Next, a 19th century development that ultimately transformed the dinner table both then and today.

- So I have to believe, Libby, that the ice trade - actually changed how Americans ate.

- It really did.

Yeah.

- Yeah?

Find out how the notion to cut, store and then sell ice led to new kinds of cuisine and some creative cooking, too.

- OK. - Are you ready for this?

- I'm not sure, I just caught... - Asparagus shortcake.

Delicious recipes, some lost in the haze of history, resurface in a truly intriguing investigation.

- Oh, it's so good.

Then, Leslie Williams Ellis mixes things up using leftovers as a main ingredient as she recreates the cuisine.

- That...these are leftovers.

- They're leftovers.

- Or it can be leftovers.

- Or items in your pantry.

- Right.

Will these dishes, all connected to the ice trade, melt in your mouth today?

That's next on Drive by History... - Mmm.

Eats.

[MUSIC] Made possible by the New Jersey Historical Commission, enriching the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.

Every day, thousands of motorists pass by countless history markers and say to themselves, '‘One of these days, I'm going to stop and read that.'

If you watch Drive By History, you know that's how every episode begins.

I start with a history marker, then go on an investigation to find out what happened and why it mattered.

What you don't know is that the food or the '‘eats' often plays into that part of the history, but there's just not enough time to chew on that part of the past.

And that got me thinking why not revisit that history but with a focus on the food?

This is Drive By History: Eats.

The investigation we're revisiting today begins in Garrison, New York, at the JDJ Ice House.

Today, it's a contemporary art gallery.

However, as its name suggests, in another era, the structure was used to store ice.

At the time of my visit, I met with SUNY professor Bryan Field, a physicist with a keen interest in history.

He explained that in the 19th century, ice houses dotted the American landscape.

- And modern people would think, well, - this ice is just going to melt.

- It's all going to flow right back into the lake here.

- That's what I would expect.

- But it doesn't.

Ice has a unique scientific property.

It doesn't melt quickly.

It requires a high amount of energy to go from solid to liquid.

In the right conditions, it can remain solid, even if the outside temperature is well above freezing.

- And the trick here is that if you pack the ice very, - very close together and you insulate it, - it won't melt even throughout the entire summer.

The frozen water trade, as it was once called, is a relatively new phenomenon dating back to the early 19th century, when Frederic Tudor went into business selling ice.

Before that time, ice was a luxury only enjoyed by the affluent, who largely cut and stored ice for themselves.

Average people wanted nothing to do with ice, viewing it mostly as an unpleasant part of winter.

Tudor, however, believed he could convince the growing middle class of its virtues, and as a result, charge for ice.

Although Frederick Tudor suffered more than a few setbacks, ultimately he was right -- very right, in fact.

- And that's why I wanted to revisit this history.

Ice transformed American life, having all kinds of industrial applications and medical, too.

But of all its uses, I have to believe nothing compares to its impact on food.

To find out more, I head to Lloyd Harbor, New York to the home of Libby O'Connell, one of our nation's esteemed food and culture historians and author of The American Plate .

- Hi Libby, what a great day to talk about this.

- Hi, welcome to our new house, Ken.

- Thank you for the invitation.

- Now, I have to believe that the advent of the ice trade - really changed the way that Americans ate.

- It's one of my favorite topics.

- Yeah?

- Ice really transformed the way Americans ate, - partially because of refrigerated train cars.

- They also called them reefers.

- They were called reefers?

- They were called reefers.

- Yeah, but it could carry food - and keep it fresh across the country.

- And by refrigerated, I don't mean the modern ones.

- Not mechanically.

- No, by ice, by what they called frozen water.

- Previously, people ate food in the winter - that was dried or smoked or brined, pickled.

- So all the preserved foods.

- All the preserved foods.

- So this is really an inflection point then - in the American diet.

- Absolutely.

- You start seeing citrus fruit being brought up from Florida, - a much more varied diet.

- You see the leftovers lasting, - and we'll talk about that a little bit later.

But you also see fresh vegetables - being eaten out of season in certain places.

