The History of Confections

“I have a sweet tooth” a statement that we have heard a million times. When we eat a meal, we actually look forward to having a dessert and that’s the power that it holds. We have exercised all of our will at times trying to stop ourselves from consuming this part of the meal which deserves to be called as the taste of heaven. Today confections are not only consumed when we have completed our meal, they have now become a whole cheat meal to someone, to some it’s even taken the place of a tangible non- human support system after a long day. The amount of comfort attached to this part of the meal is immense. We see culinarians making careers This is the reason why it’s important to know where did this obsession actually begin from.

Let’s go back in time.

The habit of eating sweets actually goes back to Ancient Rome (now largely France). Although the discovery of bee honey had laid the foundation for a sweet revolution to take place, it wasn’t until the arrival of roman empire that eating sweets at the end of a meal became a ritual. It was more like a great meal deserved an even greater ending hence giving birth to the concept of a dessert or sweetmeat or confections. Even then keeping in mind trying to enhance everything previously eaten they also wanted it to be in sync with the nutrient input due to which many traditional desserts all over the world actually are made from healthier products like nuts, cereals oil etc.

Even a lot of films give an ode to this ritual of Romans having a copious meal and ending it with a larger-than-life dessert. In these meals were served numerous and between plate and savoury dish was usual to serve sweets. To This custom the Romans called it secundary mesae. A practice that has lasted until today. It wasn’t only Roman but also The Arab influence that has been noted. In The Arab countries, sugar candies with nuts were popularized. In fact, some sweets like the rosegones have their Arab origin.

However, it wasn’t only because they wanted to end their meal with something good but a bigger thought to it. The thought being that in family meals or between friends having something sweet doesn’t just leave us with a good taste in the mouth but because when the stomach is happy the conversations on the table take a completely different dimension.

This idea got pushed further to not only family meals but also big business discussions. It is always said that big business is always closed on a good table.

The word “dessert” emerged with inside the 17th century, derived from the French verb “desservir,” meaning “to clean the table” in English. Etiquette dictated that napkins and tablecloths need to be changed before the final course that is dessert, which at that time became a fruit course. This final course itself became recognized as “le fruit,” however the bourgeois class renamed it “dessert.” After the French Revolution, the aristocratic “fruit” became absolutely changed by “dessert.”This also showed how the bourgeois class wanted even the term to be sophisticated like them.

Slowly, though, the taste of desserts became much less essential than their visible presentation. The sweetmeat courses may have fashionable metallic and glass systems retaining entire apples or plums. Other times, meticulously crafted sugar figures became the middle of dessert presentations and were not eaten at all. Dessert experts and culinarians in the eighteenth century had been alleged to recognize architectural layout and were expected to be able to replicate it in sugar paste.

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, technology and trade also opened up more possibilities for populist sweets. Sugar started to become easily available comparatively, and the presence of mechanical refrigeration could keep butter at a consistent temperature, making pastry simpler. Banquets might still feature visually extremely appealing desserts—like the three-tier, castle-shaped cake with lakes of jam and hazelnut boats described in Madame Bovary—but the guests actually ate this art. By the late nineteenth century, attractive and delicious desserts like almond cakes, cream puffs, and fruit tarts were a minor luxury available as a special treat even to the lower classes.This marked the change of course of confections from being a bourgeois class meal to a simple proletarians treat.

Today, of course sugar is cheap enough that downscale, mass-produced versions of French confections are easily available to people all over the world—at significant cost to human health.

We believe today desserts have become a steady part of our diet however the long-term consequences on health are something that will always prevail. As much as enjoying a meal is important, we would prefer you stay long enough to enjoy more such meals and this will only happen by consuming confections in adequate proportions.

The history of sweetmeat ends here but stay tuned to know more about everything in huge wide foodie world.