Written by Andaç Baran
28 Jan 2017
Without any hesitation, I may say that Turkey is the land of sugar and pastry. All kind of sweets and pastries are the undividable part of Turkish cuisine and every time we find a chance to eat, we will definitely eat something sugary. Even though, I am not a big fan of sweet stuffs, this is the reality of my local culture. Also it is not a new trend emerging as a result of fancy commercials and huge advertisement budgets. Sweets have always been a part of Turkish cousine. I have to underline that Turkish delight, paste, milky desserts and pastry desserts were the sweet part of the Ottoman cuisine and refers to the fact that all kinds of sugar leave deep traces in our culture. As a matter of fact, we have dozens of songs mentioning about our obsession with desserts…
Apparently, studying in Sweden was a wise call in this regard. I have read in the newspapers that Swedish people are eating more candy, especially during holiday seasons and Easter than any of other major countries. In Agriculture’s consumption statistics of Sweden, the ministry looks at the average of different goods each year, and candy plays the leading role.
The statistics show that Swedes eat more sweets (chocolates and confectionery) now than they did in the 1970s and 80s. The figures for 2016 are preliminary so it is too early to conclude that candy consumption decreases or increases. Yet the statistic shows that 2015 was the top year. And thanks to the increasing population, 2016 will probably top over 2015.
What statistics show is that Swedes consumed around 16 kg of candy per person annually in recent years. During the 1970s and 1980s, the figure was between 9 and 10 kg per person per year. Swedish population has increased their candy consumption by 60%.
A family of 4 consumes 1.2 kilograms candy of the week. This translates into an average 16 kg per person per year. It gets 0.3 kg per person per week. For a family of four sums up to 1.2 kg a week.
Yet, I have to admit that in Turkey, we consume sugar in pastry form rather than what Swedes do. I have added some photos showing how two sugar possessive nations prefer their desserts.
Before concluding, I have to warn you that too much sugar will kill you!
