Carol:
Getting Your Just Desserts
Because eating sweets first will spoil your dinner.
Because your parents (or their parents) always did it that way.
Because it’s the way people in your community, state, or country do it.
Because it’s good to exercise delayed gratification (unless you don’t like sweets)
My quick research confirms that the idea of dessert as a course in a meal is relatively new but not the idea of sweet foods, which until the 19th century were mostly sweetened with honey or fruits. All kinds of seasonal pies were in the repertoire of Colonial American housewives. The 19th century publication The National Cook book: by a Lady of Philadelphia (Peterson) lists over 3 pages of desserts, ranging from quince, apple, and potato puddings to plum and peach pies to blackberry mush and Parsnip cake. Not a processed dessert to be had, all baked from seasonal fruits and grains. Sugar was just too expensive for ordinary homes. As sugar became affordable in the 19th century, the number of sugar products multiplied: peanut brittle, candy floss, chocolate bars, marshmallows, toffee, etc, (source: Lambert)
Because your parents (or their parents) always did it that way.
Because it’s the way people in your community, state, or country do it.
Because it’s good to exercise delayed gratification (unless you don’t like sweets)
My quick research confirms that the idea of dessert as a course in a meal is relatively new but not the idea of sweet foods, which until the 19th century were mostly sweetened with honey or fruits. All kinds of seasonal pies were in the repertoire of Colonial American housewives. The 19th century publication The National Cook book: by a Lady of Philadelphia (Peterson) lists over 3 pages of desserts, ranging from quince, apple, and potato puddings to plum and peach pies to blackberry mush and Parsnip cake. Not a processed dessert to be had, all baked from seasonal fruits and grains. Sugar was just too expensive for ordinary homes. As sugar became affordable in the 19th century, the number of sugar products multiplied: peanut brittle, candy floss, chocolate bars, marshmallows, toffee, etc, (source: Lambert)
The answer to why desserts are eaten at the end of a meal may come from the origin of the word itself The name is derived from from the French verb “desservir,” meaning to clear the table. So, the dessert was a way to clear the mouth of the tastes of a multi-course meal with something sweet (source: Hassan). That’s why at fancy restaurants you may get a little scoop of sherbet in between several heavy courses as a way to “cleanse” the palate when moving from one rich or spicy item to the next.
Most cultures have traditional desserts that are served at holidays, Easter season being one of those ritual occasions. In Greece, the traditional Easter meal may finish with Tsoureki, a yeast bread flavored with orange and a special spice ground from wild cherry pits, or a sweet, hand-shaped pastry called Koulourakia. In England, the Easter meal may end with a Simnel cake, a fruit cake topped with 11 Marzipan balls that represent all of the apostles except for Judas. The traditional plate of a Jewish seder meal of Pesach (Passover) includes a sweet concoction called charoset made with honey, cinnamon, nuts, apples and other ingredients particular to different culture that symbolizes the bricks made by the Hebrews during their Egyptian enslavement. After the Passover meal, the dessert table may include a variety of kosher desserts , including macaroons.
In our home, Easter traditions often reversed the notion of “saving the dessert for last.” When our children were young, I loved to get an Easter basket together for each one, filled with a variety of decorated hard-boiled eggs, jelly beans, chocolates, etc. The rules were bent as we popped a Cadbury Crème in our mouth or bit off the ears of a Chocolate bunny. Brunch usually came after church, so the eggs and ham were eaten after the sweets. This year we will have to be careful as chocolate is poisonous to dogs (see yesterday’s theme on “table manners). Why the dessert course last? Because.
Sources:
Peterson, Hannah Mary Bouvier. The national cook book.: By a lady of Philadelphia. A practical housewife ; and author of the "Family save-all." The Making of America website
Hassan, Taugeer Ui. “A Short History of Desserts.” Ezinearticles.
Lambert, Tim> A Brief History of Sweets
Peterson, Hannah Mary Bouvier. The national cook book.: By a lady of Philadelphia. A practical housewife ; and author of the "Family save-all." The Making of America website
Hassan, Taugeer Ui. “A Short History of Desserts.” Ezinearticles.
Lambert, Tim> A Brief History of Sweets
Megan:
Googling this topic turns up a number of answers to the question it poses. Some are joking (“To keep the kids at the table”); some are scientific (“to slow the absorption of the sugar and avoid sudden changes in blood glucose levels”); and some that don’t make much sense (“it helps you digest the food you already ate”).
My theory is that the food that is worst for you is served last so that you will eat less of it. Most of the time, especially when I eat in restaurants, I don’t have room left in my stomach to have dessert. To avoid this problem, I occasionally go to a place and only order dessert.
This may be the dumbest topic yet. I don’t have anything else to add. Except maybe this:
My theory is that the food that is worst for you is served last so that you will eat less of it. Most of the time, especially when I eat in restaurants, I don’t have room left in my stomach to have dessert. To avoid this problem, I occasionally go to a place and only order dessert.
This may be the dumbest topic yet. I don’t have anything else to add. Except maybe this:
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