The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets

a 900-page sugar bible Dagens Nyheter 265 experts, including food historians, chemists, restaurateurs, cookbook writers and neuroscientists, explore the idea of the sweet from a multidisciplinary perspective. The Companion abounds with... curious theories and facts... Entertaining historical details sparkle. Times Literary Supplement The Companion abounds with such curious theories and facts. Who knew, for example, that the familiar plastic flying toy known as the frisbee was named after the American bakery manager William Russell Frisbee, whose popular flat pies were sold in tin plates with his name imprinted in bold letter on the base? ... Such entertaining historical details sparkle in many of the entries. Anna Katharina Schaffner, The Times Literary Supplement magnificent Literary Review, Jonathan Beckman A comprehensive reference work on the idea of the sweet, this is more than just a collection of sweets, it's an exploration into the human fondness for all things sweet and how it has shaped our language, art and cooking throughout history. Fine Dining Lovers sheer brilliance! AGA magazine Happy hours can be spent browsing, leaping around, tasting or gorging. From convent sweets, to dental caries, to sexual innuendo, theres more than just gobstoppers. It's impressive stuff. Petits Propos Culinaires Sweets have a special hold on our senses. Whether it's taffy or turnovers, sandesh or sherbet, maple sugar or macarons, our enjoyment of sweets is informed by traditions and memories. This encyclopedia explores sweet things globally and across time, from the honeycombs our ancestors gathered to the crackly nougatine of today's experimental chefs. But its greatest achievement is that, in over 900 intellectually nourishing pages, it never neglects the senses. Like the medieval subtleties that entertained royal diners with elaborate conceits, this book is playful, surprising, and always-captivating. Heston Blumenthal