EVOLUTION OF DESSERTS

                                                               EVOLUTION OF DESSERTS

 

Do you ever find yourself indulging in a luscious dessert and thinking what mastermind came up with this scrumptious delight? You are not alone because the question of why desserts were first eaten has crossed the minds of many.

 

The word dessert is derived from the French word desservir, which translates to “to clear the table.” This origin is apt, considering that the first use of desserts was to wash down the aftertaste of a large meal with something sweet.

 

Desserts in history, such as in the middle ages, revolved more around fruity sweet foods such as jellies and wafers mixed with exotic fruits, nuts, and butter. Indeed, the custard is known to be one of the first desserts ever eaten in the middle ages. The next few reported desserts include apple pies in 1381 and gingerbread in the 1400s.

 

Sweets were fed to the gods in ancient Mesopotamia and ancient India and other ancient civilizations. Dried fruit and honey were probably the first sweeteners used in most of the world, but the spread of sugarcane around the world was essential to the development of dessert.

Up until the 17th century, desserts were meshed together with savory dishes and were used as nothing more than palate cleansers. However, the seventeenth century saw the advent of dessert cookbooks. This spread in popularity of desserts is owed to the vast sugar plantations in the New World that allowed sugar costs to go down. With reduced sugar prices, sugar could be used abundantly for sweet foods instead of being relegated to a rare flavoring.

 

The 17th century also saw the move of having desserts solely reserved for the end of meals as opposed to having several small desserts courses as palate cleansers throughout. Custards eventually evolved into sweet puddings in the 19th century, and then the industrial revolution brought forward the mass production of sweet foods such as cakes.

 

Throughout history, desserts have been symbolic of wealth, aristocracy, and even military might, so I guess we should all feel honored to be able to access these sweet foods as we desire.

 

However, it makes you wonder how many “premium” luxury desserts there are that are still not as common for lower and middle-income families. Perhaps, there are more desserts left that are still trickling down to the lower echelons of society.

Banarasi Misthan Bhandar