- Lettuce from California, you know, iceberg lettuce... - it was developed in the 1880s - and it became popular very quickly.

- It was called iceberg because these round - sort of pale green lettuce heads would be among the crushed ice, - and they though it looked like icebergs.

- And that's how they got their name.

- That's where the name came from, I didn't know that.

- It sort of floated on the ice, and it really did have - a big impact on how Americans were eating.

As we head to the table, Libby tells me there's another ice related invention that reshaped the way Americans eat: the icebox.

A kitchen appliance found in many 19th century homes, it was based on a simple concept: food stored near ice stays chilly and lasts longer.

People added ice to a special compartment, often at the top.

Then, as the ice melted, the frosty air cooled food and drink stored on shelving beneath.

- It meant that you could eat - fresh food longer and store it there.

- And it also meant that your leftovers would last longer.

- That takes us to our first recipe, - and I'm kind of excited about this one.

- Oh, good.

- It's unusual, but I think it's a very good example - of how people, with the invention of the icebox, - were getting creative about leftovers.

- Okay.

- Are you ready for this?

- I'm not sure, I just caught a... - Asparagus shortcake.

- Okay, I'm going to be open minded.

- It sounds a little odd.

- I know you're thinking, where are the strawberries?

- I want strawberries with my shortcake.

- This is a savory dish.

- I would actually serve it as a as a main course with, like, cold chicken, as the side.

- It sounds really odd.

[LAUGHTER] - I have to be honest.

- If you like asparagus, - I do like asparagus.

- I think this would be very good.

- I like everything you talked about, but putting it together... - I'll keep an open mind, how's that?

- Yeah, keep an open mind.

- Okay.

- All right, so what's next?

- You couldn't talk about this history - unless you went and talked about icebox cake.

- Ah, okay.

- That is a really wonderful genre - of no cook or low cook desserts.

- Right.

Those are still popular now.

- They are.

They are.

- That was my brother's favorite cake.

- Chocolate icebox cake.

- But you do need an icebox.

- Okay.

- You can't do this just in a cool room.

- Interesting.

- Okay, so we have recipes that are being created - specifically because you have an icebox.

- Absolutely.

And that was called... most of them were icebox cakes.

- This is the peach divinity icebox pie.

- Ah, that sounds delicious.

- So there's a little twist on it...oh, it's so good.

- It has this delicious ginger crust - with just a little bit of nutmeg in it.

- Ginger, you know, ginger snap crust.

- Ginger snap crust, yeah.

- And that's a no bake.

- So this couldn't exist without the icebox.

- Could not exist without the icebox.

Do the icebox inspired asparagus shortcake and peach divinity pie belong in your recipe box, or will they leave your family cold?

To find out, I turn to Leslie Williams Ellis - Okay, Leslie, so we're starting with the asparagus shortcake.

- Yes.

Now I'm a little surprised...shortcake?

- I know, you think strawberry shortcake, right?

Right?

Yes.

- I do, yes.

- No.

Shortcake is just a term for a biscuit.

- It's a short dough.

- Gotcha.

- So it's a pastry term.

- It doesn't have to have sugar, This will not have sugar.

- I have to tell you, I've noticed you put this in front of me.

- I did, because you're going to make the shortcake.

- Okay, walk me through it.

- All right.

- First things first.

- You're going to put the baking powder - and the salt into the flour.

- Okay.

- Then you're going to use your whisk - and you're going to give that a really good whisk.

- Not out of the bowl, obviously.

[LAUGHTER] - Okay, I can't color outside the lines.

- Well, not on this one.

- Not on this one.

- This is baking, - Especially, I'll end up wearing it.

- Okay.

- Perfect, that looks great.

- Okay.

- And then the next thing you're to do is you're going to - cut in the butter.

- You got it.

- I've actually heard that term before.

- And you're actually going to do it?

- This is our pastry cutter.

- All right.

- You're a natural.

- Hey... [LAUGHTER] - I didn't have to tell you anything.

- Put this on my resume.

All right.

- That looks great.

- Okay, - I think it's ready for the milk.

- All right.

- You're going to pour in the milk, - and you're just going to give it a stir with a fork - just until everything is moist.

