The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets
Editor-in-chief: Darra Goldstein, Foreword by Sidney Mintz, Editorial board member: Michael Krondl, Eric Rath, Laura Mason, Geraldine Quinzio, and Ursula Heinzelmann
From Our Blog
When trying to gauge someone's personality, a few well-phrased questions are sometimes all it takes to light the fire of passions within someone. We had the pleasure of speaking with Darra Goldstein, Editor-in-Chief of The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, and asked her a number of questions that reveal what "bakes her cake."
Posted on August 14, 2015
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Given the evolutionary origin of religion among humans, it is no surprise that symbolism would also be attributed to sweet foods. Across many cultures, sweetness prevails as a positive symbol, representing joyous occasions and victories. In recognition of these sweet symbols, we've compiled our favorites from The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets into a gallery we hope you'll enjoy perusing as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Posted on August 7, 2015
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Is the "sweet tooth" real? The answer may surprise you. Humans vary in their preference towards sweet things; some of us dislike them while others may as well be addicted. But for those of us who have a tendency towards sweetness, why do we like what we like? We are hardly limited by type; our preference spans across both food and drinks, including candy, desserts, fruits, sodas, and even alcoholic beverages.
Posted on July 31, 2015
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Fried dough has been enjoyed for centuries in various forms, from the celebratory zeppole of St. Joseph's Day to the doughnuts the Salvation Army distributed to soldiers during World War I. So important were doughnuts for boosting troop morale that when World War II came around, the Red Cross followed closely behind the US Army as it advanced across Europe, offering doughnuts from trucks specially outfitted with vats for deep-frying.
Posted on July 23, 2015
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Sugar has had an important hand in many facets of history, not all of it fun and games (but certainly not all of it dreary, either). Did you know fudge played a huge part in American women's college education? or that slavery in sugar plantations was rampant? We asked Darra Goldstein a number of questions on sugar and its history, unearthing the good, the bad, and everything in between.
Posted on July 17, 2015
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Though many of us are familiar with the use of fresh fruits in desserts, flavorings in candy, and other ubiquitous ingredients, a great deal are unusual. They're unusual in the sense that they're "not commonly occurring," or that we believe them to be so. With that, here are five ingredients you might find, but not expect, in your next dessert.
Posted on July 10, 2015
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Slang'mocking, sneering, casting a jaundiced eye on the world's proprieties'is by its nature sour. It finds approval hard, congratulation challenging, and affection almost impossible. Yet even if slang's oldest meaning of 'sugar' is money, and the second oldest a euphemism for the most common term for defecation, slang, for all its skepticism, cannot resist the tempting possibilities of 'sweet.'
Posted on July 2, 2015
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How much do you know about all things sweet? Are you an obsessive "Top-tier Sugar Scholar"? Or are you a dabbling "Sugar Novice"? No matter your level of scholarship, if sweetness and obscure facts are your game, we have just the perfect quiz for you.
Posted on June 26, 2015
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No matter where in the world you go, pastries are a universal treat. From Turkish baklava to Italian cannolis, French croissants to American cherry pie, these morsels of sweetness are a culinary tradition that knows no borders. Whether you're boarding an overseas flight or hanging around the neighborhood, we've hand-picked several pastry shops from the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets to add to your personal itinerary.
Posted on June 19, 2015
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What do Russians poets eat? When does food heritage become international politics? How has sugar been used as medicine? Darra Goldstein, the editor-in-chief to The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, shares her insights on how a three-year project transformed into the lively compendium of all things sweet. She takes us through the process of what it was like to oversee 265 contributors and over 600 entries, and the journey she took to get where she is today.
Posted on June 11, 2015
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Silent-screen star ZaSu Pitts is usually remembered for her extraordinary name, her huge eyes, and her fluttering fingers, but not many know that she also put her nimble fingers to confectionery use, crafting elegant candies that were famous on Hollywood sets.
Posted on June 4, 2015
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From its journey to Europe from the New World at the beginning of the sixteenth century to its modern-day iteration as we know it, chocolate climbed its way into the hearts and homes of people all over the world. In its long and fruitful evolution through time, we've pulled together a timeline of chocolate's history from Europeans first encounter with the substance with the Aztecs through the Heirloom Cacao Initiative in 2014.
Posted on May 18, 2015
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Have you ever tried vinarterta? How about gugelhupf? Whether these are familiar or completely foreign to you, this list of sweets are a must for everyone with a sweet tooth. All the sweets, cakes, desserts, and treats on this list come from The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, so give them a go and try one, some, or all!
Posted on May 29, 2015
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Incorporating the idea of sweetness in songs is nothing new to the music industry. Ubiquitous terms like "sugar" and "honey" are used in ways of both endearment and condescension, love and disdain. Among the (probably) hundreds of songs about sweets, Aaron Gilbreath, essayist and journalist from Portland, Oregon, curated a list of 50 songs, which is included in The Oxford Companion of Sugar and Sweets.
Posted on May 19, 2015
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After a long hiatus, we're excited to announce the re-launch of The Oxford Comment, a podcast originally created by OUP's very own Lauren Appelwick and Michelle Rafferty in September 2010. In this month's episode, Max Sinsheimer, a Trade & Reference Editor at the New York office, chats with a few authors to discuss their work on The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets.
Posted on February 5, 2015
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