Freezers and Freezing

By lowering the temperature of food, freezing slows bacterial growth and reduces spoilage. Humankind has understood for millennia that freezing preserves food, but only in the past few centuries has this process come under human control.

American colonists attempted to keep food cool by storing it in underground cellars. By the late eighteenth century, where local conditions permitted, ice was used to cool cellars. The demand for ice increased, and the ice trade began during the early nineteenth century. By 1830 blocks of ice were harvested in New England during the winter and spring and shipped to insulated ice houses along the nation’s coasts and navigable rivers. In this way ice was obtainable in large cities year round.