By the 7th century, Arab traders were carrying sugar across the Middle East, North Africa, and into Europe. They called it “the sweet salt,” and it became a luxury for the rich. Can you imagine a medieval king demanding brown sugar for his porridge? The brown, unrefined variety was actually the first kind of sugar most people encountered—because refining it white was costly and time-consuming. So brown sugar wasn’t a “flavor choice” back then; it was the original, the real deal.
Then came the Age of Exploration, and sugar became a global game-changer. European colonists established enormous sugarcane plantations in the Caribbean and South America. The process of making sugar—both brown and white—was brutal, driven by enslaved labor, which is a sobering part of history we must acknowledge. But here’s the uplifting twist: the molasses that created brown sugar also became the base for rum, which turned into a currency of its own. Brown sugar helped fuel economies, cocktails, and even revolutions—talk about a versatile ingredient!
Sugar History Timeline at Sarah Solomon blog
