The heat of summer can lead one to think about popsicles and iced desserts. I know I do. I have even gone so far as to have a popsicle "machine" in my freezer year round. The Zoku Quick Pop maker has a casing that must contain some sort of coolant in it. It is probably hazardous to one's health, but it sure does make great popsicles!! I can take oranges from the tree in my yard, squeeze the juice out of them and have popsicles in less than 20 minutes. Cold coffee pops can be made with just the 2 oz. left in the bottom of the pot. Or I can make "adult" popsicles with liquor in them. The whole set up is super fun for experiments.
My grandmother used to refer to the refrigerator as the "icebox," from, I am guessing, when the pre-electric design involved putting a large block of ice inside an upright ice chest to keep things cold. The opening of the Disney movie, Frozen, shows strapping Scandinavians singing and harvesting ice to sell. Which always makes me wonder which country makes the most money selling ice?
It came as a total surprise to me that by 1000 b.c.e., the leader of the Mediterranean ice trade was Persia - modern day Iran. How did these desert dwellers dish out dessert? Using a fun architectural structure known as a yakhchal, or ice pit.
They varied in size, but most were domed structures up to 60ft in diameter. There would be an air vent at the top. Inside a square subterranean pit would be dug and lined with sarooj. Sarooj is a traditional mortar made from clay, sand, ash, limes, egg whites and goat hair. This particular combination of ingredients conducts no heat, keeping the desert fire from the dessert ice. Often large walls were built around the east, south & north sides of the yakhchal to block out ambient heat from the sun. On the north side, thin channels would be lined with the sarooj. In the winter months when desert nights are freezing, the channels would be filled with water. When ice formed, it would be chopped up and placed inside the yakhchal as seed ice.
If the location of the yakhchal was lucky, there would be a qanat running underneath it. Not only is qanat a great Scrabble word, it is an underground irrigation trench. From this mini man-made river, columns would be opened up to the inside of the yakhchal. The cold air from the flow of water would be pushed up through the column, continuing to cool the interior year-round.
I found some cool online recipes for Persian Iced Delights that have likely been in use since 400 b.c.e. Frozen noodles anyone? I also found articles like this one with recipes and the knowledge that ice cream came to America from Europe, who got it from Persia in the 8th Century! Make your own and be a part of history.
My grandmother used to refer to the refrigerator as the "icebox," from, I am guessing, when the pre-electric design involved putting a large block of ice inside an upright ice chest to keep things cold. The opening of the Disney movie, Frozen, shows strapping Scandinavians singing and harvesting ice to sell. Which always makes me wonder which country makes the most money selling ice?
It came as a total surprise to me that by 1000 b.c.e., the leader of the Mediterranean ice trade was Persia - modern day Iran. How did these desert dwellers dish out dessert? Using a fun architectural structure known as a yakhchal, or ice pit.
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| An extremely rough sketch that helped me visualize this amazing structural type. |
They varied in size, but most were domed structures up to 60ft in diameter. There would be an air vent at the top. Inside a square subterranean pit would be dug and lined with sarooj. Sarooj is a traditional mortar made from clay, sand, ash, limes, egg whites and goat hair. This particular combination of ingredients conducts no heat, keeping the desert fire from the dessert ice. Often large walls were built around the east, south & north sides of the yakhchal to block out ambient heat from the sun. On the north side, thin channels would be lined with the sarooj. In the winter months when desert nights are freezing, the channels would be filled with water. When ice formed, it would be chopped up and placed inside the yakhchal as seed ice.
If the location of the yakhchal was lucky, there would be a qanat running underneath it. Not only is qanat a great Scrabble word, it is an underground irrigation trench. From this mini man-made river, columns would be opened up to the inside of the yakhchal. The cold air from the flow of water would be pushed up through the column, continuing to cool the interior year-round.
I found some cool online recipes for Persian Iced Delights that have likely been in use since 400 b.c.e. Frozen noodles anyone? I also found articles like this one with recipes and the knowledge that ice cream came to America from Europe, who got it from Persia in the 8th Century! Make your own and be a part of history.
References
Hosseini, Bahareh, and Ali Namazian.(2012) "An overview of Iranian ice repositories, an example of traditional indigenous architecture" METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 29(2) http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A318999369/AONE?u=msu_main&sid=AONE&xid=3cf7630f. Accessed 23 Aug. 2018.
