When it comes to confectionery, the British have got it licked, says Emma Hughes, who finds that pocket-money sweet treats have never looked more tempting, no matter how old you are
WHICHEVER way your political compass points, there’s no denying we’re living through interesting times. The world stage has become a topsy-turvy Wonderland in which impossible things routinely happen before breakfast. How nice it would be, we might be forgiven for thinking, to go back to a gentler, sunnier time when things were straightforward— childhood, in other words. And nothing semaphores a return to innocence like a bag of sweets.
Other countries have a tradition of sophisticated confectionery (think of baklava, with its 1,001 layers of honey-drenched filo pastry), but ours has always been about simple pleasures, swirled and striped like circus tents or deckchairs. It’s cheerfully uncomplicated stuff. When you pop a boiled sweet into your mouth, you can switch off your critical faculties completely for 10 minutes and that, we can all agree, is a good thing.
In spite of sugar getting the thumbs down from successive governments, sales of confectionery are rising. In 2015, the British bought £1.157 billion worth of the stuff, which is the equivalent of each of us spending £18. We’re rediscovering our sweet tooth and the classics—household names such as Bassett’s Allsorts—are more popular than they’ve ever been.
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin February 01 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Country Life UK dergisinin February 01 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
