| User | kanu | | Topic | Historical Update | | Message | I have no idea how well known are the following facts. I always thought that marmalade, jelly etc. were very old inventions, but they are actually quite recent and, curiously enough, a consequence of the Protestant Reformation. Before Luther there was no need for sugar in Europe, because there was an overproduction of honey. This traditional sweetener was a by-product of the apiaries, the main function of which was the production of wax for candles. This product was a monopoly of the Catholic monasteries and convents. Wherever these were closed or abolished, there emerged a market for something that, up to that time, had been a scarce luxury (that came originally from India): sugar. Coincidentally, the discovery and conquest of a New World in the tropics opened up the possibilities for the large scale production of sugar. I don’t know if it is possible to make marmalade with the help of honey, but sugar surely became the ideal component for the preservation of fruits. Another by-product of the Reformation, due to the newly created scarcity of honey and widespread availability of sugar-cane, was obviously the large scale production of rum and other sugar-cane brandies like the Brazilian cachaça. Earlier brandies were mostly made of wine and, being quite expensive, were consumed only once in a while by aristocrats and the royalty. As soon spirits became cheap, alcoholism reached an entirely new and much, much higher level all around the world.
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| User | kanu | 2006-06-15 | | | Subject | untitled | | Message | And drunkards says that religion is a source of bitter influence in society |
| User | kanu | 2006-06-15 | | | Subject | untitled | | Message | And drunkards says that religion is a source of bitter influence in society |
| User | Blue Monk | 2006-06-15 | | | Subject | untitled | | Message | A truly sweet story, thanks. |
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