What did the Europeans use before sugar?

honey
Before sugar became known, our ancestors ate honey, dates and other sweet foods, which they also used as sweeteners. We know this from writings and reliefs from ancient Mediterranean cultures. Honey is our oldest known sweetener.

Did they have sugar in medieval Europe?

Sugar cane was first grown extensively in medieval Southern Europe during the period of Arab rule in Sicily beginning around the 9th century. In addition to Sicily, Al-Andalus (in what is currently southern Spain) was an important center of sugar production, beginning by the tenth century.

What was used in cakes before sugar?

Truly modern cakes did not emerge until baking powder became available: It was not until the middle of the 19th century that cake as we know it today (made with extra refined white flour and baking powder instead of yeast) arrived on the scene. A brief history of baking powder.

When was sugar introduced Europe?

Sugar was only discovered by western Europeans as a result of the Crusades in the 11th Century AD. Crusaders returning home talked of this “new spice” and how pleasant it was. The first sugar was recorded in England in 1099.

What natural food did prehistoric people use as a sweetener?

Archaeologists Have Found Traces of Beeswax in Ancient African Pots, Suggesting It Was Used as a Sweetener 3,500 Years Ago. Honey was the first sweetener in human history.

When was sugar first used in England?

Sugar first came to England in the 11th century, brought back by soldiers returning from the Crusades in what is now the Middle East. Over the next 500 years it remained a rarefied luxury, until Portuguese colonists began producing it at a more industrial level in Brazil during the 1500s.

What desserts did they eat in medieval times?

-sweet dishes : pudding, tarts, crustards, patties, wafers, doughnuts, pancakes, marzipan cakes (almond cakes), compotes, creams and fruit cooked in hyppocras. -salt dishes custards, tarts, cheese pies (marzipan turnovers), doughnuts (ancestors to ravioli) wheat foods to go with the meats, venisons.

What candy did they have in medieval times?

These included rock candy, sugar scented with roses or violets, sugar from Damascus, Bablyon and the Genoese port of Caffa in the Crimea. Pegolotti lists sugar with descriptions of spices, and indeed it was classified as a spice in the medieval period.

What sweets did ancient Egyptians eat?

The festival dessert menu basically consisted of raising bread, sweet bread, fried pastries, honey cakes, and sweetmeats. Ancient Egyptians did not use sugar. Instead, desserts were sweetened using dates and honey.

What was used before white sugar?

Have you ever wondered how medieval people sweetened their dishes? In the West, honey was the prime sweetener before the introduction of sugar. But even when Europeans gained access to sugar in the High Middle Ages, it was reserved to the wealthy.

What was sugar used for in the 1700s?

Sugar wasn’t just a luxury commodity. It served as the chief form of currency on Barbados (slaves and servants were paid for in pounds of sugar) and fuelled British colonization in the Caribbean. Colonial Barbados was at the centre of the sugar trade going back to the mid-17th century and was known as the Sugar Island.

Who first brought sugar to England?

What is the history of sugar in Europe?

Between 1096 – 1099, Crusaders returned to Europe from the Holy Land with prizes of sugar, which they called “sweet salt.” Around 1390, advanced sugar presses were developed, doubling the amount of juice that could be obtained from sugar cane. Sugar was cultivated for large-scale refinement for the first time in Madeira between 1455 – 1480.

What did our ancestors eat before sugar?

Before sugar became known, our ancestors ate honey, dates and other sweet foods, which they also used as sweeteners. We know this from writings and reliefs from ancient Mediterranean cultures. Honey is our oldest known sweetener. In the Arãna caves in Spain, 12,000 year-old cave paintings show women collecting honey.

How did sugar become so popular in the New World?

Sugar cultivation in the New World. The heightened demand and production of sugar came about to a large extent due to a great change in the eating habits of many Europeans. For example, they began consuming jams, candy, tea, coffee, cocoa, processed foods, and other sweet victuals in much greater amount.

What caused the sugar market to boom in the 1800s?

The sugar market went through a series of booms. The heightened demand and production of sugar came about to a large extent due to a great change in the eating habits of many Europeans. For example, they began consuming jams, candy, tea, coffee, cocoa, processed foods, and other sweet victuals in much greater amounts.