The ancient Romans were as fond of putting ice in their drinks as we are today. In the 1st Century AD, no Roman banquet would have been complete without the provision of lavish amounts of ice or snow for guests to put into their wine goblets. The famous Roman philosopher Seneca condemned snow-shops and ice-cold drinks as a clear sign of ever-growing decadence. The Roman emperor Elgabalus used donkey trains to transport a literal mountain of snow to his hot summer villa: an early form of air conditioning! Mideastern Sultans used their camel-driven postal system to transport snow all the way from the Lebanese Mountains to Cairo, Egypt. In the early days of the British Empire, perishable Norwegian ice would be sent 8,000 miles around Cape Good Hope to colonies in India.From this website: HERE.
The ancient Romans could also have used primitive forms of refrigeration to keep food fresh. They could produce cold by certain forms of evaporation or by collecting snow and ice in winter to store for use in warmer weather (Forbes, Vol. VI 105). The ancient Romans knew of natural caves which could have been used for the cold storage of food; however, it is thought that these caves were not utilized for this purpose. Despite these resources that the Romans had available to them, there is no clear evidence of the preservation of foodstuffs by cooling. Instead, food was often placed in the cellars of houses, which may not have always remained cool enough to keep the food from spoiling (Forbes, Vol. VI 106). There is little information on the collection or preservation of snow and ice (Forbes, Vol. VI 112-113). In Italy, the ability to gather and use ice was probably limited, with most being obtained from snow rather than being cut from ponds (Forbes, Vol. VI 113), although this would vary by region. The major use of snow and ice was for cooling the drinks of the wealthy (Forbes, Vol. VI 107). These ancient cooling mechanisms were not used by a majority of the population; rather, they were a luxury of the very rich.
| For example, the taste for icy sweets predates the technology to mass-produce them; the emperor Nero sent slaves to the mountains for snow and ice to mix with nectar and honey. The resulting ice treat must have been the perfect culinary counterpoint to a baked Rome. |
Cold Comfort Getting the scoop on the science of a cool commodity