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I've taken apart a peltier cooling box to salvage the peltier element and also found this thing. The block seems to be plain aluminum, I'm interested in the cylindrical thing at the bottom.
The peltier element was placed on top of the block, the inside of the fridge was below. The heat shrink on the left of the block is just isolation, there is no wire going in or out.
It's a thermostat, originally known by the Klixon (now Sensata) name. They are based on a bimetallic disk, which is why they are cylindrical.
Some types have a reset switch (a button in the center of the hidden side in your photo) and do not automatically reset, but most are simple thermostats with a fairly wide (maybe 5 to 15 degrees C) hysteresis. Below is a photo of a resettable type with mounting ears from this website:
They are rather common in consumer appliances- cheap, simple and rugged.
I think Bimetallic Thermostat is the proper term. These use two metals with different expansion, so the bands made from these bend at certain temperatures. I guess this part is cylindrical because the band is rolled up inside. But it's hard to tell from this picture.
