History
The first records of the use of confectionery products date back to ancient
Greek times, when among other things the Greeks made πλακοῦς (plakous, or
focaccia), a type of dessert prepared with oatmeal mixed with honey and cheese.
Sweets were also consumed fairly widely in ancient Rome, some of which carried
an auspicious meaning, as in the confarreatio, a ceremony that took its name
from the spelt focaccia (panis farreus) which the spouses shared as a symbol of
their future life together, and offered to Jupiter.
The use of sweets in cooking has seen remarkable growth over the last four
centuries, alongside the greater availability of certain ingredients on the
market — sugar first and foremost. For centuries, the sweet element in cooking
came mainly from fruit, must, and above all honey, which was added as a
complementary ingredient to many other foods. Around the year 900 AD, honey was
joined by cane sugar, imported as a spice from Arab territories. It was only
from the 1500s onward that sugar imported from the Americas became a more
common ingredient, along with cocoa. Beet sugar would later make Europe
self-sufficient in the preparation of sweets, sharply cutting import costs and
giving a considerable boost to confectionery production.
(source: Wikipedia)
(Selection 2026)