Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets

The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets is the most ambitious and eclectic reference work of its kind, a sweeping collection of nearly 600 entries on all things sweet, written by 265 expert contributors. In addition to learning the history of candy, the evolution of the dessert course, and the production of chocolate, readers will discover entries on "sugar of lead" (lead acetate), prescribed for stomach troubles in the nineteenth century, and "castoreum" (beaver extract), beloved by the modern food industry for the sweet taste it imparts. The sheer variety of entries in this compendium is astounding; peruse its wondrous variety like a kid in a candy shop.