Refrigeration, Cold Storage and Ice-Making - A Practical Treatise on the Art and Science of Refrigeration - A J Wallis-Tayler

PREFACE; THE preservation of comestibles collected during times of plenty, for uses when the sources of supply fail, has been practised by man from the remotest ages and in the most uncivilised regions. Amongst primitive races, in order to avoid famine the preservation of food for use during certain times of the year was absolutely essential, and in civilised countries it is a factor mainly responsible for the maintenance of the balance between the demand and the supply. Probably the most ancient method employed for the preservation of food stuffs is desiccation or drying, and it is an excellent one, meat, for instance, so treated loses none of its nutritive qualities as it undergoes no chemical change. The remaining methods used are heating and sealing in air-tight packages, treatment by means of chemicals, and refrigeration. The conservation of meat and other food stuffs by the latter method, which is now so extensively used, is that with which the author is here solely concerned...