If you have ever traveled overseas, you may already have come across the "no ice" syndrome. That's when you order a drink in a restaurant or from a street vendor and it comes (a) in a small glass and (b) without any ice. A request for ice cubes elicits an eye roll and the response "but madame, your drink is already cold. What for do you need ice?" If you persist, they will comply (at a leisurely pace) by bringing you a glass with 2 or 3 small ice cubes in it.
The same is true in Perth, where we have found that cold drinks are rarely served with more than a couple cubes of ice, if at all. We've also noticed that a high percentage of people enjoy hot drinks with their meal instead of cold ones. Dinner guests almost never accept cold drinks when we offer, and they look at us with blank stares when we ask if they would like a glass of iced tea. Seems most Australians haven't heard of it, although you can find the odd bottle of pre-mixed tea in the grocery stores. Again, not refrigerated.
Why are there no iced drinks in Perth? Vince and I came up with a couple of theories.
In the US we have come to expect free refills in fast food joints as well as restaurants, and it is hard to imagine a place that does not serve fountain drinks. It is hard for us to imagine a watered down drink because, knowing we can have as much as we want, we load the cup with ice which means the cup will be only about one-third full of actual beverage. We can drink that long before any serious ice melting occurs.
Geographically, even the most northern American cities are south of most European cities. Boston is much warmer than London in summer, for example. And Houston is just "damn hot" as Vince says. We need ice in our cold drinks. If we're not cooling our drinks, we're using the cold glass to cool our foreheads.
This difference in approach is well illustrated in the story of my friend Cindy, who recently had reason to purchase a refrigerator for her apartment. At the appliance store she requested a refrigerator with an ice maker. The salesman showed her a model which had a small freezer with two ice cube trays. "No, no, I mean an automatic ice maker." He showed her a model which had a small freezer section, plus two ice cube trays which were attached to the freezer and which turned over to release the ice cubes into a tub. You still had to fill them manually. In exasperation, Cindy complained "look, I need an icemaker that will make lots and lots of ice. Ten trays worth at least, that refills itself and empties ice itself. Do you have such a thing?" The salesman was stumped. He looked Cindy in the eye and asked "why would you ever need so much ice?" with a huge shrug of her shoulders and an exasperated voice she said "Ice -- it's what separates us from the savages!"
Cindy eventually found a refrigerator to meet her needs. Vince and I have several plastic ice cube trays which we fill manually. We have commandeered the one drawer in our freezer and use it to hold ice. Lots of ice. Ten trays worth at least.
Tomorrow is Sunday and I'm taking a day of rest. See you back on Monday, for Day #7.
The same is true in Perth, where we have found that cold drinks are rarely served with more than a couple cubes of ice, if at all. We've also noticed that a high percentage of people enjoy hot drinks with their meal instead of cold ones. Dinner guests almost never accept cold drinks when we offer, and they look at us with blank stares when we ask if they would like a glass of iced tea. Seems most Australians haven't heard of it, although you can find the odd bottle of pre-mixed tea in the grocery stores. Again, not refrigerated.
Why are there no iced drinks in Perth? Vince and I came up with a couple of theories.
- It's a holdover from the early settlers from England. It's a jolly cold climate there much of the time, and people drink hot drinks to help them stay warm. The cool weather means that stored drinks never get that warm, hence there is no need to cool them down. Consequently, people are accustomed to having hot drinks with their meals.
- Economics. When you purchase a drink here it comes in a 250-350ml bottle (8-12 oz) and if you're in a restaurant they will give you a glass to go with it. Only a few places provide fountain drinks. They do not give free refills, so people usually make one drink last the entire meal. Adding ice would either (a) take up space which could hold more of the beverage in question, and (b) during the course of an entire meal, it can water down the drink, making it less desirable.
In the US we have come to expect free refills in fast food joints as well as restaurants, and it is hard to imagine a place that does not serve fountain drinks. It is hard for us to imagine a watered down drink because, knowing we can have as much as we want, we load the cup with ice which means the cup will be only about one-third full of actual beverage. We can drink that long before any serious ice melting occurs.
Geographically, even the most northern American cities are south of most European cities. Boston is much warmer than London in summer, for example. And Houston is just "damn hot" as Vince says. We need ice in our cold drinks. If we're not cooling our drinks, we're using the cold glass to cool our foreheads.
This difference in approach is well illustrated in the story of my friend Cindy, who recently had reason to purchase a refrigerator for her apartment. At the appliance store she requested a refrigerator with an ice maker. The salesman showed her a model which had a small freezer with two ice cube trays. "No, no, I mean an automatic ice maker." He showed her a model which had a small freezer section, plus two ice cube trays which were attached to the freezer and which turned over to release the ice cubes into a tub. You still had to fill them manually. In exasperation, Cindy complained "look, I need an icemaker that will make lots and lots of ice. Ten trays worth at least, that refills itself and empties ice itself. Do you have such a thing?" The salesman was stumped. He looked Cindy in the eye and asked "why would you ever need so much ice?" with a huge shrug of her shoulders and an exasperated voice she said "Ice -- it's what separates us from the savages!"
Cindy eventually found a refrigerator to meet her needs. Vince and I have several plastic ice cube trays which we fill manually. We have commandeered the one drawer in our freezer and use it to hold ice. Lots of ice. Ten trays worth at least.
Tomorrow is Sunday and I'm taking a day of rest. See you back on Monday, for Day #7.
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