Many people take commercial coolers for granted. We see the trailers on the back of semis and think they are ugly and unsightly. But what we don’t realize is how bad we’d be without refrigeration technologies. If we didn’t have these then the local deli case and the huge ice coolers outside the store wouldn’t exist.
If those didn’t exist, we would have no lunch meats from the deli and no ice from the coolers. Commercial coolers have come a very long way from when we first started using it. In the old days before we had all these fancy things like TV, internet, cell phones, and other commodities people had to be creative. When we started shipping meat from slaughterhouses to vendors, we encountered a problem.
To put it simply the meat was going bad before it could even get to the vendors. Meat goes bad very quickly and by the time it was arriving at its destination, it was starting to rot. Now we did use salt in the meats to preserve them but they wouldn’t last long in the dessert heat in a boxcar. So someone made an ice car. Essentially, it’s a boxcar that’s insulated, boxes of ice were stacked with the products, and this kept them fresher for longer periods of time.
This made vendors very happy and we’ve been improving on the idea ever since. Today though the modern deli case, and or cooler doesn’t just rely on insulation. We use refrigeration technologies to keep things cold. Basically, air conditioners that cool at an extremely fast rate. These are not meant for home use and are generally quite large and powerful.
They also drink up a lot of power. But that’s what’s needed to keep things cold. After all, people like lunchmeat to eat, and ice in their drinks. But we also use these techs in keeping the other meats like hamburger, chicken, fish, and turkey cold. Many people enjoy eating these as well and if they aren’t kept at or near freezing, they start to rot and smell bad.
This can also lead to the breeding of bacteria and the spreading of disease. Both are undesirable side effects of not keeping meat cold. Let’s not forget the important role refrigeration plays in keeping our soft drinks cold. How many people buy pop each day? How many do you think would be sad if they found out all they could buy are warm soft drinks from now on? I’m guessing a lot.
But thankfully, most places have a deli case and a cooler to keep all your meats, drinks, and other things that need to be chilled cooled. After all, if you live in a warm area nothing beats a cold drink. If you are planning a cookout to celebrate a holiday, nothing beats having some meat from the deli. You can also get lunch meat for picnics.
In closing, go to any store and you’ll likely see a deli case or cooler chilling something. They have become an integral part of our society now. Everyone loves being able to buy fresh meat that isn’t rotten. Everyone also likes to drink cold soda on a warm summer day.