It's funny to think that once upon a time sugar was so precious it was kept locked up in its own dedicated safe. In America these are known as "sugar chests", y

It's funny to think that once upon a time sugar was so precious it was kept locked up in its own dedicated safe. In America these are known as "sugar chests", you can fairly commonly find them as antiques. King Louis XVI kept his sugar in a locked container and kept the key with him. He would open it up for special guests and personally delivered small amounts of sugar to each person. Similarly, in French noble households it was common for the man of the house to control the sugar-key, and to distribute small amounts of sugar to the family as he saw fit.