How was ice made before ice trays and freezers?

Answer 1

I believe that the ice was cut in winter and stored in underground ice houses. Certainly the british aristocracy did this. In America this was commercialised, and the ice was delivered to ordinary homes that had ice boxes, which is what they still call refrigerators. My grandmother had a box outside of her kitchen which had a metal gauze door in it. Somehow through evaporation/ condensation it kept her dairy products and other food colder than the ambient temperature, it really worked. I believe that a woman has patented a similar device for sale in third world countries for people with no electricity.

Answer 2

People cut ice blocks from lakes and rivers and used them. They put the ice blocks into ice boxes (an old name for what we now call a refrigerator). Other blocks were kept in insulated warehouses to be delivered later.

Answer 3

Before electricity, the only way to make ice was to let nature do the work. People actually harvested ice from rivers and lakes! It was quite the industry in northern climates, and the ice was shipped all over the world.

Answer 4

Before ice trays and freezers, ice was made by collecting and storing ice from frozen bodies of water, such as lakes, ponds, and rivers during winter. This ice would be stored in underground ice houses or insulated buildings to keep it frozen until needed.

Answer 5

They probbably compressed the freon gas in an air conditioning type system mechanically or by by hand.