Darra Goldstein is the Willcox and Harriet Adsit
Professor of Russian at Williams College, having earned her Ph.D.
in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Stanford University. She
combines her love of literature with a passion for food studies, a
field she helped pioneer by founding Gastronomica: The Journal of
Food and Culture, which has been called a culinary New Yorker for
its incorporation of photography, poetry, and art alongside
thoughtful articles on all aspects of the foods we eat. She serves
as the Series Editor for California Studies in Food and Culture
(UCAL Press) and the Food Editor for Russian Life magazine.
Goldstein is also a prolific author who has written or edited
thirteen books, including four award-winning cookbooks.
"Sweets have a special hold on our senses. Whether it's taffy or
turnovers, sandesh or sherbet, maple sugar or macarons, our
enjoyment of sweets is informed by traditions and memories. This
encyclopedia explores sweet things globally and across time, from
the honeycombs our ancestors gathered to the crackly nougatine of
today's experimental chefs. But its greatest achievement is that,
in over 900 intellectually nourishing pages, it never neglects the
senses. Like the medieval subtleties that entertained royal diners
with elaborate conceits, this book is playful, surprising, and
always-captivating." --Heston Blumenthal
"For all of those who are fans of the pleasure of eating sweets and
the perplexities of thinking about their surprisingly complex
histories, this book will be a necessity. Who had ever heard of a
delicious encyclopedia? This is it." --Adam Gopnik, The New
Yorker
"For all of us who care about sweets, who make them, study them,
write about them, take pleasure in them and find everything about
them fascinating-from their histories and creators to the cultures,
myths, and sometimes magic that surround them-the publication of
The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets is a landmark. How we
lived without it is a puzzlement; that we have it now is reason to
celebrate." --Dorie Greenspan, author of Baking Chez Moi
"Like a fresh batch of delicious cookies straight out of the oven,
Darra Goldstein's enormous collection of stories, facts, and essays
on sweets is a tantalizing delight that is impossible to put down.
Whether you are a passionate pastry cook, a curious omnivore with a
sweet tooth, or simply an information geek (or all three, like me),
you will enjoy reading this book. It is a must for any food,
anthropology, or history enthusiast." --Pichet Ong, chef consultant
and author of The Sweet Spot
"The new Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets tempts the intellect
more than the palate. It's a thick encyclopedia crammed with plenty
of history, social science, physiology and culture." --Florence
Fabricant, New York Times
"Well-planned entries, which go into great depth, address topics
such as pie, children's literature (Hansel and Gretel play their
part), sour cream, Tate and Lyles golden syrup, and New Orleans and
Twelfth Night cake, also known as king cake ... This reference will
serve any kitchen, chef, patisserie, or person with a sweet tooth.
Readers will delight in the history and details of the consumption
of confections." --Library Journal
"Under the brilliant baton of food writer and historian Darra
Goldstein, 265 experts in the culinary world have weighed in with
well-researched commentaries about an irresistible subject."
--Rozanne Gold, Huffington Post
"From � la mode to zuppa inglese, this 920-page volume is
encyclopedic in ambition - shedding light on myriad aspects of our
favorite carbohydrate and its impact around the globe since the
beginning of time - and eclectic in execution. Entries by 265
contributors, chemists to chefs to culinary historians, are by
turns pedagogical, whimsical, and data-rich." --Stanford
Magazine
"The book is as addictive as its subject..." --Dessert
Professional
"The Companion abounds with curious theories and facts. Who knew,
for example, that the familiar plastic flying toy known as the
frisbee was named after the American bakery manager William Russell
Frisbie, whose popular flat pies were sold in tin plates with his
name imprinted in bold letters on the base? Or that the expression
'to eat humble pie' is related to 'umble' pie - a poor man's dish
containing deer offal? Or that early lollipops, first manufactured
in Canada at the end of the nineteenth century, were pieces of hard
candy stuck on the end of a slate pencil 'meant to keep school
pupils' hands clean'?" --The Times Literary Supplement (UK)
"General readers and foodies will discover much to delight over
here, while those doing reference work will find solid, substantial
answers." --Booklist
"This interesting, approachable text will be of use to students in
a number of disciplines, serving as a starting point for research
in advertising and marketing fields, hospitality programs, study of
cultural foodways, and the history and technology of sugar."
--CHOICE
"The most popular reference book of the year is this "tour de
force" on all things sugary and sweet" --Library Journal
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