Sweets: A History of Temptation

Why do we like sweets so much? Why is there such an enormous variety of types? And where do they all come from? Many of the sweets we recognize today have a lineage going back hundreds of years. Sugar was first transported around the world with the exotic herbs & spices used by medieval apothecaries. The confectioner's art was at first medicinal in nature & many sweets were originally consumed for reasons of health. Other sweets came into being as elements of ritual & magic. Chocolate, for ex., was mixed with chili & used as a libation by the Aztecs. Sweets are still a feature of every human society around the world. This book tells the extraordinary story of comfits & dragees, lozenges & pastilles, sherbets & subtleties.