Many of us have a sweet tooth .....
..... central to this love, for women in particular is, chocolate .... 'a moment on the lips, a life time on the hips', was an expression invented for the love affair with chocolate, and the damage it can cause, if taken too far.
Sugar didn't really enter the western European diet until the Middle Ages (the Crusaders brought it back as 'sweet salt'), although the Greeks and Romans were aware of Indian and Arabian sugar, which they treated as an expensive, imported medicine. So most peoples teeth were spared the anguish that it would cause them, until the later medieval period,
When refined sugar first started arriving in volume from the West Indies in the 17th century (sweetening agents had previously been only available via honey, or sugar from Sicily under Muslim rule), even though it was very expensive, those people who could afford it, consumed it till their teeth turned black, and if their teeth didn't turn black naturally, they blackened them artificially to show how wealthy and marvellously self-indulgent they were.
During the 18th century, the cost started falling, and sugar became enormously popular. Great Britain, for example, consumed five times as much sugar in 1770 as in 1710. It made up a fifth of all European imports and in the last decades of the century four-fifths of the sugar came from the British and French colonies in the West Indies. From the 1740s until the 1820s, sugar was Britain's most valuable import. The possibility of obtaining sugar locally from the roots of the commonly grown beet (aka Sugar Beet), wasn't recognised until 1600, when the French agronomist Olivier de Sererres reported 'this choice food yields a juice like sugar syrup when cooked'.
But our love of sugar and other sweeteners has grown and is now a fact ...... But its not all calories and inches on the waistline .... In fact in moderation it doesn't even have to be bad. For instance, Good News, a recent study by the university of Warwick psychologists, has shown that eating chocolate (in moderation), or drinking a glucose drink, can boost memories and feelings of well being in the over 60's. Bad News, the same boost does not occur to those aged 27 or under .... it just rots their teeth and piles on the pounds (kilograms).
Chocoholics
A stolen statue was recovered after a tip off to police in Abilene Kansas USA. The statue of a large 105 pound teddy bear had been stolen from a sweet factory a year ago .... and was covered in chocolate.
1001 Things to Do With A Mars Bar
Now I have joked before about what the Scots will do with batter and a Mars Bar .... a deep fried delicacy is what some would call it. Now Romans Pizzeria in Glasgow has joined in the fun, and has been offering a £4.50, 2,000 calorie Calzone pizza, filled with deep fired Mars bars. Nuffin more I can say .....
Willy Wonka
"A ton of chocolate" brought a local road to a standstill in Germany, according to local authorities. The road was closed in the western town of Westönnen late on Monday after a tank of chocolate in a factory spilled and poured into the street ....
..... the spillage from the DreiMeister factory solidified as it his the freezing tarmac, and formed a slipway of 10 sq m (108 sq ft). It took 25 firefighters plus factory workers, using shovels, hot water and blowtorches to clear up the mess.
We have blogged before about the great molasses tsunami of 1919 in Boston USA. Well this was nothing like that, but hey, its Christmas, so you take any gift you are given.
Didn't Pass Mustard
Morrison's supermarkets 'Eat Smart Honey and Mustard Dressing' has had to be recalled. There was nothing wrong with it, but in the contents it omitted to mention that it contained both Honey and Mustard .... it only mentioned Honey in the ingredients - despite the obvious claim of the brand name. It also contains egg, and the Food Standards Agency said it could pose a health risk to both allergy sufferers and those with egg intolerance. We are more like the USA everyday.
 |
| Sugar Has Led To Dentists, Ever Since It Entered The Diet .... |
..... central to this love, for women in particular is, chocolate .... 'a moment on the lips, a life time on the hips', was an expression invented for the love affair with chocolate, and the damage it can cause, if taken too far.
Sugar didn't really enter the western European diet until the Middle Ages (the Crusaders brought it back as 'sweet salt'), although the Greeks and Romans were aware of Indian and Arabian sugar, which they treated as an expensive, imported medicine. So most peoples teeth were spared the anguish that it would cause them, until the later medieval period,
When refined sugar first started arriving in volume from the West Indies in the 17th century (sweetening agents had previously been only available via honey, or sugar from Sicily under Muslim rule), even though it was very expensive, those people who could afford it, consumed it till their teeth turned black, and if their teeth didn't turn black naturally, they blackened them artificially to show how wealthy and marvellously self-indulgent they were.
During the 18th century, the cost started falling, and sugar became enormously popular. Great Britain, for example, consumed five times as much sugar in 1770 as in 1710. It made up a fifth of all European imports and in the last decades of the century four-fifths of the sugar came from the British and French colonies in the West Indies. From the 1740s until the 1820s, sugar was Britain's most valuable import. The possibility of obtaining sugar locally from the roots of the commonly grown beet (aka Sugar Beet), wasn't recognised until 1600, when the French agronomist Olivier de Sererres reported 'this choice food yields a juice like sugar syrup when cooked'.
But our love of sugar and other sweeteners has grown and is now a fact ...... But its not all calories and inches on the waistline .... In fact in moderation it doesn't even have to be bad. For instance, Good News, a recent study by the university of Warwick psychologists, has shown that eating chocolate (in moderation), or drinking a glucose drink, can boost memories and feelings of well being in the over 60's. Bad News, the same boost does not occur to those aged 27 or under .... it just rots their teeth and piles on the pounds (kilograms).
Chocoholics
A stolen statue was recovered after a tip off to police in Abilene Kansas USA. The statue of a large 105 pound teddy bear had been stolen from a sweet factory a year ago .... and was covered in chocolate.
 |
| Chocolate Teddy Bear Recovered |
1001 Things to Do With A Mars Bar
Now I have joked before about what the Scots will do with batter and a Mars Bar .... a deep fried delicacy is what some would call it. Now Romans Pizzeria in Glasgow has joined in the fun, and has been offering a £4.50, 2,000 calorie Calzone pizza, filled with deep fired Mars bars. Nuffin more I can say .....
Willy Wonka
"A ton of chocolate" brought a local road to a standstill in Germany, according to local authorities. The road was closed in the western town of Westönnen late on Monday after a tank of chocolate in a factory spilled and poured into the street ....
 |
| DreiMeister Spillage ...... No Chocolate Shortages |
..... the spillage from the DreiMeister factory solidified as it his the freezing tarmac, and formed a slipway of 10 sq m (108 sq ft). It took 25 firefighters plus factory workers, using shovels, hot water and blowtorches to clear up the mess.
 |
| It Could Have Been Worse .... The Great Molasses Tsunami of 1919 |
We have blogged before about the great molasses tsunami of 1919 in Boston USA. Well this was nothing like that, but hey, its Christmas, so you take any gift you are given.
Didn't Pass Mustard
Morrison's supermarkets 'Eat Smart Honey and Mustard Dressing' has had to be recalled. There was nothing wrong with it, but in the contents it omitted to mention that it contained both Honey and Mustard .... it only mentioned Honey in the ingredients - despite the obvious claim of the brand name. It also contains egg, and the Food Standards Agency said it could pose a health risk to both allergy sufferers and those with egg intolerance. We are more like the USA everyday.
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