Other editions of book Sugar: A Global History

It’s no surprise that humankind’s love affair with sugar stretches back over millennia. The addictive sweetener originated in New Guinea around 8,000 bc and quickly spread throughout India, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. By the tenth century it had become the European obsession and soon afterwards a major export of American colonies. Today sugar is grown around the world and is a main component of sweets, cakes, and soft drinks, as well as of pasta sauce and peanut butter – despite their savoury nature. Sugarcane and sugar beets are two of the most important global commodities, but they are also controversial for their high doses of carbohydrates and lack of nutritional quality. Over-consumption of sugar is associated with many chronic diseases and is a major cause of obesity.Sugar: A Global History explores sugar’s reputation as one of the most beloved yet most reviled substances that humans consume. Andrew F. Smith’s compelling history of the infamous ingredient is peopled with determined adventurers, relentless sugar barons and greedy plantation owners, alongside plant breeders, food processors and politicians. Smith combines historical context with the gripping stories of those who have benefited and suffered because of sugar, and he analyzes mankind’s convoluted love-hate relationship with the sweetener that has such a powerful hold over us.This delightful and surprisingly action-packed book offers a layered and definitive tale of sugar, and is perfect for culinary students, food critics, chefs, or anyone who loves to bake and eat sweet treats.

It’s no surprise that sugar has been on our minds for millennia. First cultivated in New Guinea around 8,000 B.C.E., this addictive sweetener has since come to dominate our appetites—whether in candy, desserts, soft drinks, or even pasta sauces—for better and for worse. In this book, Andrew F. Smith offers a fascinating history of this simultaneously beloved and reviled ingredient, holding its incredible value as a global commodity up against its darker legacies of slavery and widespread obesity. As Smith demonstrates, sugar’s past is chockfull of determined adventurers: relentless sugar barons and plantation owners who worked alongside plant breeders, food processors, distributors, and politicians to build a business based on our cravings. Exploring both the sugarcane and sugar beet industries, he tells story after story of those who have made fortunes and those who have met demise all because of sugar’s simple but profound hold on our palates. Delightful and surprisingly action-packed, this book offers a layered and definitive tale of sugar and the many people who have been caught in its spell—from barons to slaves, from chefs to the countless among us born with that insatiable devil, the sweet tooth.

Sugar is one of the most beloved substances consumed by humans, and also one of the most reviled. It has come to dominate our diets - whether in candy, desserts, soft drinks or even bread and pasta sauces - for better and for worse. This fascinating history of this addictive ingredient reveals its incredible value as a global commodity and explores its darker legacies of slavery and widespread obesity.Sugar's past is chock-full of determined adventurers: relentless sugar barons and plantation owners who worked alongside plant breeders, food processors, distributors and politicians to build a business based on our cravings. Exploring both the sugar cane and sugar beet industries, Andrew F. Smith tells story after story of those who have made fortunes and those who have met their demise because of sugar's simple but profound hold on our palates. Delightful and surprisingly action-packed, this book offers a layered and definitive tale of sugar and the many people who have been caught in its spell, from barons to slaves, and from chefs to the countless among us born with that insatiable devil - the sweet tooth.