Sugar Through the Ages

Candy wouldn’t be candy without sugar! Sugar is usually the main ingredient in candy and it has a fascinating history of its own!

The start of mankind’s love of sugar begins in India where sugarcane was first chewing to extract the sweet juice. The Indians later found how to crystallize the sugar. From India and China, sugar made its way along the spice and other trade routes into Europe where it quickly became a favorite ingredient. Before sugarcane and its cultivation began, much of the world used honey as their main sweetener.

The medieval ages found sugar very expensive and labeled a “fine spice”. It was often used for medicine and was often bought by only the wealthy.

Sugarcane next made its way to the New World. There on the huge sugar plantations of the Caribbean islands, unfortunately often worked by slaves, sugar came into its own and became more widely available.

The Industrial Revolution was the key to making sugar available on the mass market. With easier ways to quickly refine sugar, it became common in nearly every household. By 1900, the famous Domino sugar company was in business and sugar was here to stay.