a stand-in for everything good — and evil
August 6, 2018 6:14 AM Subscribe
"Sugar is survival. It is a respite for palates swept clean of childish joy for too long. It is sexual desire and pleasure, and also temptation and sin. And it is a commodity, one historically produced with some of the most brutal labor practices on the planet. In the Western imagination, sugar is pleasure, temptation, and vice — and in modern history, it is original sin." Sugartime, by food writer and 2013 Great British Bake Off contestant Ruby Tandoh
I don't follow GBBO contestants, but man this is great writing. I've just re-watched a few of the first episodes in the series she was in, and it's striking how different her voice is now. I think she knew she was good, but didn't embrace the confidence that she now shows.
posted by Gorgik at 12:03 PM on August 6, 2018
posted by Gorgik at 12:03 PM on August 6, 2018
I just finished binge watching several seasons of GBBO and wow, Ruby's level of confidence has come a long way. Thanks for the link.
posted by Bornanerd at 1:07 PM on August 6, 2018
posted by Bornanerd at 1:07 PM on August 6, 2018
This was a wonderful read, thank you so much for sharing.
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:17 PM on August 6, 2018
posted by Hermione Granger at 6:17 PM on August 6, 2018
Goddamn, leave it to humans to turn the enjoyment of sweetness into some racial dichotomy. Worst species I ever heard of, I swear. I wanted to a make a light joke about how the other flavors should learn from sugar on how to taste so good, but the article took a heavy turn. Kara Walker is incredible, I had forgotten the sugar sphinx!
Mishti is really good, I dated a girl born in Bangladesh for many years, on occasion I was treated to Bengali sweets her mother made. They were usually quite a shock, filled with delicious but unfamiliar flavours, many of them were quite wet with some sort of milky stuff. I find myself craving them from time to time but have no clue whatsoever to their individual names were. Mishti I'm only now recalling as a word I heard associated with them, I think I assumed it was more specific at the time.
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:20 AM on August 7, 2018
Mishti is really good, I dated a girl born in Bangladesh for many years, on occasion I was treated to Bengali sweets her mother made. They were usually quite a shock, filled with delicious but unfamiliar flavours, many of them were quite wet with some sort of milky stuff. I find myself craving them from time to time but have no clue whatsoever to their individual names were. Mishti I'm only now recalling as a word I heard associated with them, I think I assumed it was more specific at the time.
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:20 AM on August 7, 2018
The author mentions Sydney Mintz near the end of the essay; his book, Sweetness and Power, is a little old, but explores a lot of these ideas in great depth.
posted by TedW at 9:15 AM on August 19, 2018
posted by TedW at 9:15 AM on August 19, 2018
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posted by The River Ivel at 11:05 AM on August 6, 2018 [6 favorites]