"Sugar is the new tobacco"

Although most of my posts have included sugar in a jovial manner, it is important to highlight the real health risks that sugar poses in our everyday lives. 

In an NHS article, "Is sugar causing the obesity 'epidemic'?" (January 2014), it is recognised that there is a link between "high sugar consumption and the rise in obesity and diabetes". 

Professor Simon Capewell, of the University of Liverpool, stated that "sugar is the new tobacco. Everywhere, sugary drinks and junk foods are now pressed on unsuspecting parents and children...". Nonetheless, as the NHS body point out, there is more than one variable to consider in the contribution to Britain's obesity "problem". 

Government campaigns, such as the Change4Life campaign encourage the public to cut the amount of sugar in their diets, and opting for sugar-free or reduced sugar varieties instead. 

As with the books we've looked at in this blog, sugar can be dangerous and deceptive. The witch in Hansel and Gretel uses her sugar house to tempt the children in, and the sugary treats in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, allows us to see the risks of gluttony. 

If you're interested in the NHS article, follow the link below.

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/01january/pages/sugar-obesity-qa.aspx#tobacco 

"Run, run, as fast as you can,You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"

(The Gingerbread Boy)

These were the mischevious words of the Gingerbread Boy, in a tale first printed in 1875, in the May issue of St Nicholas Magazine.

The fairytale starts with "a little old woman and a little old man, [who] lived by themselves in a little old house". The use of the word "little" implies the poverty in which the man and woman live in. The story then goes on to say that "They had no little boys and no little girls". As a child reader, this made me sad. Two "little old" people surely deserve to have children, don't they? 

"One day, the little old woman said to the little old man, "I shall make a little boy out of gingerbread"

Alas, respite was given to my sticky little mind, and - as with all the children's books we have looked at - a sweet treat is given to the readers to make them feel happy again and it's clear that sugar is used in this tale to sweeten the old couple's situation. This time, however, the characters aren't urged to EAT the sugar, as it comes in the form of a little gingerbread boy! Instead, like the old couple, the reader wants to look after him and treat him like a normal little boy. 

As an adult reader, it seems ludicrous that somebody would make a son out of gingerbread because they hadn't had any children. It could even be argued that Freud's unheimlich or uncanny can be applied to this fairytale. 

On the other hand, my young mind was convinced that I had cracked it. THIS is how children are made. 

Don't have a child? No problem, all you need is:

100g of gingerbread

A shape cutter (girl or boy, it's really up to you)

2 fat currants for the eyes

Bits of lemon peel for the nose and mouth

Sugar for the coating (otherwise known as 'skin')

Method:  mix the gingerbread, until flesh-like. Roll the gingerbread on a lightly floured surface and cut the shape of either your little boy or little girl. Place on a baking tin. Put the sugary skin on your little child-to-be; remember to make this layer moderately thick. Add the currants and lemon peel, wherever you want - it's your child after all. Pop into a pre-heated oven and cry "Oho! Now I shall have a little gingerbread boy [or girl] of my own"

"The little old woman put the gingerbread boy into the oven to bake"

In an hour or so, you should have a warm, sugary child, who will try to get away from you, the first chance they get. 

Ta-daaaaaa.

N.B. If you want multiple children, just increase the quantities to suit.

It is important to know, however, that the oven was seen as a symbol for the womb or "transformation of life" (Zach Kopinski's Blog: http://zachkopinski.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/new-look-at-gingerbread-man.html )

Of course, however, the gingerbread boy doesn't get too far - after encountering a cow and a horse, he met a "sly old fox". 

As a child, who was well versed in Chicken Licken, I knew that THIS IS BAD. 

As it so happens, the gingerbread boy and the fox encounter a river which the little boy cannot cross without the help of the sly animal. 

"Little gingerbread boy, you are too heavy for my back...Jump onto my nose"

Predictable as it may be, the gingerbread boy is "tossed" into the air and gobbled up by the fox. 

I chose this tale for my blog because I think it's interesting to recognize that here, it's the sugar that's being tempted by an animal. In Hansel and Gretel and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, sugar is used as a medium to corrupt the children in the respective books and is used as a device to lure a child reader in. 

"The fox opened his mouth and snap went his teeth"

Bye-bye, Gingerbread Boy. 

"It was a warm, bubbly, mushy nectar, sweet and tangy. It felt like heaven as it flowed over his dry mouth and down his parched throat"

(Holes)

In Louis Sachar's novel Holes (1998), Stanley Yelnats is sent to Camp Green Lake as a punishment for being accused of stealing some trainers. At the camp, he meets Zero, a young boy who he forms a friendship with.

Readers are told that a hundred and ten years prior to Stanley and his story, Green Lake was "the largest lake in Texas...It was especially beautiful in the spring, when the peach tress, which lined the shore, bloomed with pink and rose-coloured blossoms". Peaches are emphasised greatly in this back-story, as readers follow Miss Katherine Barlow and her famous spiced peaches. 

Peaches are traditionally a Chinese symbol for vitality and purity. It is significant that Sachar uses this fruit in particular, as it reflects the nature of Miss Katherine Barlow; sweet and gentle. Her spiced peaches were said to be "food for the angels", and this is echoed in the respite the old 'sploosh' gives Stanley and Zero, when they are stranded in the desert.  

In contrast to the previous books we've looked at, the sweet treat in Holes is peaches, something natural and seen as typically nutritious. The peaches save Stanley and Zero from dehydration, and some readers may even be left with a craving for peaches; especially after the "warm, bubbly, mushy nectar" which is described. 

I chose this book to compare with the likes of Hansel and Gretel, or The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; because readers witness the sugary fruit provide much needed sustenance - albeit minimal - for Zero and Stanley; that is, the sugary ‘sploosh’ is their saviour in the hot desert.   

Here's a recipe I found on https://www.scholastic.com/holes/popups/peachrecipes.htm......They are DELICIOUS.

Kissin’ Kate Barlow’s Spiced Peaches

In the book, the residents of Green Lake call Miss Katherine’s spiced peaches “food for the angels.” If you’d like to try a taste of heaven, here’s a recipe to help you and an adult re-create Kate Barlow’s prize-winning spiced peaches.

Ingredients

1 can (29 ounces) peach halves, drained (save the syrup in a separate bowl)

2/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

In a saucepan, combine 2/3 cup of the peach syrup with all the other ingredients except the peaches. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Pour over peaches. Cool, then cover and chill for at least 24 hours (or 110 years!).

Bring to room temperature and eat. Any leftover peaches will keep in the refrigerator for a week.

Serves 6.