Sweets & Beverages

Appears in
Street Foods
Street Foods

By Hinnerk von Bargen and Culinary Institute of America

Published 2015

  • About

Most street food is bought on impulse. Delectable aromas from mobile kitchens will grab attention and trigger an appetite. A stroll on the boardwalk, even after a filling meal, is often accompanied by an ice cream cone. Sweet foods, like the perfect ice cream cone, crunchy Beignets, or freshly squeezed lemonade, are especially difficult to resist. A preference for all things sweet is hardwired into our brain.

Sweet snacks are not designed for satiation; they are a treat, satisfying our sweet tooth or catering to our desires and cravings, sometimes even vicariously. When parents hand a large cloud of cotton candy to their cheerful children, gratification is instant—for kids as well as for Mom and Dad. The emotional aspect of sweet food is especially evident when time-honored and well-remembered sweets bring immediate flashbacks of happy memories, even from the most distant childhood.