SC - Ice

[DianaFiona at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/22/00 11:41:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time, LrdRas at aol.com 
writes:

<< 
 Although I don't have the references immediately handy, ice houses were 
 common throughout the middle east during period. They were also common 
 throughout the Western world until the invention of refrigeration. Ice 
blocks 
 are simply cut out of lakes and ponds in the winter and stored in ice houses 
 in saw dust, etc., throughout the year. Such blocks literally keep for 
months 
 before melting. I think that Food in History or The History of Food has a 
 segment dealing with this subject. Any large manor house would have had its 
 ice house and commercial ice houses also existed.
 
 Ras >>
    There is also an Elizabeth David book called, I believe, Harvest of the 
Cold Months (My copy is loaned out), that deals with the subject in detail. 
Fascinating book! I haven't re-read it in a while, but I think the evidence 
she has shows the notion of ice houses moved from the Middle East to the West 
pretty late in period, and that ices--or maybe it was actual ice cream?--were 
developed slightly post-period for the SCA. Anyone out there read this more 
recently and able to comment on it?

                    Ldy Diana