From the pages of Clement Moore's beloved poem "The Night Before Christmas," we know that visions of sugar plums danced in the heads of Victorian children on Christmas Eve; yet, few of of us can define the exact substance of these sweet immortal treats. Very simply, sugar plums are a combination of dried fruits and special nuts seasoned with spices and exotic flavourings. This mixture is then lightly rolled in SUGAR - and therein lies the magic of the vision. In 1822, sugar was very expensive and not widely available so that those who received such a wonderful delicacy were very fortunate indeed!
Clement Clarke Moore was a wealthy man of British descent who lived in New York City. These were times of tremendous social change as waves of new immigrants arrived on the shores of the "New World". They all had a dream - a vision of prosperity in a new land - and in that spirit, his poem was full of hope that the children might have sugar plums to celebrate Christmas day. Only two hand written copies are known to exist today - one at the New York Public Library and the other, at the Fredericton Museum in New Brunswick. A third copy is thought to be held in the hands of a private collector. It is well documented that Moore's godfather was a Canadian gentleman, Reverend Dr. Jonathan O'dell. He and Moore's father were close friends in the days before the American Revolution and the poem was sent as a gift to O'dell's grandchildren.
The story of sugar plums unfolds in British history spanning several centuries. In Shakespeare's time, they were better known as "comfits", a term that was clearly defined by an English historian, P. Pomet in 1748:
"There are infinite variety of flowers, seeds, berries, kernels, plums, and the like which are by the confectioners, cover'd with sugar and bear the Name of Sugar Plums."
As early as Henry IV's wedding feast in 1403, sugar plums were a featured delicacy - something reserved only for kings and the privileged classes. It was the Crusaders returning from the Holy Wars (circa 1100 A.D.) who first carried the flavours of the Mediterranean to the British palate - ginger, lemons, oranges, raisins, figs, apricots, dates, and - most of all - SUGAR. Sugar plums became known to western Europe after the 8th century when Arab trade routes expanded westward. The Arabs used almonds and pistachio nuts, commonly mixed with dried fruits and held together with a little sesame oil. They shaped them into balls and dusted them with sugar, a tradition that gave root to the British sugar plum.
During the first century A.D., sugar cane originating from India was known to the Romans. Each of the ingredients of sugar plums has an ancient history in itself, most notably, the fig. It may well be the oldest food known to primitive man for it was the fig tree that overshadowed the twin founders of Rome as an emblem of the future prosperity of the human race. Ultimately, it is the early written and pictorial records of the ancient Egyptians which best illustrate the concept of a sugar plum. Their sweets were crudely molded from a mixture of figs, dates, nuts, and spices and included honey as a sweetener, sugar being unknown at that time.
And so, sugar plums shepherd in the Christmas season with a historical perspective. Passed from the hands of the ancient Egyptians, Arabs, Crusaders, and stately kings, these sugar plums bear with them the warmth of ages past. They offer to you only the very best wishes for prosperity in the future - truly, "gifts of the Magi"!
Beatrice Diana Bowyer
R.R. #4 Simcoe, Ontario, Canada N3Y 4K3
Phone: (519) 426-7262
Fax: (519) 426-1555
Email: beatrice@nornet.on.ca
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