Sugar and Sweetness Is there a universal desire for sweetness?

Social sweetness The “Sweet Life” - the good life Sweethearts Sweet = character and state of being “Sweet” as an experience of something good and desirable

What are main sources of sweetness? Honey - bee products sugar cane - refined, molasses sugar beet - last century High Fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

The rise of sucrose Sugar is added to fatty foods to create “Go-Away” (describes texture of food) Peanut butter = worst go-away add 10% sugar by weight

Food Texture= mouth feel Sugar increases viscosity- makes, gummy, thicker Substitute gums for sugar to create mouth feel

How is most sugars consumed? (world over average consump. = 10%) add to carbohydrates –millet, rice, other starches add to bitter beverages –cold or hot, tea, coffee, chocolate –SWEET TEA add to bitter food to make sweet –tomato, peanut, guava

Saccharum officinarum Sugar cane is a grass domesticated in New Guinea B.C. to Philippines to India by 6000 B.C. Greek and Roman limited use Arab traders to Mediterranean by A.D

SUGAR from Luxury to a Necessity Sugar originally had medicinal use too expensive for food Later is a spice (not sugar and spice) a rare commodity add to meat dishes Decoration - display by royalty only royals could afford = black teeth

Columbus carried sugarcane on 2nd journey to Santo Domingo later throughout Caribbean and Brazil –by 1650 large-scale production later to Pacific islands, esp. Hawaii

Native population decline and importation of slave labor

How do you make sugar?

After Harvest Crush cane and fiber –release juice –use animal powered crushers, now mechanical Heat liquid to increase evaporation –becomes thicker supersaturated = crystals will appear –crystals are brown –uncrystallized liquid = molasses, treacle, blackstrap (used for alcohol) Purify through refining to get white pure sucrose (remove molasses)

Cane – after harvest is pressed

Jamaica train

Panocha Jaggery Non-centrifugal, less refined

Sugar evaporation

Turbinado Demerara

Sugar production Extremely labor intensive could not have produce on large-scale without importation of slave labor English, Dutch, French in the Caribbean = greater sugar production than Spaniards Environmental consequences – fuelwood, monocropping

Sugar becomes affordable and necessary England - sugar production increased 2500% in 150 years by 1850 most consumers = Europeans Added to beverages - tea, coffee, chocolate

Tea and Sugar British tea tradition est. mid-1700s Tea for working class = quick energy use > jam, puddings

Industrial Revolution and Diet Bread, jam, and hot beverage with sugar

High Tea

Sugar = medicine - spice - decoration – food with human cost in past and today

Modern consequences? Brutal to produce – labor Horrible for diet