There are said to be five tastes. Salty, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami. Of these, sweet is the most universally craved.
Humans and many animals have an intense sweet tooth. It is baked into our very cells. Sweetness represents safety and nourishment.
Our bodies require sugar to run. Carbohydrates are converted to sugar to produce ATP, the fuel for our cellular engine.
Still, sugar metabolism is complex and can go very wrong. More is not necessarily better. And too much sweetness can be cloying.
Like a top note in fragrance it can be used more liberally than bitter or salty flavors. Not just for dessert, there are many foods that get their popularity from just a hint of sweetness.
So essential is this to our well being that it spills over into our language, our culture, and our metaphysical space.
We call people we love and those we are attracted to “honey” and “Sweetie”. When we marry we take a honeymoon.
And speaking of Moons, the ones that fall in the summer months when food is plentiful get the sweet names.
Abundant food and abundance in general is a key to a sweet life. This has been true for all of our history.
For a few centuries we tricked nature and forgot what we were. But we are about to relearn.
May your year ahead be full of health, friendship and prosperity. That is the soul of sweetness.
What is your relationship with sweetness? Do you crave it? Or avoid it? What are your favorite sweet foods? If you have a sweet tooth how do you tame it?
What is sweet to you aside from food? How would you live the sweet life?
If you have thoughts on this, please comment.
I have a pretty unhealthy relationship with sweet stuff, almost certainly due to the way I grew up. I'm not blaming anyone, just figuring out where all this came from.
I almost always enjoy something sweet (and unhealthy - fruit won't do!) at night. I'm talking about chocolate with peanut butter, or ice cream, or maybe even sweet cheap candy I grew up enjoying. I think it's part comfort, part nostalgia, part caveman instinct.
I was blessed (cursed?) with a sweet tooth that I indulged during most of my life. Now, I limit added sugar. When I overindulge I feel it in my aching joints, so I have to be careful. Because I am normally low sugar, I also notice brain fog, and sort of a sugar hangover the next day. I am trying my best to stay healthy as long as I can at 66. In an afternoon slump, I may have a slice of sourdough bread with some fruit preserves (because I used to love my jelly donuts!)
P.S. Shanah Tova to you and yours