- All right.

- Gently, so we don't make a mess.

- We don't want to overwork it.

- Right.

- Yeah, but you can get that incorporated in there.

- That's good.

- So it's a pretty dry dough.

- It's, well, you've got a lot of butter in there, don't worry.

- That's right.

I forgot.

- Okay.

- I think that looks great.

If you want to turn that out - onto your prepared surface there.

- Let me get my hands a little floury first.

- Aren't you glad you wore black?

- I'm so happy I wore black.

- But I'll just have to keep my hands over here.

- All right.

- All right.

- So going to pour that out, - and then you're going to give it a knead for about, - I don't know, 15 seconds or so just till you can form - a nice six inch biscuit.

- Okay.

[MUSIC] - This is looking promising.

- Yeah.

- Now give it a knead and just kind of push the heel - of your hand in there a little bit.

- So once you have that shaped into the biscuit that you want, - you're going to go put it in the pan.

- I've got some parchment in there.

- Perfect.

- You can scrape that... there you go.

- All right.

[MUSIC] - I'm just going to fold those over.

- Okay.

- See if I can pick this up.

- You got it.

- Excellent.

- And all that's left is to put it in the oven.

- All right.

- All right.

- Now it's time to make the asparagus and sauce.

- So I've got my steaming water here bubbling.

- We're going to go ahead and put the asparagus in.

- We'll pop a lid on that and let it do its thing for 3 minutes.

- Perfect.

- All right, our 3 minutes is up.

- Smells so good.

- I know.

- And look at how nice and green it is.

- It's beautiful.

- So bright.

- All right, so what do we do next?

- Excellent question.

- We are going to now take this - and we're going to strain the water out - because we're going to use the water that we cooked it in.

- Oh, okay.

- Right.

- That's what's going to help us make our sauce.

- So you get all of the asparagus flavor in it.

- You get all the things you need.

- So we're just going to strain that all out.

- Okay.

- And obviously, we're going to reserve our asparagus.

- And put that over there with you.

- Right.

Okay.

- And then I'm going to grab this, - get my burner back on.

- And we're going to pour in two tablespoons of butter, - and get that melted down.

- Okay.

- Creating the base for our sauce.

- Correct.

- And then we've got two tablespoons of flour.

- So we're making a roux.

- We are making a roux, yep.

[MUSIC] - I'll go ahead and put that in there.

- As that starts to melt, - this will start to cook.

[MUSIC] - All right, we are ready to start adding the water slowly.

- And watch the sauce come together - A little bit at a time.

- That's nice, though, because it gives it a - good, thick consistency.

- Correct.

- This is a very thick sauce.

- Let that go.

- But it infuses all of that asparagus flavor.

- All that asparagus...let me boil that up a little bit.

- All right, now I'm going to add in some lemon zest.

- Okay, brighten it up a little bit.

- yeah, and because of the icebox, we can have lemons up here.

- That's right.

- Because the transport, they were able to handle that.

- I'm going to hand you that, and I'm going to give you that too.

- Sure.

- All right.

- So I'll whisk that in real quick - and Ken, if you don't mind, can you pour the asparagus back in?

- Absolutely.

- Let me see if I can do this without splashing anybody.

- You got it, look at you, you are a natural.

- All right, there we go.

- I know.

- So we're going to, actually, I will take that little spatula back.

- Yep.

- And I'm going to give this a nice stir.

- Doesn't that look great.

- It smells amazing.

- And as if that wasn't enough, - I was wondering what you were going to do with the rest of that butter.

- We're going to gloss the sauce.

- All right.

- And while I do that, I think I'm ready for the biscuit.

- Okay.

- All right, there's our biscuit, already cut in half.

- That's perfect.

- We need to cut it so that we can put the recipe together, right?

- That's right, so away we go.

- So we're going to put half of this in here.

- I know, we're going to let it slide on down, - and then the rest is going on the top.

- All right, let me close it up for you.

- Let's get that in the middle.

- Okay.

[LAUGHTER] - There you go.

