Honey was the first sweetener. An ancient cave painting in Spain shows a person under attack from bees while stealing wild honey from a hive. Egyptian tomb paintings dating from 5500 to 3000 B.C. also feature bees and honey.
Ancient Egyptians ate a confection of crushed almonds and honey. The Greeks and Romans used honey to coat fruits, flowers, and the seeds or stems of plants. In Greece cheese curds and cheesecake with honey were favorite treats. In ancient Rome, the traditional birthday cake was made of wheat flour, grated cheese, honey, and olive oil and was served with honeyed wine. In China during the tenth century, mi-king, or honey bread, was popular.
Other sweeteners of the ancient world included syrups made from dates and figs, grape juice, malted grains, and sugarcane juice. Sugarcane was probably first grown on the island of New Guinea in the South Pacific about eight thousand years ago. From there it spread to other Polynesian islands, then to Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and China.
According to legends in India, the ancestors of Buddha (the founder of Buddhism) came from the land of sugar, or Gur.The great Indian epic the Ramayana, written about 1200 B.C., describes a banquet that includedtables laid with sweet things, syrup, canes to chew.
Geography, custom, and practical use of local ingredients are all factors that influence the types of sweets people choose to eat. Popular desserts around the world include cakes, cookies, biscuits, ice cream, pudding, pies, and sweet breads.
In some places, however, fancy, rich desserts are uncommon. In many African and Asian countries, people rarely eat a dessert at the end of a meal. For example, dessert is not part of the traditional meal in sub-Saharan Africa (the countries south of the Sahara Desert). At large gatherings and celebrations, a fruit salad might be served after a meal. While most Africans do not eat dessert, they do enjoy some sweet snacks, such as fresh fruits, raw sugarcane, or cookies made in a pan over an open fire.
In many cultures, especially in warm and tropical climates, fresh fruit is the main dessert. In the Southeast Asian country of Thailand, for example, you may have a choice of assorted fruit, such as papaya, guava, and pineapple, at the end of a meal. But Thais also enjoy a variety of sweet treats for snacking, which are often sold on the street. These include deep-fried bananas, coconut pudding, sweet pancakes, and sticky rice cooked in coconut milk and served with mango or other fruit.
Fruits are common dessert ingredients everywhere along with eggs and sugar. Fruits have long been used to create a wide array of tempting desserts. Two other favorite dessert flavorings are vanilla and chocolate. The Maya and Aztec Indians in Mexico were the first people to enjoy chocolate, which was originally served as a beverage. According to an Aztec legend, the god Quetzalcoatl showed the people how to grow cacao trees, harvest their seed pods, and prepare chocolate from the seeds of the sacred tree.
Desserts may be served not only after lunch or dinner but for an afternoon coffee or tea break. In the British Isles and Australia, many people stop for tea in the late afternoon. Sometimes it can be quite a formal occasion, with a selection of small sandwiches, biscuits, and
cakes, both elaborate and plain.
Lamington(small, frosted cubes of cake covered with coconut) are a good choice for tea time, and they are a favorite with Australian children.
People in Germany, Austria, the Scandinavian countries, and some Latin American countries may also take a break in the afternoon to linger over coffee and pastries.
