How refrigeration transformed our palates and our supply chain

We didn’t, for example, have time to talk about Jon Steinberg, who runs a website called Check Their Fridge, which promises to predict what it would be like to date someone based on the contents of their refrigerator. Peering inside people’s refrigerators is a staple of modern internet discourse, of course, from early tumblrs and blogs to mid-era food media publications, to modern day TikTok where wellness influencers proudly show off their “what’s in my fridge” reels.

But refrigerator contents, even from content creators, wellness gurus and celebrity chefs, are oftentimes aspirational; what you’ll primarily find inside people’s refrigerators, says Twilley, is future food waste. “It’s all too often a shameful food graveyard, filled with moldy berries and long-expired yogurt,” she notes.

This is just one of the many ironies or double-edged swords that Twilley uncovers in her deeply researched book. Refrigeration brings us the opportunity to try a greater variety of foods, but ends up contributing to a reduction in biodiversity, for example. It also presents the possibility of extending the life of our perishables — in a way, stopping time — but then ends up encouraging us to overbuy, and throw away, more than 30 percent of our food supply.

Learn more about the fascinating past and uncertain future of refrigeration by listening to Twilley’s conversation with FoodPrint director and “What You’re Eating” host, Jerusha Klemperer.