Keeping Food Fresh

 

QUESTION: When I was a youngster, my family had an ice box in the kitchen. I remember when we first got it. My grandmother was in awe and my mother was overjoyed, for she could now keep food fresh for up to a week. Before that, she had to go to the grocers just about every day. Recently, I saw a beautifully restored old ice box at an antique show. Can you tell me who invented this food cold storage unit and when it first appeared in homes?

ANSWER: Before the mid 19th century, people depended on holes in the ground and spring houses to keep food cold. For the most part, people smoked meats and fish to keep them longer.

The traditional ice box dates back to the days of ice harvesting, which peaked between the 1850s and the 1930s, when manufacturers introduced the gas-powered refrigerator into American homes. However, the ice box became such a part of American culture that older people often refer to their refrigerators as ice boxes. But the real story of the ice box began in 1802.

Back then, an American farmer and cabinetmaker, Thomas Moore, needed to figure out a way to get his butter to market in solid chunks rather than a melted mass. He experimented with various methods until he came up with an ingenious solution—the ice box. His first design consisted of an oval cedar tub with a tin container fitted inside with ice between them, all wrapped in rabbit fur to insulate the device. Later versions included hollow walls that were lined with tin or zinc and packed with various insulating materials such as cork, sawdust, straw or seaweed. He placed a large block of ice in a tray near the top, so cold air could circulate down and around the tin storage compartment. Moore used his device to transport butter from his home to the Georgetown markets, allowing him to sell firm, brick butter instead of soft, melted tubs like his fellow vendors.

By 1830, Moore refined his design by making a wooden cabinet, similar to a large dresser, of hardwoods such as oak or walnut. As with his earlier versions, he lined the cabinet with zinc or tin, packed with insulating materials such as straw, flax, sawdust, cork, mineral wool, or charcoal. He tried each material to see which worked best, eventually settling on zinc.

Moore added several storage compartments inside the cabinet, with doors to each, including the ice compartment. He placed a drainage hole in it so that melted water, collected in a tray, could be emptied daily. Other ice box makers added spigots for draining the ice water.

The user had to replenish the melted ice, normally by obtaining new ice from an iceman, who delivered it by horse and wagon. The design of the ice box allowed perishable foods to be stored longer than before and without the need for lengthy preservation processes such as canning, drying, or smoking. Refrigerating perishables also had the added benefit of not altering the taste of what was preserved.

Until the late 1820s, cabinetmakers made ice boxes to order. But by the 1840s, various companies appeared including Sears & Roebuck, The Baldwin Refrigerator Company, and the Ranney Refrigerator Company began to mass produce ice boxes. Historians consider D. Eddy & Son of Boston to be the first company to produce ice boxes in large quantities. During this time, many Americans desired big ice boxes. Such companies like the Boston Scientific Refrigerator Company, introduced ice boxes which could hold up to 50 lbs of ice. A survey of New York City residents in 1907 found that 81 percent of the families surveyed owned some form of ice box.

Depending on the condition, an antique wooden ice box can be worth a lot of money. Many restored ice boxes now sell for as much as $2,000 to $3,000. It’s even possible to buy a restored antique wooden ice box that has been converted into a refrigerator or wine cooler with modern refrigeration equipment.

The usability of an antique ice box determines its actual market value The ice box’s age, size, condition, material, authenticity and provenance all contribute to its value.

Even a properly restored or professionally refinished ice box can be a good buy. While a restored or refinished model can sell for as little as $2,000, extremely rare ice boxes in good condition can cost as much as $10,000.

With those prices, it’s a good idea to make sure an ice box is worth it. Early ice boxes didn’t feature top-quality structure, so quality will vary. It’s important to check the wooden surface closely to detect signs of deterioration, such as visible cracks, chips, scratches, and warps. All of these add to the originality of the ice box. Reproductions are common, and many get sold as antiques.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about "In the Good Ole Summertime" in the 2024 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

The Democratization of Ice Cream

 

QUESTION: When I was a kid, my family had an ice cream machine. Just about every Sunday afternoon, especially when it was really hot, my father would get out the machine and make ice cream. And I helped. We made all different flavors, depending on the kind of fruit that was in season. My job was to crank the machine. Boy, was that hard because I had to keep going for at least 45 minutes. When I got tired, my dad would take over. I haven’t had homemade ice cream for a long time but recently saw an old ice cream maker for sale at a flea market. What can you tell me about antique ice cream makers. Are they worth anything or are they just junk?

ANSWER: There’s nothing like homemade ice cream. With electric ice cream makers, it’s easy to make it. But there’s a nostalgia connected to the old hand-cranked machines. 

Until the early 19th century, ice cream remained a rare and exotic dessert enjoyed mostly by the wealthy. Ingredients and technology, including ice harvesting and the invention of the insulated icehouse around 1800, plus the increased affordability of sugar made making ice cream at home for ordinary people more affordable.

In 1843, New Yorker Nancy M. Johnson applied for a patent for her hand-cranked ice cream freezer, called the Artificial Freezer. It had a movable crank that rotated two  adjacent broad, flat slates containing an array of holes, which assisted in churning the cream, making the mixture more uniform, while also making it easier to remove the ice crystals in the interior walls of the cylindrical container in which the spatulas fit. These metal spatulas, attached to a pipe called the “dasher,” were then attached to the handle crank protruding out from the Artificial Freezer. And by inserting a border into the container that held the mixture, Johnson made it possible to create two flavors at the same time.

She invented her ice cream churn to cut down on the time it took to make ice cream, which was originally a labor intensive process involving many steps. President Thomas Jefferson used an 18-step recipe. However, the resulting ice cream had to be eaten immediately since people had no form of refrigeration at the time.

The machine sold fast, but despite Johnson’s success with the Artificial Freezer, she sold the rights of her patent to William G. Young from Baltimore for $200. He then improved on its original design, and others soon followed with 70 improvements of their own. 

Smaller domestic ice-cream makers made from the 1880s usually had a metal inner pail fitted with a paddle attached to a crank handle, which sat inside a wooden bucket containing a freezing mixture of ice and salt. The user poured cream into the inner pail where it was beaten and churned as it froze.

The same year as Nancy M. Johnson filed her patent, London resident Thomas Masters created the Ice Cream Apparatus which featured interchangeable parts. The machine could be set up for home use, producing blocks of ice, ice cream, flavored ice, and cooling drinks and wine. Thomas added special churns to his ice cream maker to ensure a proper beating process, creating the smoothness and fineness necessary to ensure the ice cream and flavored ice didn’t separate. The Ice Cream Apparatus had separate ice preserving containers for butter, fish, game, etc., plus cold storage spaces for beer and wine.

To make ice cream with one of these antique ice cream makers, the user needed to pour the ice cream mixture into the inner pail where it was churned and beaten as it froze. When filling the bucket, the user needed to layer the salt and ice, going heavy on the salt between the layers.

Mixing ice with salt lowered the ice’s melting point, so even when the ice melted, its temperature remained below the normal freezing point of 0 degrees Celsius---32 degrees Fahrenheit.

After adding the ice cream mixture and closing the metal canister, the next step was cranking to help aerate and smooth the mixture. This also prevented the separation of the ice cream’s  ingredients.

Ice cream makers stamped with the designer’s or manufacturer’s mark have a higher value than identical items with no signature. Antique White Mountain ice cream makers, for example, carry the company’s name. The manufacturer’s mark verifies that the antique ice cream maker is genuine and not a copy.

More than anything else, demand determines the value of an antique ice cream maker.  A 170-year-old antique ice cream maker could be worthless if no one wants it. However, a 120-year-old ice cream maker could have a higher value if demand for it is higher.

Condition is also very important in determining the value of an antique ice cream maker. It needs to be checked for flaws, including cracks, missing components, and excessive wear. And while a minor nick may be negligible, a major crack on the bucket that holds the ice may lower the value considerably.

Antiques made in the early 1900s may be less valuable than those made in the 1850s. The reason for this is that the antiques from the 1850s are rarer than those made in the 20th century. More antique ice cream makers from the early 20th century that are in good condition are available than are well-maintained antiques from the mid 19th century.

The White Mountain brand dates back to 1872 when Thomas Sands made improvements to Johnson’s design and started his company in Laconia, New Hampshire. White Mountain antique ice cream makers currently available date to 1923 and sell for $100 to nearly $400.

Acme started making ice cream makers in the early 1900s. Going by the name “Acme Ice Cream Freezers,” the brand featured a metal can surrounding the ice cream canister. Models currently on the market range in price from around $20 to $125.

