The triumphal procession of the sugar

It took a long time until sugar stepped into the life of the people of Europe. In Greek and Roman times people only knew sweet flavoring from honey. With the assistance of honey they were able to preserve fruits and fill their stocks. In 6000 BC sugar-cane was discovered in Eastern Asia and it spread towards India and Persia around 600 BC. The Persian developed a method of extracting sugar from the cane, and the end product was in the shape of a sugar loaf. Because of the campaigns of Alexander the Great (356 - 323 v. Chr.), sugar-cane was discovered in the valley of Indus and was then introduced to the Greeks. Sugar-cane first arrived in North Africa during the propagation of Islam, and made its way to Sicilia and Andalucia in the 8th century. In the rest of Christian Europe, sugar was almost unknown.

When the Christians in 12th century undertook their crusades to conquer the Holy Land they discovered sugar-cane in Tripolis. Thenceforward sugar spead throughout Central Europe and made its victory over honey in the 14th century during the renaissance age. At first the pharmacists tried to grab this luxury product, as they had with spices. By dint of sugar they could make medicine mixtures more tasty. The main reloading point in Central Europe fell in the hands of the mighty Serenissima, and in the port of Venice the sugar arrived from the Orient. In the year 1533 the famous Catharine de Medici married her french husband Henry II and brought Italian sugar-baking and cuisine to France. From that day on a lot of creations of sugar were invented.

For example, there is lozenge (pastille, little sweets), invented by Florentine citizen Pastilla in 1600. In 1650 the roasted almond made its appearance. In the 17th century marzipan/almond paste was discovered by Franz Marzip, who founded his company in Lübeck. A fruit gum made from sugar- and honeytrecle was produced in France in the 18th century. The recipe for that originally came from the Orient. The Prussian chemist Andreas Sigismund Marggraf was successful in receiving independance from the import of the white luxury good by isolating sugar from sugar beets. In the year of 1801 the first sugar beet factory was inaugurated in Cunern/Schlesien. A fight between sugar beet and sugar-cane was inflamed, resulting in more and more factories being built. The cheaper beet replaced the sugar-cane from its leading power. Since sugar had become an every-day good in Europe, further sugar creations followed, such as dragees, liquorice bonbons, fondant and caramels. In present time a life without sugar is unthinkable, because we enjoy it as an ingredient in all kinds of meals.

This small summary was written by using these webpages: www.suedzucker.de (particial in english) www.j-rave.de (german) www.ab5zig.at (german) The book: "Bonbons und andere Süßigkeiten"/author: Annie Perrier-Robert/publishing firm: Karl Müller Verlag was also a very interesting source. If you are interested in this topic, there are more information on the pages from the German Museum in Munich or under the link sugarmuseum in Berlin.back