Katie
I think this one failed to register on your facetious-meter, i.e., it could be worse, we could put ice IN our beer.
Just my $.02
Wish I could go to Europe and find stuff to complain about;)
I’m a European, sort of. Actually I’m British. Let me offer some observations.
North America, as a whole, has a warm climate compared to Europe. Denver is at the same latitude as Madrid, Spain, which is pretty hot by European standards. The (US) national appetite for ice has probably been fuelled, over time, by those regions that need it the most. There are few European regions that are hot for all the year.
Tap water is not considered potable in many European countries, and mineral water is the norm. This is often served chilled from the “fridge”.
Most European beer, “lager” light beer is served refrigerated.
British beer is often termed “warm” by Americans, but is usually served at below room temperature. Like red wine, the flavour suffers from chilling.
Many restaurant/pub cocktail drinks are served with ice.
You are still right. Few European hotels offer ice machines, sometimes a little tray in the minibar. I enjoy the availability of ice in America.
The New Yorker article I refered to was in the February 12, 2001 edition. Glancing over it again I see they do not make the connection as explicitly as I suggested.
They do say that the industry had its roots in america starting with lake ice which was exported around the world. While some of the was valued for purity the industry was really built around commercial applications that never became as popular in europe. Unlike europe, every population center in the US had ice factories. By the 50s all these companies making block ice were in trouble because of advances in refrigeration so the existing industry began investing in cube ice machines.
This produced an abundant supply of cheap, high quality, ice so people used more. It probably didn’t hurt that the ice was cheaper by volume than whatever it might have displaced.
I thought the comment about not having room was interesting. The only reason he doesn’t have room is that it isn’t a high enough priority to make room.
I seem to recall Europeans telling me that people who want ice in their drinks are only trying to mask an inferior flavour. It seemed to make sense to me that chilling a drink reduces the flavour good or bad. That is why I NEVER add ice to scotch.
My folks told me about how, on a visit they made to Germany, they were pleasantly suprised at one place they ate at to get a glass of beer that was quite cool. Dad says that they looked at another diner at the next table over and he(probably a local citizen) had just been served what was probably the same cool beer. This diner had his hands around the glass to warm it up.
Tastes vary. As a European, I did not consume very much ice, and did not see ice consumed in large quantities around me. It simply is not part of the culture, although it is not as difficult to get ice as some people on this board have indicated.
Ice can cause pain in the teeth, the rest of the mouth, the sinuses, etc. A lot of very cold water or other liquid can also cause painful gastro-intestinal upsets.
Across much of Europe food is sacrosanct in a way seldom encountered in N. America. Ice and drinks with a lot of ice in them numb the mouth and the taste buds, and are therefore not always welcome by a European enjoying a fine meal.
I wonder if ice and air conditioning usage patterns may be related. In N. America there is easy access to both ice and AC. In Europe ice and AC are just not the biggest sellers, although this has changed dramatically in the last decade. There is the argument that going from hot to cool to hot again to cool again all day long is bad for you (I don’t know if this is true, but as a child I was warned several times as I expressed my appreciation for AC).
There is also the argument that you will be more comfortable if you are able to cope with a steady temperature and cool off naturally, than if you resort to ice (which apparently causes you to generate more heat in the end) or AC (which offers relief from heat, but does nothing to acclimatize you to it when you have to leave the AC zone).
As a European (having lived in France, Switzerland and Sweden, and spent a lot of time in England and Germany) I can only repeat what Abe says.
Cultural difference is the key.
The american cultural imperialism is however advancing, and most people simply accept it when McDonalds fills half the mug with ice.
As a result you nowadays get ice with your soda just about everywhere, unless you specifically ask not to have any. (Personaly I do this. I prefer chilled drinks to ice-cold, and I really dislike when the melting ice-cubes start to dillute the soda)
And if you by any chance didn’t get any ice ice, you just have to ask for it. (But please, please, don’t ask for ice with the whiskey!)
I don’t believe the availability of ice-making capacity on either side of the ocean has differed very much for the last 50 years, whereas the american taste for ice supposedly is older than so. (I have read somewhere (sorry, no cite) that Sweden exported ice to the states in the early 1900s)
Hard day at work - guess I had a sense of humour malfunction…
Wish I could take a trip to the States (or anywhere warm enough that you need drinks full of ice)
Sorry, I should have responded to this comment earlier…
How does the enviroment your drinking a beverage in come in to play here?
I, for one, know that here in Minnesota when the temperature drops below zero, the bars and restaurants do not dispense with ice in drinks -People want ice in their drinks no matter what the outside temperature might be. You’d still be looked at as strange if you ordered your beer warm, or your water at room temperature, with no ice.
Harvest of the Cold Months: A Social History of Ice and Ices. by Elizabeth David. I have it at home but haven’t read it yet, so sorry I can’t weigh in on this topic.
An amusing incident I had in germany (on a cruise down the Rhine):
Me: “may I have some ICE in my coke?”
Waiter: “No”
Me: .“why not?”
Waiter: “because it is cold enough!”
An interesting aside, back when I was working for a major North American auto company I was helping to prepare some materials on air conditioning for other parts of the world. It was very carefully explained to me that I was not to call the air coming out of the vents “cold” in the European materials – to always say “cool” instead. Cold, I was told, is simply too cold for European tastes.
I loved in northern Italy for two years. For the first six months, I lived in a Hotel. Albergo di GiGi, in fact, in Fontannafredda Italy. The gentleman who owned the place was Franco.
Franco was the host to a batch of about 20 Air Force avionics troops. We all sort of converged on his hotel at the same time. One guy went there and liked it, and made the recommendation. Poof, we all live there.
I digress.
We made it a point to drink as much wine as possible, which although chilled, wasn’t cold. Coke would be served at room temperature.
I’m an ice chewer. Love it. I get super giant size fountain drinks so that I can have a massive batch of ice to chew at my desk.
One day, I could bear it no longer, and asked Franco for ice to fill my coke. He graciously provided it, being a kind man. When he saw me literally FILL the glass with ice, his head might have spun.
“Brian, what are you DOING? Do you want to DIE?” he asks me.
When after polishing off the rest of the coke, I began to chew the ice up, I really thought he would have an aneurism. Franco was so disturbed my me eating ice, he gave me a bottle of Sans Souci beer to keep me away from the ice.
I made it a point while in Italy to go to places where Americans just didn’t go. I almost NEVER saw ice. Weird!
One day, I will tell the story of Franco and the Salt & Vinegar potato chip. That might have been the funniest thing I ever saw in my life.