II. Desserts with Syrup

Sugar cane was introduced to the Mesopotamian region around the fourth century ad. Before that, the most used sweetening agents were date syrup and the more expensive honey. A large number of fried pastries dipped in syrup were developed by the medieval cooks. If most of the dessert recipes in al-Warraq’s cookbook used honey, that was because the cuisine it represented was that of caliphs, princes, and dignitaries. Syrup made with cane sugar and flavored with rose water was the choice of the less privileged.