25 May Here’s All You Need To Know About British Sweets
For those who have a bit of a sweet tooth, British sweets are the perfect remedy to get you through the toughest of times. This candy has a long history that has made it from a scarce possession right to a treatment that can be found among everyone’s home. The beloved confectionary one by one has soared through the entire world, but the UK has made their own creations that are incredibly delectable and have a special quality you cannot find anywhere else.
Origins of British sweets
It is believed that sweets began in the Middle East as they tried to place a hard sugar coating over nuts, seeds, and spices. Sugar became popular among rich people, aristocrats, kings, and queens, as it is because of a prized possession. The UK was able to obtain sugar through rough conditions as they were traded between enslaved people in the west indies who worked in plantations in Africa. In the 11th century, liquorice was introduced in Britain, provided by crusaders and monks who came from the Middle East. It was connected to apothecaries and having medicinal traits as liquorice roots are known to aid digestion.
George Dunhill, an apothecary in Pontefract, made a sugary version for liquorice which was just to satisfy a sweet tooth. These became known as Pontefract cakes. Sugar became a scarce product making it much expensive, so they found alternatives to cane sugar which was sugar beet. With the rise of the industrial revolution, thus the increase of sweet shops began. This mass production leads to the ability to make more and more sweets. Around the 1850s, The UK came with a beloved form of British sweets by inventing the first-ever wax-made chewing gum.
In 1864, a new form of British sweets was invented – jelly babies. An Austrian confectionary chef was working to make jelly bears; however, they turned out to resemble a baby. He decided to call it a happy accident and for a good result! They came to be known from the 1950s and beyond to be called Jelly Babies. Claude Gajet, a French confectionary chef, in 1879, brought over the pastille, which is still eaten today.
In the 1900s, chocolate was a rare affair of British sweets, with only the richest of people able to grab a “fancy box.” By the mid-1900s, the whole British population was able to get a piece of the beautiful delicacy. Due to mass production, chocolate became a beloved favourite of the British sweets gaining more customers from all different classes in society. British sweets have soared through in sales worth over 6 billion just in the United Kingdom.
Why British Sweets are still eaten until this day?
There’s a multitude of reasons why people still eat British sweets. For one thing, they are a beloved treasure rich in their aromatic flavours, making British Sweets the favourite among most households in the United Kingdom. Another reason is that the candy was used as a source of comfort during hardships, which from history has happened time and time again. This peace of Heaven for a simple price was able to bring people a little moment of joy during the roughest of times. With this amount of popularity, the cherished confectionary is not going anywhere anytime soon.
British sweets are an integral part of the confectionary world. It is has a long-standing history of being a rare, prized possession to being found in almost every home in the UK. The variety of forms have made an abundance of options that could suit the sweet tooth of every individual. We hope you had a treat learning about these confectionaries!