On Food and Cooking

Take    a   pint    of  sugar   and one-third   of  a   pint

of  almonds and grind   both    together    fine,

then    scent   with    camphor.    Take    one-third   of

a   pint    of  sugar,  and dissolve    in  an  ounce   of

rose-water  over    a   slow    fire,   then    remove.

When    cooled, throw   in  the ground  sugar

and almonds,    and knead.  If  the mixture

needs   strengthening,  add more    sugar   and

almonds.    Make    into    middling    pieces,

melons, triangles,  etc.    Then    lay on  a   dish

and serve.

—   Kitab   al  Tabikh, transl. A.  J.

Arberry

In Europe:
A Spice and Medicine

Western Europeans first encountered sugar
during their Crusades to the Holy Land in the
11th century. Shortly thereafter Venice
became the hub of the sugar trade from Arab
countries to the West, and the first large