Sugar-Plums and Sherbet: The Prehistory of Sweets (None) [Paperback]

Laura Mason (Author)

Book Description

Series: None | Publication Date: October 1, 2003

This excellent study of the ingenuity of sugar boiling and the manufacture of those intriguing avatars of childhood happiness: the humbug, the gobstopper, the peardrop and the stick of rock is now published in paperback. As well as a history, it is also a recipe book, with twenty tried and tested methods for sweets ancient and modern. The byways of knowledge that are illuminated make this so rewarding. There have been studies of modern-day sweeties and their immediate antecedents, but this goes further back, to the late Middle Ages. As much as a history of sweets, it is also a study of sugar and its place in our early diet.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Laura Mason is also the author of Traditional Foods of Britain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Prospect Books (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903018285
• ISBN-13: 978-1903018286
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Fascinating, March 31, 2005

By 

Chef Leo (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Sugar-Plums and Sherbet: The Prehistory of Sweets (None) (Paperback)

Sugar-Plums and Sherbet is not a quick read, but it's a fascinating one. The author goes into the history, chemistry, and early manufacture of sugar candies in Britain, and even includes a few recipes for unusual treats. This book is full of facts you probably never knew. (For example: Sugar was considered a medicine when it first arrived in Britain. Or: some people boycotted sugar when slave labor was used to produce it.)

Anyone who is interested in food history will love this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars sugar history not short and sweet, December 23, 2011

By 

Carl W. Sedon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Sugar-Plums and Sherbert Hb (Hardcover)

This is for anyone who is interested in how we got from there to here; in other words the history contianed in this beautiful book is still connected to our current consumption of sweets and our not-too-distant-memory of the neighborhood candy store and variety store. A wonderful journey back in time that of course does mention R. Dahl and the Willi Wonka era. a must read for cooks, writers, artists; in fact anyone not interested in the homogenized, mundane or commonplace. buy this and you will be amused. entertained and enlightened.

3.0 out of 5 stars A bit disjointed, December 21, 2011

By 

alysten - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sugar-Plums and Sherbet: The Prehistory of Sweets (None) (Paperback)

I liked that the author separated sugar types by topics. However I found the chronological ordering within each chapter to be a bit confusing. The author seemed to jump back and forth in the time line in several chapters, stringing together unlikely groupings of subtopics. I was hoping for more historical accounting and recipes. I would say this is a good primer for an introduction to sweets, but is not very in depth.