CHEESE KEEPER
Datec. 1930s
Dimensions11 x 14 x 14 cm
Object numberHF.2016.31.5 A-B
DescriptionClear glass container with a clear glass lid. The lid of the container has a circular knob in the center as well as raised text. The bottom of the container has ridges extending from the walls toward the center. The ridges are of varying length with one longer ridge and two shorter ridges on each side. Narrative
As more people moved from ice-boxes to electrical refrigerators starting in the 1930s, many companies developed accessories, such as refrigerator dishes, to go along with them. Electrical refrigeration dried out food more than an ice-box so having a somewhat air-tight container helped to keep food fresh for longer.
This dish is specifically dedicated to cheese and embossed on the lid is a recipe for some kind of vinegar/salt preservation mixture. Complaints came about this particular cheese preserver, mainly the growth of mold on the cheese. The interior of the dish has a high moisture content from the cheese, vinegar/salt solution and any condensation which formed on the underside of the lid so the cheese went off faster and sometimes had a faint taste of vinegar. The Sanitary Cheese Preserver was on the market for around 25 years until the early 1950s.
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