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Medieval brewers didn’t have access to the wealth of sugar variations available on our shelves today. I don’t think so anyway. Also, honey caremelises at a muc

Medieval brewers didn’t have access to the wealth of sugar variations available on our shelves today. I don’t think so anyway. Also, honey caremelises at a much lower temperature (as low as 70C) compared to sucrose and glucose (~160C) and fructose (~110C). Not sure how that changes the flavour profile, but it probably contributes towards the danger vibes that this article tries so hard to emphasise.

harimau777 3y ago
This suggests that sugar was introduced to Western Europe by the Crusades. So depending on the exact date, the brewers may not have had sugar alternatives to honey at all! Crazy to think that something considered such a basic ingredient in cooking may not have been available at all. https://makingsenseofsugar.com/all-about-sugar/history-of-sugar/#:~:text=Sugar%20was%20only%20discovered%20by,including%20the%20importation%20of%20sugar https://makingsenseofsugar.com/all-about-sugar/history-of-su....
- adastra22 3y ago
  Well, where would it have grown? Sugar cane is a tropical plant. It's only modern (well, post Age of Sail) transportation logistics that makes it available to global consumers.
  - spython 3y ago
    A lot of sugar is produced from sugar beet - particularly in climates too cold for sugar cane.
    - jhbadger 3y ago
      The method for extracting sugar from beets was discovered only in the Renaissance (most typically attributed to the French agronomist Olivier de Serres (1539-1619), so medieval people wouldn't have access to beet sugar even if they had beets.
      - masklinn 3y ago
        Not only that but the modern sugar beet is a completely different beast bred for the task, with 10x more sugar than the average food beetroot.
- thfuran 3y ago
  Precolumbian European cooking was missing a whole lot of now-basic ingredients, among them tomatoes, potatoes, capsicum, and common beans.
Jedd 3y ago
> Also, honey caremelises at a much lower temperature (as low as 70C) compared to sucrose and glucose (~160C) and fructose (~110C). Honey is about 70% fructose + glucose. It's about 16-19% water. So I'm not sure why it would caramelise at significantly lower temperatures than its constituent parts would suggest. My hives may skew slightly as my bees harvest primarily from Australian native trees which can (seasonally) lead to a higher glucose:fructose ratio (and more prone to candying) but a recent composition report follows: Moisture 17.6% pH 4.08 Electrical conductivity 0.32 (mS/cm) Hydroxymethylfurfural 1.7 (mg/kg) Sugar - Fructose 38.8% Sugar - Glucose 29.5% Sugar - Sucrose < 0.5%
- Timon3 3y ago
  > Honey is about 70% fructose + glucose. > It's about 16-19% water. > So I'm not sure why it would caramelise at significantly lower temperatures than its constituent parts would suggest. Wikipedia states: > The temperature at which caramelization begins varies, depending on the composition, but is typically between 70 and 110 °C (158 and 230 °F). Honey also contains acids, which act as catalysts for caramelization. The specific types of acids and their amounts play a primary role in determining the exact temperature. The citation is "Zdzisław E. Sikorski Chemical and functional properties of food components CRC Press 2007 p. 121 ISBN 0-8493-9675-1". It's not publicly available, so I can't cite it, but if you're really interested you should try to find and read it.
  - Modified3019 3y ago
    That’s a fantastic reference, thank you.
  - Jedd 3y ago
    I'll try to hunt that down later, but the effect of those acids at very low concentration must be profound to affect the caramelisation of fructose/glucose at such a drastically different temperature. Frustratingly the author of TFA doesn't actually specify temperatures anywhere, just uses the word 'boil' - so I'm guessing it's 100 (celsius, natch). Though I'm assuming the boiling temperature of honey isn't going to be the same as the caramelisation threshold.

harimau777 3y ago

This suggests that sugar was introduced to Western Europe by the Crusades. So depending on the exact date, the brewers may not have had sugar alternatives to honey at all! Crazy to think that something considered such a basic ingredient in cooking may not have been available at all. https://makingsenseofsugar.com/all-about-sugar/history-of-sugar/#:~:text=Sugar%20was%20only%20discovered%20by,including%20the%20importation%20of%20sugar https://makingsenseofsugar.com/all-about-sugar/history-of-su....

adastra22 3y ago
Well, where would it have grown? Sugar cane is a tropical plant. It's only modern (well, post Age of Sail) transportation logistics that makes it available to global consumers.
- spython 3y ago
  A lot of sugar is produced from sugar beet - particularly in climates too cold for sugar cane.
  - jhbadger 3y ago
    The method for extracting sugar from beets was discovered only in the Renaissance (most typically attributed to the French agronomist Olivier de Serres (1539-1619), so medieval people wouldn't have access to beet sugar even if they had beets.
    - masklinn 3y ago
      Not only that but the modern sugar beet is a completely different beast bred for the task, with 10x more sugar than the average food beetroot.
thfuran 3y ago
Precolumbian European cooking was missing a whole lot of now-basic ingredients, among them tomatoes, potatoes, capsicum, and common beans.

Jedd 3y ago

> Also, honey caremelises at a much lower temperature (as low as 70C) compared to sucrose and glucose (~160C) and fructose (~110C). Honey is about 70% fructose + glucose. It's about 16-19% water. So I'm not sure why it would caramelise at significantly lower temperatures than its constituent parts would suggest. My hives may skew slightly as my bees harvest primarily from Australian native trees which can (seasonally) lead to a higher glucose:fructose ratio (and more prone to candying) but a recent composition report follows: Moisture 17.6% pH 4.08 Electrical conductivity 0.32 (mS/cm) Hydroxymethylfurfural 1.7 (mg/kg) Sugar - Fructose 38.8% Sugar - Glucose 29.5% Sugar - Sucrose < 0.5%

Timon3 3y ago
> Honey is about 70% fructose + glucose. > It's about 16-19% water. > So I'm not sure why it would caramelise at significantly lower temperatures than its constituent parts would suggest. Wikipedia states: > The temperature at which caramelization begins varies, depending on the composition, but is typically between 70 and 110 °C (158 and 230 °F). Honey also contains acids, which act as catalysts for caramelization. The specific types of acids and their amounts play a primary role in determining the exact temperature. The citation is "Zdzisław E. Sikorski Chemical and functional properties of food components CRC Press 2007 p. 121 ISBN 0-8493-9675-1". It's not publicly available, so I can't cite it, but if you're really interested you should try to find and read it.
- Modified3019 3y ago
  That’s a fantastic reference, thank you.
- Jedd 3y ago
  I'll try to hunt that down later, but the effect of those acids at very low concentration must be profound to affect the caramelisation of fructose/glucose at such a drastically different temperature. Frustratingly the author of TFA doesn't actually specify temperatures anywhere, just uses the word 'boil' - so I'm guessing it's 100 (celsius, natch). Though I'm assuming the boiling temperature of honey isn't going to be the same as the caramelisation threshold.