[MUSIC] - Okay, now on to the Peach Divinity Icebox pie.

Yum.

- Yum.

- It sounds amazing.

- It is amazing.

[LAUGHTER] - All right, how do we get started?

- All right.

- First, our base is going to have some eggs and sugar, okay?

- Okay.

- And we are going to get those cooking in a double boiler, - Mm hmm.

- while beating them constantly.

- Now, I've got some simmering water here.

- We are going to put this bad boy in, - and we're going to do this for 5 to 6 minutes.

- Okay.

[SOUND OF HAND MIXER] - And there we have it.

- Yeah, it's really changed texture.

- It has.

- And it's going to continue because we're going to do this - for eight more minutes off the heat.

- Oh, okay.

- All right.

[SOUND OF HAND MIXER] - All right.

- I see ribbons.

- You do see ribbons.

- So that means it is time to add the gelatin.

- Okay.

- So we're going to dissolve our gelatin with the boiling water.

- Okay.

- And you're going to want to whisk that up until - that is completely dissolved.

- I'm going to slide this.

- Yeah, so I don't end up with gelatin in the pie.

- Oh, this really happens quickly.

- It does, that's what I'm saying.

- So you are going to stir stir stir - until that is completely dissolved.

- And then as I turn this on, you're going to pour this in.

- You got it.

- You ready?

- I'm ready.

- Three, two, one.

[SOUND OF HAND MIXER] - We're going to give this a minute.

- All right, so that should be well incorporated.

- You've got your gelatin all mixed in.

- I think we are good to go with our... - And I will deal with this.

- Thank you, heavy lifting.

How do you say?

Yeah.

- And now it is time to fold in - our Peach Jam.

- And we're also going to add a pinch of salt.

- Of course.

- Of course, I'm learning.

- But you know what, I want to put this in here - so you can actually see what's happening.

[MUSIC] - Get all of that.

I know, isn't that crazy.

- Look at the color.

- It's making my mouth water.

- Yeah.

- The color is amazing.

- It's hard to believe it gets that light.

- I'll hand that off to you.

- So we're just going to gently fold this in, - just keep cutting.

- All right, - I think it's time to fold in the whipped cream.

- Okay.

- I'm not going to use all of that.

I put some extra in there, - because I want to put some on top.

- So I'll start a little bit at a time - and we'll see how this works.

- It's going to just get really fluffy.

- All right, we are ready for the pie crust.

- Oh good, all right, let me move these.

- There you go.

So tell me about this pie crust.

- I see there's something special on there.

- There is.

- I have some glorious seedless raspberry jam that I melted down - and spread out here - because I love raspberries and peaches together.

- Let's go ahead and fill this.

- I know, right.

- Here, let me hold that for you.

- Thank you.

- Scrape it on in, all of it.

- Yeah, don't leave any in the bowl.

- I know, whoops wait.

- There's some in the bowl.

- Thank you.

- You're welcome.

- Let's just spread this evenly.

- Actually, if you've got a... - You know what?

What am I talking about?

- I got fingers, they're clean.

- All right, my friend.

- And we are going to... - Can I taste it?Of course you can.

- Of course you can.

- It's not completely set up yet, but we have a few things of peaches - Okay.

- So this is where we start to layer our peaches all the way around.

- This is where the artistry comes in.

- Yeah.

- So I like them a little bit thinner, but these are lovely.

[MUSIC] - In looking at America's ice trade, Libby had literally - thousands of recipes to choose from.

- However, since we only have time for one more, - she said, without question, it had to be this one.

- But you decided to go back to something from Thomas Jefferson?

- I did.

- Yeah.

- And I did that because I know who really cared about food.

- Yeah?

[LAUGHTER] - And one of those people is Thomas Jefferson.

- He was a true epicurean, and he loved ice cream.

- Jefferson served ice cream - several times at the White House.

- And guests would go - to those dinners, go home, - write in their journals, write to their friends - so that we have a written record that Jefferson - served ice cream frequently, often in something - very similar to a profiterole -- in a puff pastry.

- So you had the warm pastry on the outside and the cold - ice cream in the middle, and people couldn't believe it.

