 I’m essential in every household
by Tissa Hewawitarana
  Our forefathers grew their own
vegetables in their gardens, obtained most of their food by cultivation
and ate well and lived longer. The extra food was kept in ice boxes.
Even today, the fishmonger keeps stacks of fish preserved in wooden
boxes with huge ice cubes. The following day they are taken to the
market. Food materials that are kept at low temperature do not decompose
for a long time.
The story of discovery of preserving food through low temperature is
very interesting. In 1798 some explorers from Norway camped at the mouth
of the river ‘Lena’ in Northern Siberia. All of a sudden they heard
their dogs barking loudly outside. When they came out they found the
dogs digging in the snow. As they dug more they found a huge body of a
mammoth.
The flesh was dry. They hacked off a piece and ate. It tasted fresh.
This was the most dramatic discovery which established the fact that the
food can be preserved in this manner. Since then, humans have started
using low temperature for food preservation.
In the last century the western world led the way to mechanical
civilisation, and of that civilisation many inventors of mechanical
genius were born. In 1879, electricity had come into existence and lists
of inventors and devices made by scientists were endless. It is during
this period my father was cracking his brains making experiments seated
in a tiny room surrounded by wires, lamps and tubes.
It was in this room I was born, as a sick child and treated for
various sicknesses. From my birth I was weak and feeble. On medical
advice I was given plenty of food.
However my father worked very hard to find some device to keep the
extra food preserved for a longer time. For the love he had for me and
to bring me up to be healthy, he invented an electrically operated
device in which food materials could be preserved for many days.
The principle behind it is that it absorbs heat when it is converted
into vapour and that is evolved when the vapour is again converted into
liquid. The components needed for my body to work are a compressor and a
metal tube.
 Freon gas is filled into the storage tank. When the machine is
switched on Freon liquid leaves the storage tank at high pressure. It
travels through the pipes and gets evaporated. As the heat is drawn out
the temperature inside the cabinet goes on falling and that of the food
materials.
Freon gas is now again converted into liquid by the condenser coils,
and the compressor. This cycle continues and the temperature inside the
cabinet goes on falling. When the temperature inside the cabinet reaches
an optimum value, a thermostat control cuts off the electric power and
the refrigerator stops. Again the temperature starts rising.
When it reaches a certain mark, the thermostat control again starts
the machine. In this way a constant low temperature is maintained inside
the cabinet.
Due to the low temperature, the food does not get spoiled. Nowadays
my services are highly valued, great quantities of ice cream, frozen
meat, fish, fruits and vegetables are imported and exported throughout
the world every year. By now I had turned up to a big made woman. I have
many admirers who are mostly housewives.
Most of the upper-class have opted for me. One rich lady returned
home from the bazaar along with me. I was given my due place in her
palatial house. The kitchen is as fancy as any housewife would dream of.
I was fed with the best of dishes and food stored in plenty. Today the
turn out a billion dollar business by my popularity, around the world. I
am proud that I have become an essential commodity. |
