Refrigeration

An electric"Monitor Top Refrigerator" made by General Electric 

            The invention of refrigeration has changed everything about food forever, from its transportation, to its process of consumption, to the way its tools are marketed. It has allowed mass access of fresh foods to the general public, has changed the culture surrounding cooking and eating, and has allowed for companies to market their new products using the ever-useful innovation of the electric refrigerator. The effects that it has had on the world are vast, and it is vital to society for all of its great practical and affordable uses. However, it is also a critical invention because of how it has impacted other areas of society and created ripple effects throughout its sphere of influence.

            The refrigerator not only made itself one of the most useful, impactful inventions of its time, but also allowed for other products to be invented and marketed. By using the refrigerator’s mass success, companies could market their own products by basing their advertising on what was desired by society. Some of these companies were separate, others were the refrigerator companies themselves trying to attract more people to their original product. Either way, the huge invention of the electric refrigerator spurred an opportunity for marketers to sell their goods to the mass public with ease and success. Some products that are proof of this happening are the invention of ice trays, cookbooks, stackable refrigerator dishes, Tupperware containers, and shopping carts. All of these items were used in conjunction with the new refrigerators to create and new culture around the process of buying and consuming food. The ice tray was a direct example of this, as ice transitioned from a product originally used to chill iceboxes to a novelty item that was used to cool drinks and make things more enjoyable. Frigidaire, one of the most prominent refrigeration companies at the time, said this in their household sales textbook. “The use of ice-cooled beverages in the home is becoming constantly more popular. This calls for… ice of suitable size for cooling drinks.” This refrigeration company, Frigidaire, saw an opportunity to make money, while promoting their refrigerators at the same time. They made ice trays to go along with the electric refrigerator, in an attempt to further entice the public into buying their product. Another example that is not as direct, is the invention of the shopping cart. Because refrigerators were able to keep food for longer amounts of time and increase food-life, people didn’t need to go to the grocery store as often as before. However, when they did go, they had to buy more food than usual and stock up their fancy, new electric refrigerator. In 1937, a grocery store owner saw this need, and decided to invent the grocery cart to help people carry more items around the store, as well as to increase sales for the store. An advertisement in the Oklahoma City times put it, “Can you imagine wending your way through a spacious food market without having to carry a cumbersome shopping basket on your arm?” They marketed this grocery cart as making it much easier and simpler for the consumer to buy groceries, which was true, but it also caused people to pile up more and more food in their carts, increasing sales and changing society’s shopping habits forever.

A magazine cover portraying a child in the newly invented shopping cart

            Refrigeration also changed the way people use and consume food. Because items could now be kept cold while being sent all over the country, people now had access to quality, whole foods at all times of the year. With the refrigerated train car, patented by J.B. Sutherland in 1867, and many cold, insulated trucks and vehicles to be used soon thereafter, fresh food could be transported wherever a consumer demand was. This refrigeration helped to establish slaughter centers in mid-western cities like Chicago and Kansas City, as they were in close proximity to the railroads being used by these refrigerated cars. It also led to a regional produce specialization, which allowed for fresh foods to be spread all over the country and the expansion of consumer markets. All of this access to quality food created healthier diets for people who could now consume meat, produce, eggs, butter, milk, cheese, and fish year-round. Refrigeration altered when and how food was cooked and consumed, as it was now encouraged to cook big meals for the rest of the week and save the extra food in the refrigerator. This created a culture of leftovers, making it very popular and even expected to save one’s uneaten food and store it in the new electric refrigerators that created more space and lengthened the lifespans of the foods stored in them. The Great Depression and the World Wars further accentuated this common culture, as it was imperative for families to not throw food away, and rather carefully preserve their food, and therefore their money as well. Another aspect of the food preparation process that refrigeration changed was women’s role in the preservation of perishable foods. Before, they would have to spend huge amounts of time pickling or drying items, but the addition of the refrigerator excised all of that extra work and time, as well as maintained the food’s original taste and kept it fresher. Finally, society’s idea of the freshness of food has changed significantly since the invention of refrigeration. People don’t have to live in rural, farming areas to have access to fresh food anymore, as that same food can be transported to them while being kept cold quickly and easily. In addition, when people get these foods from the grocery store, they no longer make a decision on the food’s freshness based on touch, feel, or smell, but rather rely on the date printed on the items. Stores, brands, and manufacturers have begun to tell us which things are fresh and edible still, making the process of keeping and consuming food that much easier. 

            With the advent of the electric refrigerator, society was permanently altered. Refrigeration has affected society in so many ways since it was invented, and the world would differ greatly if not for its presence. It has led to cultural changes in the way consumers shop, cook, and eat, as well as allowed for innovators and marketers to supply the market with tools and other inventions that go hand in hand with the refrigerator, whether that be through direct relationships or ripple effect connections.

Advertisement portraying a happy family stocking their electric refrigerator full of food

Sources:

History Magazine: The Impact of Refrigeration This source is where I found most of my general information on the history of the refrigerator and its origins.
Smithsonian: Keeping Your (Food) Cool: From Ice Harvesting to Electric Refrigeration This source is where I learned some more specifics about the electric refrigerator, as well as about some innovations sold to the public by marketers after the inventions of the refrigerator.
Smithsonian: Not Just a Cool Convenience: How Electric Refrigeration Shaped the "Cold Chain" This source was an interview in which the effects of the electric refrigerator on specifically American society was discussed.
Colby.edu: Refrigeration Changed... Everything This source was an educational personal narrative in which the author describes some specific impacts that the refrigerator has had on food and freshness.
Smithsonian: Sparkling Delights This website includes a primary source from the Frigidaire Household Sales Textbook, and discusses the use of ice cubes and the ice tray after the invention of the refrigerator.
Smithsonian: "An Innovation in Shopping" This website includes a primary source from an advertisement in the Oklahoma City Times, and discusses how the refrigerator affected shopping, as well as the invention of the shopping cart.