As long as an antique manual ice cream maker is in good shape it can still be used. However, those that are part of a collection shouldn’t be used to make ice cream. In that case, it’s better to let the more efficient electric models to the work.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about the "The World of Art Nouveau" in the 2022 Spring Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Slipping and Sliding Along

QUESTION: I’ve loved to ice skate ever since I was kid. When it got cold enough to the local pond to freeze over, my parents would take my siblings and I ice skating. I remember the first pair of skates I received for Christmas when I was just six years old. Over the years, my interest and love of skating has grown. Even though I’m no Olympic champion, I’m a good skater. I also have an interest in the history of skating and have begun to collect bits and pieces of skating history—old skates, postcards, photographs, and such. What can you tell me about the origins of skating and the possibilities of collecting skating memorabilia?

ANSWER: Even though people have been skating since 300 A.D., the great interest in skating, especially figure and speed skating, grew out of the advent of the Winter Olympics. And while you and others skated on frozen ponds, many people today, especially those living in cities, skate on man-made skating rinks, both indoor and outdoor.

There was a time when ice skates were more of a mode of transportation with even armies known to have strapped on blades before military engagements.

An animal bone strapped to a fur-lined clog-type boot was the earliest form of skate used 1,500 to 1,700 years ago. At times, skaters may have also used a staff, or pole, to assist in propelling them over the ice and uneven frozen marshes.

Elk, horse, cow and deer bones as well as walrus teeth were the most commonly used material for this rather unsteady mode of transportation. Most of the skates measured 11 to 12 inches. Leather thongs went through holes drilled at each end of the bone and tied around boots.

Eventually, skate makers developed a clog type shoe with metal strap for the blade that was fitted to the bottom, called a snow skate . They carved them out of a block of wood and placed  animal hides into the clogs to keep the feet warm. Styles of skates varied depending on the country of origin and purpose.

Historians believe iron blades originated in the Netherlands as early as the 14th century. To help skaters glide over rough ice, the Dutch developed skates with a high curly prow at the front of blade.  They made the sole of the skate from oak, rosewood, walnut or beech. They stuck a sharp pin or screw into the heel of the wooden sole to help secure the boot heel to the skate. But many skaters still suffered broken bones from these types of insecure skates.

The ingenious Dutch also developed a faster way to skate in the 16th century called the “Dutch Roll,” the current method of skating, which allowed Dutch skaters to travel 40 to 50 miles a day. Dutch peasants skated over frozen canals to markets to sell their wares. This type of skating was more about speed than artistic skating style.

Sometimes, skate makers replaced iron blades replaced with brass or bronze ones. The first English figure skate had short iron blades with gently curved bottoms. No more than two inches of the blades touched the ice at any time. Skaters needed great skill to keep their balance on these early skates. Today’s skaters still wear the curved bottom figure skate blade.  And as skate designs evolved, skaters created new moves on the ice.

Early American merchants imported skates from England, Holland and Germany. In 1883,the C.W. Wirths Co. in Germany exported 600 pair of "high quality skates" to a firm in Philadelphia. They had exceptionally high curls on the prow and brass acorns at the tip.

There was an American skating mania from the 1850s to around 1900. As many as 50,000 skaters crowded onto the Central Park ice in one day. E.V. Bushnell, an American mechanic, invented the first integral, all metal footplate and blade skate in 1848. However, thousands of skaters still preferred the old wood platforms. Between 1800 and 1850, 200 skate models, good and bad, came into the U.S. Patent Office. An additional 400 patents related to skates appeared between 1850 and 1900. In 1870, skate makers developed the hollow ground blade  and became a great help in executing sharp edges for many intricate moves.

An important American skater, Jackson Haines, presented skating exhibitions up and down the East Coast of America and Canada. He invented a new style of skate to help develop his skill and artistic skating. His forged his blade onto steel toe and heel plates that could be screwed directly and permanently onto the sole and heel of the boot. He added teeth to the front of the blade to help in jumping. He became known as the founder of the international style of skating, and invented the Sit Spin, which figure skaters still use today.

In 1914, John E. Strauss, a St. Paul, Minnesota, blade maker developed the first closed-toe blade of one piece of steel. He attached the tip of the prow to the front foot plate rather than protruding unsupported.

Skates from the 1850s with metal footplates sell in the $100 to $200 range, depending on their condition. Rust on any skate will detract from its value.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 18,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about religious antiques in the special 2018 Holiday Edition, "The Art of the Sacred," online now.