Science  /  Q&A

A Profoundly Impactful Substance

"Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks – A Cool History of a Hot Commodity" reveals the history of frozen water and its impact on American life and culture.

Ian MacAllen: One of the ways ice had a big impact was in the domestic sphere, particularly the refrigeration of perishables and the home kitchen. Did you look at how the American diet evolved as a result of refrigeration?

Amy Brady: The ice trade itself first resulted in the different types of food that became available. When Frederick Tudor started bringing ice to the Caribbean, even before he started bringing ice to the southern United States and territories, on his way back, he brought all kinds of citrus and other fruits that hadn’t been introduced to the United States yet.

Then once people got ice boxes, they were able to preserve food for longer periods of time, so suddenly people living away from the coast were able to eat fish. Fish had long been a part of the diet of indigenous people who had lived along the coast, and then the colonized settlers could eat fish—but there was no way to preserve it over long distances. Suddenly people in Oklahoma could eat fish. 

Then it changed meat packing plants. The fact that people could pack beef into an ice car on a train and travel long distances meant that more people were able to eat meat. Chicago became the hub largely because of the railroad system and because of the invention of ice cars. There were literally cars filled with ice. 

Ian MacAllen: Did you come across any specific recipes that were changed because of ice?

Amy Brady: Pretty much anything that was made with produce change. Once perishable items could be shipped across the country without rotting thanks to ice, people were able to have things like apples. Previously, if they didn’t live close to an apple grove, they weren’t going to have apples. That led to the phrase, “as American as apple pie.” When visitors from Europe would come to the United States, they would see that everybody was eating desserts made with fresh fruit and that just didn’t happen anywhere else because there wasn’t any other nation on earth that had an ice trade as large as the United States.

Ian MacAllen: The introduction of ice delivery service led to a unique period in American history where a workman would bring ice to your house to fill your icebox. You write: “by entering the private, domestic spheres of housewives–something few other deliverymen did–icemen were seen by some as crossing a forbidden threshold” Was there a social more change that allowed this to happen, or was it something people didn’t talk about?

Amy Brady: People talked a lot about it. The iceman had to cross the forbidden threshold because he had to get the ice in the icebox. That was part of their duty–the end of the cold chain. I was surprised at how many popular songs featured lyrics about women stealing a kiss from the iceman. I came across so many examples in late 19th century and early 20th century Valentine’s Day cards with puns on the iceman. There is the Eugene O’Neal play, The Iceman Cometh, which is the punchline to a joke about the iceman with the protagonist’s wife.