The medieval sweet tooth  In her book, Candy: The Sweet History
and Chocolate: The Sweet History, Beth Kimmerle considers the
increased appetite of sweets in medieval Europe. The article
appears on the National Geographic website.  Kimmerle reveals
that sugar became popular after the crusades and was used for
candying fruit and flowers for transport. Other treats also had
roots in the Middle Ages:  Gummy worms' roots are in medieval
Islamic pharmacies, Richardson said. From the seventh and eighth
centuries onward, gums -- made from sugar, fruit, and gum arabic
(the sap of the acacia tree) -- were used to soothe sore throats
and other ills.