ICE (Fr. Glace; Ger. Eis ; Ital. Gliiaccio ; Sp. Hielo). — Next to heat in importance to the cook is cold ; and this, which can be applied to so many purposes, is chiefly obtained by the use of Ice. The great bulk of Ice purveyed in this cpuntry comes from Norway, where what are called Ice-harvests provide a very considerable item of commerce. Wenham Lake Ice is estimated very highly for its purity, and gives its name to a good deal that is not so pure, although probably it is quite pure enough for refrigerating purposes. To the investigations of chemistry we are indebted for a knowledge, exaggerated in most cases, of the impurities contained in water obtained from various sources, and that these impurities exist in Ice we have every reason to believe ; therefore, it is not For details respecting Culinary Processes , Utensils , Sauces, dec., referred to, see under their special heads 774 TEE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF PRACTICAL COOKERY. Ice — continued. advisable to use melted Ice for drinking purposes unless we are first assured that the water frozen was to all intents and purposes suitable for drinking. The artificial manu- facture of Ice from purified water places a very useful commodity at the service of beverage concoeters ; but when Ice is manufactured on a large scale, it is more than probable that the purification of the water is to a great extent overlooked. In spite of the great advantages to be so derived from carefully made Ice, that which finds its way into our markets is principally naturally formed. In most cold countries there is an Ice-harvest every year. When the Ice on the lakes of North America or the fjords Fig. 965. Ice-pricker. of Scandinavia is about 1ft. thick, the snow and rough surface Ice are scraped off by an Ice-plane drawn by horses. A straight groove is next cut along one side of the Ice-sheet by means of a guide-plough directed by a tight cord, and then again along another at right angles to the first. Then by means of a swing-cutter with guide a series of rectangular grooves are marked out, the guide running in the previously cut groove, and keeping the line for the cutter. The guide is reversible, and can be turned over to either side of the cutter as may be required by the previous groove. The hand cutter is then worked along the grooves, cutting them several inches deep. When this cutting is completed, the blocks are ready to be separated, collected, and harvested. To prevent water entering the cut grooves and freezing them up again, snow is firmly driven into the crevices by means of a caulking-bar. When the two outside rows have been sawed out with a hand-saw the next blocks in succession are broken off by means of what are called striking-off and chisel bars, and the corners or uneven pieces trimmed off with a hatchet. They are next drawn together or moored by a hook- pick, and then lifted on to the Ice and into waggons by grapples and hoisting-tongs. When collected, Ice is stored in what are called Ice- houses, and may be preserved through the summer months in a drained well or excavation, somewhat of the form of an inverted sugar loaf, contained in a small shed or building situated if possible on a dry sandy soil on an eminence, with the door facing the north. The roof should be conical and thickly thatched with straw right down to the ground.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

ICE (Fr. Glace; Ger. Eis ; Ital. Gliiaccio ; Sp. Hielo). — Next to heat in importance to the cook is cold ; and this, which can be applied to so many purposes, is chiefly obtained by the use of Ice. The great bulk of Ice purveyed in this country comes from Norway, where what are called Ice-harvests provide a very considerable item of commerce. Wenham Lake Ice is estimated very highly for its purity, and gives its name to a good deal that is not so pure, although probably it is quite pure enough for refrigerating purposes. To the investigations of chemistry we are indebted for a knowledge, exaggerated in most cases, of the impurities contained in water obtained from various sources, and that these impurities exist in Ice we have every reason to believe ; therefore, it is not For details respecting Culinary Processes , Utensils , Sauces, dec., referred to, see under their special heads Ice — continued. advisable to use melted Ice for drinking purposes unless we are first assured that the water frozen was to all intents and purposes suitable for drinking. The artificial manufacture of Ice from purified water places a very useful commodity at the service of beverage concoeters ; but when Ice is manufactured on a large scale, it is more than probable that the purification of the water is to a great extent overlooked. In spite of the great advantages to be so derived from carefully made Ice, that which finds its way into our markets is principally naturally formed. In most cold countries there is an Ice-harvest every year. When the Ice on the lakes of North America or the fjords Fig. 965. Ice-pricker. of Scandinavia is about 1ft. thick, the snow and rough surface Ice are scraped off by an Ice-plane drawn by horses. A straight groove is next cut along one side of the Ice-sheet by means of a guide-plough directed by a tight cord, and then again along another at right angles to the first. Then by means of a swing-cutter with guide a series of rectangular grooves are marked out, the guide running in the previously cut groove, and keeping the line for the cutter. The guide is reversible, and can be turned over to either side of the cutter as may be required by the previous groove. The hand cutter is then worked along the grooves, cutting them several inches deep. When this cutting is completed, the blocks are ready to be separated, collected, and harvested. To prevent water entering the cut grooves and freezing them up again, snow is firmly driven into the crevices by means of a caulking-bar. When the two outside rows have been sawed out with a hand-saw the next blocks in succession are broken off by means of what are called striking-off and chisel bars, and the corners or uneven pieces trimmed off with a hatchet. They are next drawn together or moored by a hookpick, and then lifted on to the Ice and into waggons by grapples and hoisting-tongs. When collected, Ice is stored in what are called Icehouses, and may be preserved through the summer months in a drained well or excavation, somewhat of the form of an inverted sugar loaf, contained in a small shed or building situated if possible on a dry sandy soil on an eminence, with the door facing the north. The roof should be conical and thickly thatched with straw right down to the ground.

The encyclopaedia of practical cookery