the cave in the earth, the cooler the air would be.

What did they use as a fridge in the 1800s?

Manufactured iceboxes that looked closer to modern refrigerators became popular in the 1800s. These designs consisted of insulated metal or wooden cabinet-type structures with a tray or compartment that held a large block of ice. These ice blocks were regularly delivered to households with iceboxes.

How people kept stuff cold before refrigerators

How did they keep milk cold in the 1800s?

By the end of the 1800s, many American households stored their perishable food in an insulated "icebox" that was usually made of wood and lined with tin or zinc. A large block of ice was stored inside to keep these early refrigerators chilly.

How did they keep food cold in the 1920s?

An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrigerators, iceboxes were referred to by the public as "refrigerators".

How did meat not spoil before refrigeration?

Meat & Dairy

The meat was rubbed with salt, placed it in wooden barrels and topped off with water, making a brine. The brine kept the meat moister and more palatable than drying, and it prohibited the growth of harmful organisms.

How did they keep meat from spoiling without refrigeration?

They would cover meats in salt and add a salt water brine to make it air tight, which is rather convenient when you're on a ship surrounded by salt water.

How did people keep food from spoiling in the 1800's?

Most homes years ago had a root cellar, where families kept food in a cool, dry environment. They stored apples and other foods in piles of sawdust or in containers filled with sawdust or similar loose material. Since the late 1800s, people have canned food and stored it in such places as the cellar.

How was ice kept cold in the 1800s?

The ice was kept cold by insulating it with straw and sawdust and stored in warehouses until it was time to be used. People cut ice from lakes using hand saws. Eventually they started using horse drawn machinery to cut ice, but it was still hard and dangerous work.

How did people get ice before refrigeration?

In the 1800s, people began harvesting ice in huge blocks cut from lakes and ponds in New England then shipping it all over the world by barge or railroad.

How did ice houses stay cold?

An ice house is a building designed to store blocks of ice. Before electricity, the only way to access ice was to cut it from ponds and lakes during the winter, and to store it in ice houses to keep the ice frozen through the spring and summer. An ice house's system of vents, drains, and insulation kept ice cold.

How food was kept fresh 300 years?

Storage Solutions

The most common and familiar include drying, salting, smoking, pickling, fermenting and chilling in natural refrigerators, like streams and underground pits.

How was beef stored before refrigeration?

Meat could be stored in the brine and packed tightly in covered jars or casks in a cool environment for months. The Washingtons had cellars in their house ideal for this purpose and the archaeological record at Ferry Farm is full of fragments of stoneware and earthenware jars – the Tupperware of their day.

How was cheese stored before refrigeration?

Pots could be used to store and preserve cheeses, either by packing small wheels in salt or submerging them in a salty brine. These durable, long-lasting storage containers could even be buried underground to protect them from spoilage in hot climates, thereby extending their shelf life further.

How do Amish keep food cold?

Cold Storage

Stacked chunks of ice removed from ponds and streams in the area provide a type of “freezer” in Amish basements. In some instances, foods may be transferred to a rented frozen locker in town if needed.

How did Indians keep meat from spoiling?

One of the most popular ways for Native Americans to keep their meat for longer was by smoking it. While salting was generally known as a good preservative option, salt was usually hard to come by which meant that smoking was one of the leading ways to preserve fish, bison and other meats.

What did people do with leftovers before refrigeration?

Ancient Greeks and Romans hauled ice and snow down the mountains, wrapped it in straw or buried it in cellars where it slowed down food spoilage, although “leftovers” back then were more along the lines of fall harvest foods that could be stored and eaten when sustenance was scarce.

How did colonists keep food from spoiling?

FOOD PRESERVATION IN COLONIAL/EARLY AMERICA

Colonial Americans employed a variety of effective food preservation techniques, many of them dating back to ancient times. Salting, smoking and potting were most often used for meats; pickling, drying, and cold (basement/root cellar) storage for eggs, vegetables, and fruits.

What meat lasts longest without refrigeration?

How do they age beef without it spoiling?

Using a dry-aging chamber, butchers and steakhouses can keep the beef free of harmful bacteria with cold, dry air circulation. Hanging the beef within the chamber, the entire surface of the meat is exposed to dry air that forms a protective crust. The lack of moisture makes it difficult for the beef to spoil.

How did Cowboys get ice?

They cut blocks of ice from a frozen river or lake during the winter then stored the blocks in an insulated or subterranean building called an "Ice House." Ice houses were designs to keep ice frozen through the summer so it could be used at any time of the year.

How long would ice last in an old icebox?

Iceboxes were commonly found in homes. Similar to our modern day refrigerators, these ice and food storage devices acted as coolers. Of course the insulation was less sophisticated than what's available today, and even large blocks of ice typically only lasted for one day.

How did grandparents preserve seasonal food items without refrigeration?

Many preservation practices other than refrigeration — like salting, drying, smoking, pickling and fermenting — have been used for a long time.