21st Century

Sugar has never been cheaper nor more abundant in our diets. Sugar cane is the world’s third most valuable crop and sugar accounts for 20 per cent of calorie consumption. We have come full circle as sweeteners fall further out of favour and ancient sources of sugar make a comeback: honey, stevia, dates, agave nectar, maple syrup. The resurgence of artisan foods sees imaginative new flavour combinations, epitomised by the macaron craze that sweeps Europe in the first decade (one such Hermé macaron combines smoked tea with saffron, iris, carrot and violet).