The history of refrigerator might be surprising for you!
The refrigerator in your kitchen is the culmination of thousands of years of innovation, from early methods of food preservation to cutting-edge technology and features.
Our quest to keep food cold has come a long way, and this journey through history highlights the constant advancements in food storage and preservation.
Table of Contents
History of Refrigerator
Pre-Refrigerator Era
Back in time long before the fridge was invented, our ancient ancestors had their own way of preserving food. And depending on their climate, they got creative with natural cooling.
Some civilizations lived near rivers or lakes and used the cold water itself to store food.
Others cut ice and packed it into specially built “ice houses” for later use. In colder regions, people dug pits in the ground, filled them with snow or ice, and insulated them with straw or sawdust to keep their food preserved.
And when ice wasn’t readily available, they built underground spaces or cool cellars to take advantage of the natural earth’s temperature.
So, Fast forward to the 1800s, when the manufactured iceboxes resembling modern fridges gained popularity.
These early models were essentially insulated cabinets made of metal or wood with a compartment for a big block of ice, thus making ice deliveries became a regular service for homes with these iceboxes.
The First Refrigerator
While the coolness of evaporation wasn’t a new concept thanks to Scottish scientist William Cullen in 1748, the modern fridge we know today is the result of many inventors building on each other’s ideas.
In the 1800s, American Jacob Perkins created the first vapor-compression system that serves as a key component to modern refrigeration.
German professor Carl von Linde, back in the late 1800’s also made a significant contribution by figuring out how to liquefy gasses.
These advancements paved the way for widespread commercial refrigeration in industries like food production by the early 1900s.
Also Read: “Exploring The 6 Types of Refrigerator“
The home electric refrigerator finally arrived in 1913, thanks to American Fred W. Wolf’s design combined a refrigeration unit with an existing icebox.
Just five years later, in 1918, William C. Durant revolutionized things again with the first mass-produced home fridge featuring a built-in compressor. This innovation made having a fridge in your own kitchen a reality!
Back in the day, the fridges are considered a luxury item, with a cost roughly equivalent to 6,500-13,000 USD in today’s currency.
And finally, in the late 1930s when Freon was introduced, home refrigeration became more apparent.
This is because freon is a much safer alternative compared to toxic gas that was previously used in the vapor compression process.
So there you go, the history of the refrigerator all in one place!
The journey of refrigeration has been a long and complicated one, and as you might know, even with today’s standard the fridge is kinda “dangerous”.
A lot of people knew that, including us. So, if you want to buy some fridge, be sure to look for the fridge that has already been certified by the SNI approval.
This certification ensures that every fridge that you buy or want to distribute or sell in Indonesia is up to Indonesian policy of quality and safety.
