"When they came closer, they saw that the little house was built entirely from bread with a roof made of cake, and the windows were made of clear sugar" 

(Hansel and Gretel)

Hansel and Gretel is a beloved fairytale, written by Jacob and Wilhem Grimm, first published in 1812. 

As most of us know, it is a story about two young siblings, Hansel and Gretel, who fall for an evil witch's plan to tempt them into her house by building a house made of sugary treats in order to lure the young children in. 

As a child, being read Hansel and Gretel was always a melancholy experience - could the food I loved (everything sugary) be used as bait for young children, by an evil witch with "red eyes" and "a sense of smell like animals"? 

Indeed, the glorious illustrations accompanying the tale always filled my mind with indulgent pastries and soft, sugary breads. But I became increasingly aware of the dangers of sugar in books: it seemed as if sweet treats were given to trap young children, tear them away from their lives of comfort and safety; and plunge them in to a world with evil witches and scary monsters.

This definitely is the case in Hansel and Gretel, however the moment of their liberation is a celebration of children against witches; a time where any child reader can be returned safely back to the comfort of the real world, where the only sugar houses existing are the gingerbread houses made at Christmas time.