Леденцы: от древнего лекарства до современного удовольствия Кто из нас не держал во рту леденец, слушая, как он тихо постукивает о зубы, оставляя после себя сладкий, иногда чуть кисловатый, иногда мятный привкус? Леденец — это маленькое чудо, которое accompanies us from childhood. Мы помним прозрачные «монетки» в ярких обёртках, леденцы на палочке с игрушкой внутри, петушки, от которых язык становился жёлтым, и карамельные «подушечки» с пудрой. Но за этим кажущимся простым лакомством стоит многовековая история, full of medical treatises, industrial revolutions and even political conflicts. Леденцы — это not just sugar, it is a mirror of our culture, our attitude to sweet, to childhood and to the art of enjoyment itself. В начале был мёд: древнейшие сладости Ещё за тысячи лет до нашей эры люди искали ways to prolong the pleasure of sweet. The first natural «lollipop» was, of course, honey. It was eaten in its pure form, mixed with nuts and dried fruits, and in Ancient Egypt even sweet balls made of honey and dates were made, which froze in the sun. However, the true predecessors of lollipops appeared when man learned to boil sugar syrup. This happened in India about 2,5 thousand years ago. The sugar cane grown there produced sugar crystals, and their melting and subsequent cooling allowed to obtain solid sweet plates. Indian doctors noticed that sugar mixed with decoctions of herbs and spices helps with cough and throat pain. Thus, the idea of medicinal lollipops was born — they were held in the mouth to ease breathing. From India the secret of sugar and lollipops spread to China, then to Persia and the Arab world. Arab doctors improved the recipe by adding rose water, saffron, anise and ginger. In their works we find descriptions of «sweet tablets» for the throat, which were in essence predecessors of modern lollipops. Sugar came to Europe with the Crusaders, but for a long time remained a luxury available only to the nobility. Lollipops were an exclusive priv ... Читать далее