On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:31:13 -0500, Bill Truesdell 
>I have difficulty with that since sugar (sucrose) has been sugar since
>the dawn of time, and to change its molecular composition would make it
>something other than sugar.


> It is thought that cane sugar was first used by man in Polynesia from
where it spread to India. In 510 BC the Emperor Darius of what was then
Persia invaded India where he found "the reed which gives honey without
bees". The secret of cane sugar, as with many other of man's discoveries,
was kept a closely guarded secret whilst the finished product was exported
for a rich profit.

> It was the major expansion of the Arab peoples in the seventh century AD
that led to a breaking of the secret. When they invaded Persia in 642 AD
they found sugar cane being grown and learnt how sugar was made. As their
expansion continued they established sugar production in other lands that
they conquered including North Africa and Spain.

> Sugar was only discovered by western Europeans as a result of the Crusades
in the 11th Century AD. Crusaders returning home talked of this "new spice"
and how pleasant it was. The first sugar was recorded in England in 1099.
The subsequent centuries saw a major expansion of western European trade
with the East, including the importation of sugar. It is recorded, for
instance, that sugar was available in London at "two shillings a pound" in
1319 AD. This equates to about US$100 per kilo at today's prices so it was
very much a luxury. 

http://www.sucrose.com/lhist.html

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