05 September 2008

Did You Know Your Fridge is "An Aladdin's Lamp"? Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1,
I highly recommend that you do so
before reading this post which is Part 2.
You can read Part 1 by clicking here.



Continuing on through the reading that is helping me gain a better appreciation for my refrigerator, the next section of the book helped me realize just how new the home refrigerator was to the homemaker of 1927 when this book was published.

Click on the image below to enlarge for reading

Chilled fruit for breakfast; frozen ice cubes in water; firm butter squares or balls; crisp salads and frozen desserts... all were a novelty that one didn't usually enjoy at home. That is, until the home refrigerator came along. When I read this, I try to get into the head of the homemaker that suddenly had vast culinary horizons opened to her. How must that have been?

I've seen a lot of technological advances in my own lifetime, and the advent of the microwave oven is the only thing that I can think of in my personal experience that would be akin to the advent of the refrigerator for these women. I remember the first microwave oven we purchased for the family when I was 11 or 12 years old. I remember all of us huddling around it to witness the phenomenon of being able to boil a cup water in a minute. It was miraculous! The culinary possibilities seemed endless!

That's how it must have been for these women (and their families) that were being guided by this book (and others like it) through the uncharted waters of home refrigeration. The culinary possibilities must have seemed endless.

2 comments:

Reeni said...

It must of been an amazing change for them! Thanks for sharing; it was very interesting and makes me grateful for all the luxuries I have at my disposal.

Pumpkin said...

Mmm. I do love a good salad made from bits of foodstuff tossed in salad dressing.

Home refridgeration was a pretty big breakthrough... Imagine not having a refidgerator! I don't think many women were lucky enough to have electric refridgerators until later, though. My grandmother's family (who grew up during the Depression) had an ice box (chilled by a 50lb block of ice). I don't think she had an electric refridgerator until she got married.

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