I have developed the habit of hugging my refrigerator. This gesture doubles as a show of affection and warm-up exercise.  My gratitude for this cold space wrapped in stainless steel grew passionate during this summer’s back-to-back hot spells. The HVAC system in my elderly bungalow just couldn’t remove the heat fast enough to keep me comfortably cool. 

I coped with physical discomfort by studying the thermodynamics and history of refrigeration, subjects unaddressed in my liberal arts and culinary classes.  What I discovered I didn’t know amazed me. Simply stated, in the 75 years since they became a household staple, refrigerators have totally reshaped the way we cook, what we eat, how we shop and where we live. 

The most informative source, following a Google search, has been Nicola Twilley who uses the term, ‘cold chain’, in her book Frostbite to detail how refrigeration made our current life of convenience possible.  This includes the creation of the grocery store that made once-a-week shopping a reality and spurred the growth of suburbs. Refrigeration enabled the growth of a global marketplace and a processed food industry that freed more women to enter the workforce.  Twilley describes how the food chain operates in Rwanda to show why, in Africa generally, as much as forty percent of the food it produces spoils before it can reach the consumer.  

Until the twentieth century, cold storage relied on harvesting ice from glaciers and frozen lakes, then transporting it by boat, rail and horse cart to markets and homes.  The introduction of Freon in 1928 made home refrigeration safe and convenient.  Newer refrigerants have replaced it to protect the earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays once it was found that Freon damages the planet’s protective ozone layer.  

Today’s battle with climate change stems in part from the inescapable heat generated by the thermodynamic process itself.  Is there a way for humans to enjoy the comforts that refrigeration provides and avoid the environmental consequences of the heat it generates?  Twilley introduces some interesting alternatives to refrigeration in the last chapters of Frostbite.   

No matter what future awaits us, I plan on preparing and freezing pistou with the basil in my garden. Thanks to refrigeration, the aroma of this summer herb will infuse this winter’s soups and stews.

• Submerge the basil leaves in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove to an ice bath.  Drain and squeeze water from the leaves.  Place basil in the work bowl of a food processor or blender.

• Peel the garlic cloves.  Halve three cloves lengthwise and submerge them in boiling water for 2 minutes.  Drain and run cool water over them.

• Add all four garlic cloves, quartered, the pine nuts and cheese to the work bowl.  Finely chop the mixture with a pulsing action.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

• Pour in the water and oil with the machine running.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl, season to taste, pulse briefly.  Taste again, and adjust seasonings as needed.

• Store the sauce in a tightly covered glass jar.  Refrigerate between uses.  Sauce can be frozen in containers or frozen in an ice cube trays.