- They thought it was a miracle.

- So this recipe right here has a little vanilla in it.

- Okay.

- And it's just what we would call today, plain vanilla.

- But back then, ooh, vanilla.

- Yeah.

- See what I mean?

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Vanilla used to be a very expensive flavor.

- It was more common to use rose.

- We don't think of rose ice cream very often.

- I think it would be intriguing.

- But this is vanilla and it's very simple.

- So I'm curious, what makes this recipe special then?

- Why is it worth doing?

- Yes, you can buy ice cream.

- Yeah.

- You will be able to taste the genesis - of why ice cream itself took hold and became - a national phenomenon for the next 200 years.

- I think it gives you a taste - of the past that we can't just buy in any store.

As Libby just mentioned, in colonial times, rose was far more commonly used than vanilla.

- What does rose ice cream taste like?

- I'm about to find out, as Leslie surprises me.

We're about to make both flavors.

- Good.

Let's get started.

- Let's go.

- All right.

- Cup of sugar - Cup of sugar.

- in your pot.

- Got it.

- A quart of cream.

- Okay.

- So we're going to pour that in.

- So this is low fat, is what you're telling me?

[LAUGHTER] - You're so funny.

- All right, - we're going to light our burners and grab your whisk.

- I got my whisk, let's go.

- And we're going to go.

Oh, put your vanilla bean in.

- Oh, yeah, we want to infuse that.

- And my special spice prior to the rosewater - is going to be cardamom.

- You know, spice trade.

- Yeah.

- We're going to get that in there.

- So right now we are going to just go - until we get some bubbles and this gets heated on the side.

- Turn this off?

- I got bubbles.

- You got bubbles.

- I got bubbles.

- Great.

So we're gonna put this down for a second...actually.

- Yes.

- I see.

I'm watching you.

- We are going to temper the eggs.

- How much are you going to take?

- We are going to have to... - I'm going to take a ladle at a time.

- I'm going to do two full ladles.

- But grab your whisk again, because you're going to stir this in.

- Ready?

- I got to change hands.

- Oh yeah, I know, it's crazy.

- Hold on.

Okay, yep.

I'm ready.

- All right.

And don't worry, - if a vanilla bean ends up in there, that's okay.

- Okay, tempering the eggs.

- Tempering the eggs.

- Another one.

- Oh, that looks great.

- Look at that great color.

- Mm hmm.

- All right, are we tempered - We're tempered.

- So, before we go ahead and put these in here, - we're going to put a little pinch of salt - Okay.

- In each one.

We're gonna bring out that sugar flavor.

- Okay.

- And then we are going to take - and we're going to whisk these back in.

- All right.

- Ready?

- Following your lead here.

- I like this.

- It's like choreography.

- Yep.

- Synchronized cooking.

[LAUGHTER] - All right, I'm going to turn the flame back on - for a little bit, and we're going to thicken this.

- Okay.

Actually, I'm going to - hand that to you, we're going to get that out of the way.

- We're going to move this salt out of the way.

- Yeah, we get ice cream to make here.

- We've got some straining to do, too.

- Oh, yeah, that's right.

- Yeah.

So.

- All right.

- I think we're thickened.

- Yeah, I can feel the difference in the texture.

- Let's cut the heat.

- All right.

- And it's time to strain these.

- Ah, okay.

- All right.

- We're going to start with yours - Okay.

- because we're just going to use the one strainer.

- All right.

- Go ahead, sir.

- All right.

- Pour away.

- Do this very carefully.

- I don't want to burn you.

- Oh gosh, look at that.

- That is so beautiful.

- Isn't that gorgeous.

- Where's my bean?

There's my bean.

- And we just want to get those little tiny cooked egg parts out.

- All right.

- Yeah.

So we did.

- All right, let me move that.

- Let's set that there for a moment - Yep.

- because we're going to do mine.

- Okay, let me hold it for you.

- Thank you.

Sir.

- You're welcome.

- Actually, my handles are a little hot, so.

- Yeah, don't bring yourself.

- Thank you.

- We managed to make it this far.

