Before the Refrigerator
Book • 2018
Jonathan Rees examines how societies kept food cool and preserved perishables before mechanical refrigeration, highlighting techniques like ice harvesting, storage, and alternative preservation methods.
The book explores the economic, climatic, and technological constraints that shaped pre-refrigeration food systems.
Rees uses historical records to show how the demand for cooling influenced trade, labor, and urban development.
The narrative connects everyday domestic practices to larger industrial and environmental contexts.
It illuminates the continuity and change leading up to the refrigeration revolution.
The book explores the economic, climatic, and technological constraints that shaped pre-refrigeration food systems.
Rees uses historical records to show how the demand for cooling influenced trade, labor, and urban development.
The narrative connects everyday domestic practices to larger industrial and environmental contexts.
It illuminates the continuity and change leading up to the refrigeration revolution.
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Mentioned by Jason Feifer as one of Jonathan Rees's books covering pre-refrigeration practices and history.
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