FROSTBITE

From the New Yorker writer and co-author of one of the best books of 2021 (Until Proven Safe) comes this riveting narrative non-fiction work, in the tradition of Michael Pollan, that reveals how the humble refrigerator transformed our entire relationship with food - for better and for worse.

How often do we open the refrigerator or peer into the freezer with the expectation that we'll find something fresh and ready to eat? It's an everyday act, easily taken for granted, but just a century ago, eating food that had been refrigerated was cause for excitement. Banquets were held just so guests could eat eggs, butter, and apples that had been held in cold storage for almost a year, or marvel at frozen chicken and fish. And why wouldn't they?

It took generations of scientists to establish where cold came from, and the introduction of artificial refrigeration quickly overturned millennia of dietary history, opening the door to an entirely new chapter in human nutrition. We could now overcome not just rot, but also seasonality and geography. Tomatoes in January? Avocados in Shanghai? All possible.

Nicola Twilley explores deep into the unseen landscape of artificial cold - from meticulously calibrated refrigerated shipping containers to subterranean cheese caves and banana-ripening rooms - investigating the impact of refrigeration on not only how food tastes, but where it comes from, where it's sold, and how it's consumed.

We've reaped the benefits for almost 100 years, our appetites unbound by the natural limitations of seasonality, geography, and decay. The costs, too, are catching up with us. We've eroded our connection to our food, by extending the distance between producers and consumers and redefining what "fresh" really means. More importantly, artificial refrigeration makes a substantial contribution to global warming. FROSTBITE makes the case for smarter solutions - which our future may depend on.

Nicola Twilley is co-host of the award-winning Gastropod podcast, which looks at food through the lens of history and science. Her first book, Until Proven Safe: The History and Future of Quarantine, was co-authored with Geoff Manaugh and was named one of the best books of 2021 by Time Magazine, NPR, the Guardian, and the Financial Times. She is a contributing writer at The New Yorker.