- Oh gosh, smell that.

- That's amazing.

With all the cardamom there.

- I know.

Now mine has a little bit of added - ingredient before we're ready for that.

- Oh, really?

- You're getting fancy.

- I'm getting fancy -- rosewater.

- Ah.

- And then I just want to get this zest in to here.

- This is, you know, ice box.

- Now we get oranges.

- That's right.

- Certainly fits the theme.

- I'll give this a good little whisk.

- Well incorporated.

- Ooh.

- Smell that.

- Yeah, it smells terrific.

- All right, we're ready for the freezer.

- Okay.

- So there is more work to be done.

- Oh, really?

- Just because it's in the freezer, that's not it.

- Okay.

- So we are going to take that out - every 45 minutes and we're going to whisk it - to beat up all of those ice crystals - and really get it incorporated and keep that ice cream light.

- That's where you get the smoother texture.

- So I took the liberty of doing this at home using the exact same recipes we did today.

- And, you know, speaking of recipes, - this is Thomas Jefferson's recipe.

- And let me tell you, this is a super premium, my friends.

- Well, you know, he was an epicurean - and he could afford the best of the best.

- Yeah, you need not mix this into sodas or mix this into anything.

- This is an eat on your own, maybe a cookie on the side.

- Excuse my fingers.

- No, not at all.

- You know, we want to get out all of that ice creamy goodness.

- I'm looking at the texture of this ice cream as well.

- Unbelievable.

- - It's beautiful.

- It is just extraordinary.

- Yeah, you know, I like a little zhuzh.

[LAUGHTER] - My favorite time of day.

- I know.

Mine, too.

- We get to taste all of this - that you've been slaving over all day.

- And we're going to start with this one, - because I know you're a skeptic.

- I expressed some skepticism to Libby - when she was describing it to me, and I... - I still think it's an odd recipe.

- But when you were cooking it today, I have to tell you, - it smelled amazing.

- You're right.

- I know.

- I love that the asparagus is still bright and crunchy.

- Right.

- It has some texture.

- It's just blanched.

- It's not overcooked, nope.

- It's not a mush.

- But the biscuit is outstanding.

- And the thing that really strikes me here is that - these are leftovers.

- They're leftovers.

- Or it can be leftovers.

- Or items in your pantry, it's what you have at home.

- You didn't have to go shopping necessarily to make this dish.

- Not at all.

- And it's, I have to say it, delicious.

[LAUGHTER] - All right.

- Moving on, we've got this beauty.

- Oh, that is just gorgeous.

- I just happen to have some precut slices here for us.

- Look at that.

- I don't want to waste time.

- I've been waiting for this one.

- I got to be honest with you.

- I know, just look at that.

- Got to get that perfect bite.

- Yeah, it's good.

- I love this.

- Mm hmm.

- That ginger snap crust with the raspberry on top of it.

- Mm hmm.

- Ginger goes so well with the peach and the raspberry.

- Oh, it's like they're made for each other.

- Perfection.

- I love that this is a cold dessert.

- I was just going to say, you don't have to get - your kitchen hot by baking something.

- No, because we didn't bake the crust.

- Everything was done on the stove, the little bit that we did - and then you pop it in the fridge.

- Oh, delicious.

- Mm hmm.

Ready for ice cream?

- Who isn't ready for ice cream?

[LAUGHTER] - Tada!

- All right, here we go.

- The big taste test.

- This is the famous vanilla.

- Mm hmm.

- I don't think I've ever had ice cream this good.

- It's so rich, so creamy, - It's spectacular.

- literally creamy.

- But it only has four ingredients.

- I know.

However, you're not done.

- Let me taste.

- You gotta, - you have to.

- Wow.

- So I make you a believer in rosewater?

- You made me a rosewater believer.

[LAUGHTER] You often hear that long ago when mankind learned to harness fire people's lives changed for the better.

I think long from now you'll hear that when mankind learn to harness ice, people's lives changed for the better, too.

See you next time.

All of today's recipes are available on our website, DriveByHistoryEats.org.

Made possible by the New Jersey Historical Commission, enriching the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.