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Sugar-plums and sherbet : the prehistory of sweets
Mason, Laura, 1957-2021Totnes : Prospect, 2004.The original hardback gained universal praise; 'A fascinating account' said the TLS; echoed by national and local press; 'A fascinating book full of off-beat information', wrote Derek Cooper. This book looks beyond the brilliant colours of the sweet-shop shelf and consider the ingenuity of sugar boiling and the manufacture of those intriguing avatars of childhood happiness: the humbug, the gobstopper, the peardrop and the stick of rock. As well as a history, it is also a recipe book, with twenty tried and tested methods for sweets ancient and modern. Who has not wondered how they got the marbling into humbugs and the fantastic patterns into Just William's gobstoppers? The byways of knowledge that are illuminated make this so rewarding. Did you know how they got the letters into rock? How they twisted barley sugar? The difference between fudge and tablet? The connection between humbugs and an Arab sweet from 13th-century Spain (where it was borrowed it from the Persians)?
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Sweets and candy : a global history
Mason, Laura, 1957-2021London, UK : Reaktion Books Ltd, 2018.With eye-catching shapes, interesting flavours and enticing textures, sweets and candy are much-loved worldwide by people of all ages. They provide minor treats, lessons in economics for children, and colourful novelties to mark festivities. Methods for making sweets can be traced back to the importance of sugar in Arabic medicine and the probable origin of this in ancient India. But these seemingly inconsequential items are freighted with centuries of changing cultural attitudes, social and economic history, emotional attachments and divergent views on the role of sugar in health. How did confectionery become so popular? Why do we value concentrated sweetness in such varied forms? Why persist in eating sweets? From marzipan pigs and nutty nougat to bubblegum and bonbons, Sweets and Candy looks behind the glamour and sparkle to explore the sticky history of confectionery. Laura Mason describes many of the bewildering varieties and the fascinating ways in which different cultures have made, consumed, valued and adored sweets and candy throughout history. Featuring a selection of scrumptious recipes to try at home, this global history will appeal to sweet-toothed readers, as well as all those interested in the history of food.
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Pine
Mason, Laura, 1957-2021London, UK : Reaktion Books, 2013.Resilient and tenacious, pine trees deserve our admiration. Despite their dark and gloomy reputation they have been the subjects of artists for centuries, particularly in China and Japan where they symbolize wisdom and longevity, and are admired for their shapes. Pine symbolism runs deep in many cultures from East to West, from antiquity to the present, such as pine cone staffs carried by the worshippers of Bacchus in the classical world or pine trees used in the movement to establish national parks in nineteenth-century North America. The natural history of pine trees underlines their ability to survive in difficult environments, and their botany still puzzles and intrigues. Their resin provided adhesives, water-proofers and medicines before oil derivatives and modern pharmaceuticals were developed. Their wood is ubiquitous, incorporated into buildings, furniture and paper pulp. Pinecones fascinate with their complex shapes, and provide pine nuts and food for animals and humans. Pine trees have inspired artists, writers, film-makers and photographers throughout history, and as a consequence the sombre, brooding atmosphere of pine woods are found in poetry, movies, art and literature. A beautifully illustrated book that reveals the many ways in which pine trees have inspired and been utilized by humanity through history, Pine provides a fascinating survey of these rugged, aromatic trees that are found the world over.
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