hi! you'd really need to zero in on a region and/or time period to get a meaningful answer, but meanwhile, catch up on these previous discussions

• Before electricity, was it possible to make or get ice in warmer climates?

• How available was ice in medieval/renaissance times?

• In kingdom of heaven you can see at one point salahadin's servant open a box with ice, was it really possible to have ice at that time in the dessert?

• How was ice acquired before the invention of the freezer, and was it commonly used as it is today?

• When did ice become commonly available to the average person?

• How was ice made before we had freezers?

• What was the technique for harvesting ice on the Great Lakes for iceboxes/traincars, etc...

• What kind of access (if any) did people from warm climates in the past (your period) have to ice?

• How was ice maintained frozen before modern refrigeration?

• When did commercial refrigeration become widespread and how did restaurants store perishable food like meat before refrigeration became widespread?

• How did food preservation techniques in the pre-Industrial era evolve?

edit: fixed a few link titles