Book report on a cookbook related to the culinary industry

Sugar and Power:

The Sweet History of Sugar in the Modern Era

Chef's Name

"The story can be summed up in a few sentences," asserts Sydney Mintz, Professor at Johns Hopkins University, "in 1000 A.D., few Europeans knew of the existence of sucrose, or cane sugar. But soon afterward they learned about it; by 1650 in England the nobility and the wealthy had become inveterate sugar eaters, and sugar figured in their medicine, literacy, imagery and displays of rank" (Mintz, 1985). Mintz goes on to say that "by no later than 1800, sugar had become a necessity- albeit a costly and rare one- in the diet of every English person, by 1900 it was supply nearly one-fifth of the calories in the English diet" (Mintz, 1985). The history of sugar, as captured by this short excerpt from Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History, illuminates the evolution of sugar and provides insight on how sugar has become such a staple of the diet in today's world.

Foremost, the premise of the book is the detailed exploration of sugar through history- and how that further impacted the food and cultural dynamics that comprised society's, essentially emphasizing the power that food has come to have in society. The history of sugar is fascinating but how that serves as an agent in the world's social history is even more fascinating. How did such a simple product become such a necessity in food diets in modern times? How did sugar come to be an item in, more or less, every household in the world? It is not often that people stop and think about how their food got to their plate and the journey that it took to get there, but this book explores something even deeper than the journey from farm to plate, the journey through history. The consumption patterns and the correlating social patterns in societies and cultures are explored in Mintz's novel.

The author wants the reader to delve deeper into the implications of such a simple product- like sugar. For a product that is quite common in people's daily lives, it seems overlooked and underexplored. The author wants the reader to explore it deeper and realize that sugar became commonplace over a period of time and also, had greater societal implications than just sweetening tea. For instance, sugar in the colonial world was seen as a special luxury that was acquired from the western world. When British were colonizing America and other such lands, sugar was used as an agent that represented civilization, wealth and progress. In this process of colonization and the British make themselves out to be more elite and civilized than the natives; sucrose took on a role of necessity and luxury- something to be desired by those who were being colonized, something to aspire to attaining. Also, as evident by using sugar as a luxury item that was sought after by those who were not wealthy, the possession and use of sugar was seen as a status symbol. In modern day, houses, cars, jewelry and vacation homes are status symbols; but, in the historical setting, sugar was as good as a brand new luxury vehicle in modern day. British upper class, noted Mintz, used sugar as another means in which they measured their superiority to the masses (Mintz, 1985). Over time, although Britain was a major trading power, it seemed that Britain had started exporting less sugar and keeping more of the product within the country, simultaneous to this trading change, it was noted that the consumption of other foods decreased (Mintz, 1985). The idea that sucrose was proving more of a caloric lifeline to individuals was indicative of the notion that sugar was becoming more of a commonplace product in people's diets. The perceived luxury that sugar was made out to be was a status that was going increasingly weary- bringing it from something to be desired down to a very attainable product. These are all notable ideas to take into consideration, and to reflect on so that the reader become increasingly aware and becomes a more active participant in how food has an impact on the daily lives.

There is no clear conclusion of the book but rather an almost forced reflection that the author makes the reader take. The author, Mintz, in his closing pages, explores how sugar had become so engrained as a staple in the United Kingdom, and allows that to serve as a macrocosm of how sugar also developed as a staple in the United States. In his final pages, Mintz also discusses the eating patterns that the global community has experienced including, but not limited to, how society no longer eats the recommended three meals a day, the increased dependence on prepared foods and the increase in people going out to restaurants and taking out food instead of preparing it themselves. The conclusion of the book forces the reader to think about how sugar has come to be and what society has made into at present.

D. Does this book change or challenge any of your beliefs or opinions about food? If so, what?