Page 44 - The Lost Book Preserving Food Naturally

The Lost Book of Preserving Food Naturally

A simpler root cellar can be made by burying a used, non-working refrigerator in the
ground, laying on its back, with the door at ground level. The same thing can be done with

any sort of container, but the advantage of a used refrigerator is that it is insect and

rodent proof. The insulation in the door will help keep the contents cool too.

Root cellars derive their name from being used for storing root vegetables, such as

carrots, potatoes and onions. While not really refrigeration, as we know it today, the
cooler temperature that a root cellar provides will keep these vegetables usable for

months.

The Ice House

Before electric refrigerators, people used iceboxes. These were insulated wood cabinets,

with doors and shelves for storing food. One compartment was left open from food and

used to put a 25 or 50 pound block of ice. Ice men delivered ice on a regular schedule, so
that people could keep their food cool.

The ice used for these iceboxes wasn’t manufactured as it is today, but rather harvested

from nature. The same men who delivered the ice during the warmer months, spent the

winter months cutting blocks of ice from rivers and lakes, which was stored in an

insulated warehouse, referred to as the “ice house. Additional insulation, usually in the
form or sawdust or straw, was piled on the ice to slow its melting.

Even without the insulation, the massive amount of ice itself helped to keep it from

melting. With several tons of ice packed together, even if the outer layer of ice was subject

to melting, the rest of it would stay solid.

If you’ve ever seen the movie “Frozen” you’ve seen this process. The opening scene shows

ice men on the lake, cutting blocks of ice and loading it on a wagon, for storage in the ice
house. This was not made up for the movie, but rather a very real part of life for well over

100 years. Ice houses and their associated iceboxes were in use from the middle of the

19 century, until the 1030s, when they were replaced by electric refrigerators.
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