Woloson Refined Tastes

Sugar, Confectionery, and Consumers in Nineteenth-Century America
Erscheinungsjahr 2003
ISBN: 978-0-8018-7718-6
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, Band 120, 0 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science

American consumers today regard sugar as a mundane and sometimes even troublesome substance linked to hyperactivity in children and other health concerns. Yet two hundred years ago American consumers treasured sugar as a rare commodity and consumed it only in small amounts. In Refined Tastes: Sugar, Confectionery, and Consumers in Nineteenth-Century America, Wendy A. Woloson demonstrates how the cultural role of sugar changed from being a precious luxury good to a ubiquitous necessity. Sugar became a social marker that established and reinforced class and gender differences.

During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Woloson explains, the social elite saw expensive sugar and sweet confections as symbols of their wealth. As refined sugar became more affordable and accessible, new confections—children's candy, ice cream, and wedding cakes—made their way into American culture, acquiring a broad array of social meanings. Originally signifying male economic prowess, sugar eventually became associated with femininity and women's consumerism. Woloson's work offers a vivid account of this social transformation—along with the emergence of consumer culture in America.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Woloson, Wendy A.

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften Interdisziplinär Ökotrophologie (Ernährungs- und Haushaltswissenschaften)
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Sachkultur, Materielle Kultur
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften: Ernährung & Gesellschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction: Refining Tastes
Chapter 1. Sugarcoating History: The Rise of Sweets
Chapter 2. Sweet Youth: Children and Candy
Chapter 3. Cold Comforts: Ice Cream
Chapter 4. Sinfully Sweet: Chocolates and Bonbons
Chapter 5. The Icing on the Cake: Ornamental Sugar Work
Chapter 6. Home Sweet Home
Conclusion. The Sweet Surrender
Postscript:. The Sweet and Low Down
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Woloson, Wendy A.
Wendy A. Woloson is bibliographer for the program in Early American Economy and Society and acting curator of printed books at the Library Company of Philadelphia.