Makeshift fridge - The 'Cool box'

[Magic Mark]

I've seen this done on youtube and on discovery channel, but I'm not expert on it.

 

With farming becoming the main source of food later on, options for makeshift preservation should come in as well.

 

As the title says, makeshift, powerless fridges.

 

I'm no expert, but one way simply involved sending spring water around the fridge through pipes kept the inside cooler than the outside noteably, and another way involved using dirt/sand.

 

Yah, I didn't do much research into it.

 

However powerless refrigeration - Not as cold as a standard refrigerator, but better than nothing - should be an idea to be considered.

[Suomiboi]

Potato cellars and such have been suggested before and if I'm not talking full crappola, I'd say something (a very vague something...) like this is in the plans.

[Some Clever Username]

I need this!

[Magic Mark]

I need this!

 

URBANS

[YehudiRoman]

Constructions such as this primarily exist in the tundra and the mountains. Unless the water source is from a glacier, the water will not remain cool for long and so water-cooled storage will only last so long before it heats up and becomes useless. There are ways to build cellars so that heat doesn't get in very well but escapes easily allowing it to stay cooler, but it won't refrigerate.

 

Primitive refrigeration in warmer climates was also achieved by having a large tub of water in a room year round. The water would slowly freeze, releasing some heat into the air as it got colder and keeping the room warmer. As it warmed up, the giant block of ice would suck heat out of the room. Covering it in hay decreased the melting speed, thereby allowing the room to stay cool for longer. How long this solution lasts is dependent on several factors.

 

In a world without electricity, the most efficient ways to store food are smoking and drying. Both can be accomplished in a single building or over certain types of fires (a full sized smokehouse may require some physics simulation). Meats, fruits and vegetables are sliced thin and then dried/smoked. These will last for years. Best of all, the process does not destroy any nutrients the way cooking does. It is, however, far more labour intensive.

[Suomiboi]

Constructions such as this primarily exist in the tundra and the mountains. Unless the water source is from a glacier, the water will not remain cool for long and so water-cooled storage will only last so long before it heats up and becomes useless. There are ways to build cellars so that heat doesn't get in very well but escapes easily allowing it to stay cooler, but it won't refrigerate.

 

Primitive refrigeration in warmer climates was also achieved by having a large tub of water in a room year round. The water would slowly freeze, releasing some heat into the air as it got colder and keeping the room warmer. As it warmed up, the giant block of ice would suck heat out of the room. Covering it in hay decreased the melting speed, thereby allowing the room to stay cool for longer. How long this solution lasts is dependent on several factors.

 

In a world without electricity, the most efficient ways to store food are smoking and drying. Both can be accomplished in a single building or over certain types of fires (a full sized smokehouse may require some physics simulation). Meats, fruits and vegetables are sliced thin and then dried/smoked. These will last for years. Best of all, the process does not destroy any nutrients the way cooking does. It is, however, far more labour intensive.

You forgot salting, (ofc it's a sort of drying...) but otherwise I agree fully. And all of these have come up before on the forums before. And I think once we get to the balancing act of making the game harder at least some of these systems will likely be implemented to tip the scale slightly back.

 

EDIT: The thing about cooking and nutrients is that while vitamins etc. get destroyed in the process, you get more energy eating cooked food than if you were eating it raw or dried.