An ancient ice house, called a yakhchal, built in Kerman, Iran during the middle ages, for storing ice during summers.

Ice houses were buildings used to store ice throughout the year, prior to the invention of the refrigerator. The most common designs involved underground chambers, usually man-made, which were built close to natural sources of winter ice such as freshwater lakes. Download high resolution version (600x652, 304 KB)A yakhchal, built near Kerman, Iran, several centuries ago, was used for storing ice during summers. ... Download high resolution version (600x652, 304 KB)A yakhchal, built near Kerman, Iran, several centuries ago, was used for storing ice during summers. ... Yakh-chal A yakh-chāl is an ancient natural refrigerator. ... Image:Kirman. ... Snowflakes by Wilson Bentley, 1902 Ice is the name given to any one of the 14 known solid phases of water. ... Freezer redirects here. ...

During the winter, ice and snow would be taken into the ice house and packed with insulation, often straw or sawdust. It would remain frozen for many months, often until the following winter, and could be used as a source of ice during summer months. This could be used simply to cool drinks, or allow ice-cream and sorbet desserts to be prepared. Winter is one of the four seasons of temperate zones. ... Animation of snowcover changing with the seasons Snow covering a leaf. ... Bales of straw bundles of rice straw Pile of straw bales, sheltered under a tarpaulin Straw is an agricultural byproduct, the dry stalk of a cereal plant, after the nutrient grain or seed has been removed. ... Sawdust is composed of fine particles of wood. ... Summer is a season that is astronomically defined as beginning around June 21, and ending around September 23 in the Northern Hemisphere. ... Cherry ice cream Ice cream or ice-cream (originally iced cream) is a frozen dessert made from dairy products, such as cream (or substituted ingredients), combined with flavorings and sweeteners, such as sugar. ... A bowl of mango sorbet Sorbet (or sorbetto, sorbeto) is a frozen dessert made from iced fruit puree and other ingredients. ... A selection of desserts Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a dinner, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses. ...

History

An inscription from 1700 BC in northwest Iraq records the construction of an icehouse, "which never before had any king built." In China, archeologists have found remains of ice pits from the seventh century BC, and references suggest they were in use before 1100 BC. Alexander the Great around 300 BC stored snow in pits dug for that purpose. In Rome in the third century AD, snow was inported from the mountains, stored in straw-covered pits, and sold from snow shops. The ice formed in the bottom of the pits sold at a higher price than the snow on top.^[1]

Ice houses in the U.S.

Ice houses allowed a trade in ice that was a major part of the early economy of the New England region of the United States, which saw fortunes made by people who shipped ice in straw-packed ships to the southern U.S. and throughout the Caribbean Sea. In winter months, ice was chopped from a lake surface and often dragged by sledge to the ice house, and in summer months, was delivered from local ice houses to residences in ice wagons or ice trucks, where it would be stored in an ice box, which was used much like a modern refrigerator. This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... Map of Central America and the Caribbean A Caribbean beach in Isla Margarita, Venezuela. ... The Ice Box is a 5,010-seat multi-purpose arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. ... Freezer redirects here. ...

As home and business refrigeration became more common, ice houses disappeared. The home ice delivery business declined, and was virtually gone by the late 1960s. Smaller ice houses, usually no more than a sawdust pile covered by a makeshift roof or tarpaulin, continued to be maintained to store ice for use in local events such as fairs. Today, most ice for daily consumption is made in a home freezer, while bulk ice is manufactured, distributed and sold like other retail commodities. Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and rejecting it elsewhere for the primary purpose of lowering the temperature of the enclosed space or substance and then maintaining that lower temperature. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... A tarpaulin or tarp (also known as hootchie) is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas coated with plastic or latex. ... Roundabouts (or carousels) are traditional attractions, often seen at fairs. ... Freezer redirects here. ...

The Ice House is a common name for ice hockey rinks in the U.S. Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ...

In Texas, former ice houses are a cultural tradition, with many now converted into open-air bars. One of the most famous is called "Ice Bar", located in downtown Austin. Official language(s) English (de facto) See also languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 268,581 sq mi (695,622 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

Ice houses in the U.K.

Ice was often imported into the UK from Scandanavia up until the 1950s. Usually only large manor houses had purpose-built ice houses to store ice. Not many examples of ice houses exist in the UK and those that do have fallen into a poor state of repair. A good example of a 19th century ice house can be found at Grendon, Warwickshire, and at Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, Suffolk, Petworth House, Sussex, Danny House, Sussex. And the farmers used it as an early refridgarators. Grendon, Warwickshire is technically one, but logically two small villages situated 3 miles to the west of Atherstone and 5 miles to the east of Tamworth. ... Christchurch Mansion is a stately home in the centre of Ipswich, England. ... For other places and usages with this name, see Ipswich (disambiguation). ... A distant view of Petworth House across the lake in Petworth Park by JMW Turner. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ... Danny House is an impressive Elizabethan Mansion near Hurstpierpoint in West Sussex and at the Northern foot of Wolstonbury Hill and one of the finest stately houses in Sussex, with 56 bedrooms and 28 apartments. ... Sussex is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. ...

References

1. ^ James, Peter; Nick Thorpe (1995). Ancient Inventions. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-40102-6. 

See also

• Deep lake water cooling
• Frederic Tudor, the "Ice King"
• Yakhchal