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--> --> The Iceman cometh By Jeff Cheek The ubiquitous refrigerator is a standard part of the kitchen. We assume they have been there forever but the first ice-making machine was patented by Dr. John Currie in 1851 and it was not until 1926 that the first commercial home refrigerator was marketed. Even the kitchen "ice box" reefer is less than two centuries old. In 1803 Thomas Moore, a Maryland dairy farmer, invented a crude icebox by encasing a large wooden case in a larger box, then insulating the space between with wood ash. Moore hung a sliver of ice in the inner case to chill the butter he was taking to sell in Washington. Housewives paid a premium for his chilled butter. Moore did not patent his invention. Soon cabinetmakers were making kitchen iceboxes with better insulation and drainage tubes to cool the storage compartment. These were standard tubes to cool the storage compartment. These were standard until the 1920s. In the early days these units depended on natural ice for refrigeration. Commercial harvesting of natural ice actually continued until 1930 but slowly declined as commercially produced ice became cheaper. Ice adds comfort to our lives but there are many commercial applications. Ice allows us to ship dairy products, fresh vegetable and fresh meat to distant markets by slow going the growth of bacteria. Doctors use ice to reduce swelling and prevent infection. And in hot climates some ice is mixed with concrete. Concrete poured at high temperatures tends to crack and shrink if it cools too fast. A little ice slows the process, reducing cracking. Harvesting natural ice was a New England specialty. The land was dotted with freshwater lakes and ponds. The long, cold winters froze the water into ice. A few New England farmers had another cash crop if they were lucky enough to have a pond large enough to justify commercial harvesting. Entrepreneurs paid rent for the ice they cut. Boston was the center of the ice trade. The lakes were full of ice. Sawmills produced tons of sawdust, the perfect insulation for blocks of ice, and fleets of clipper ships waited in the harbor, ready to sail. A canny businessman named Fredric Tudor put it all together and made millions as "The Ice King." He invented a horse drawn rake that marked the surface into 20-inch rows. Work crews sawed the ice into 16-foot lengths that Tudor stored in insulated ice houses. He built storage facilities in Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. Torrid summers sent customers flocking to his stores. In 1833, Tudor loaded the clipper ship "Tuscany" with 180 tons of ice and sailed for Bombay, halfway around the world from Boston. During the four-month voyage the "Tuscany" crossed the equator twice, but arrived in India with only an 8 percent shrinkage. Sitting in his cabin on Walden Pond, Henry David Thoreau watched Irish work crew saw the ice into blocks, then cover them with sawdust. When he learned their destination, he rhapsodized, "The sweltering inhabitants of Bombay and Calcutta drink at my well...the pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges." Thanks to refrigeration you can enjoy a strawberry frozen pie even on the hottest day of summer. INGREDIENTS: 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese 1 cup dairy sour cream 1 10-ounce packages of frozen, sliced strawberries, thawed 1 9-inch graham cracker crust PREPARATION: Blend cream cheese and sour cream. Reserve a half a cup of berries with syrup; add remainder to cheese mixture. Stir well, pour into crust, and freeze until firm. Remove from freezer five minutes before serving. Cut into wedges, top with reserved berries and syrup; serve. Jeff Cheek lives in Medford. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing