Before the advent of freezers and modern refrigeration techniques, people obtained ice from natural sources such as lakes, ponds, rivers, and even mountains. The process of harvesting ice for use in preserving food and cooling drinks dates back centuries and was an essential part of keeping food fresh in warm climates and during the summer months.
The most common method of harvesting ice involved cutting large blocks of ice from frozen bodies of water during the winter season. Here's how the process typically worked:
Ice Cutting: Once a suitable body of water froze to a sufficient thickness (usually several inches or more), ice harvesters would venture out onto the frozen surface with specialized tools like saws or ice plows. They would cut large blocks of ice from the ice sheet.
Transportation and Storage: After cutting the ice blocks, they were loaded onto sleds or transported using horse-drawn wagons and taken to ice houses or ice storage facilities. These ice houses were usually well-insulated structures, often built underground or with thick walls, to preserve the ice for as long as possible.
Insulation: To prevent the ice from melting too quickly, the ice blocks were often insulated with materials like straw, sawdust, or even layers of snow.
Year-round Use: The harvested ice could be used throughout the year to keep perishable foods cold in iceboxes, which were precursors to modern refrigerators. Iceboxes were well-insulated containers with a compartment for storing food and a separate compartment for holding the ice. The ice's melting water would drain away, keeping the food cool without soaking it.
This process of ice harvesting and storage was labor-intensive, and its availability was limited to regions with cold winters. As technology advanced, artificial refrigeration methods were developed, leading to the invention of mechanical refrigerators and freezers, which eventually replaced the need for natural ice harvesting in most parts of the world.