Sweets & Confections
Sweetness came from honey long before it came from sugar — the rock painting at Cuevas de la Araña shows a honey harvest 8,000 years ago. Sugarcane was domesticated in New Guinea and carried west, and India learned to crystallize its juice into transportable sugar by about 500 CE. Confectionery as a craft follows that crystal: once sweetness could be stored and shipped, it could be shaped.
Explore Sweets & Confections
New Zealand chocolate cornflake biscuitNicaraguan coconut fudgeNigerian crunchy fried pastryNorwegian rolled wafer cookieOmani saffron-cardamom halwaPakistani Multani sohan halwaPalauan coconut candy
Palm sugar / gula melakaPalm-sugar sticky-rice ballsPanamanian coconut candyPapua New Guinean sago-coconut dumplingParaguayan papaya preservePersian nougatPeruvian pumpkin-sweet-potato doughnutsPolish filled doughnuts
Refined white sugarRomanian festive sweet breadRussian apple fruit confectionRwandan sweet fried breadSacher chocolate cakeSaint Lucian cassava-coconut puddingSalvadoran cheese pound cakeSan Marino fruit-and-cornmeal cakeSão Tomé dark chocolateSaudi spiced date-molasses cookieSemolina syrup cakeSenegalese millet-and-yogurt sweetSerbian vanilla jam cookiesSeychellois banana-coconut dessertSierra Leonean coconut candySingapore steamed rice-flour cakesSlovenian rolled nut cakeSolomon Islands cassava-coconut puddingSouthern African syrup-plait pastrySri Lankan oil cakeSudanese syrup doughnutsSurinamese cassava-coconut cakeSwedish princess cakeSweet cornmeal ribel with applesauceSweet sorghum porridgeSyrian sesame-pistachio biscuitTajik whipped sweet foamTanzanian peanut or coconut brittleThai pinched egg-yolk sweetTimorese coconut rice cakeTongan dumplings in coconut caramelTrinidadian spiced sugar-coated sticksTurin hazelnut chocolateTurkish delightTurkmen fried sweet doughTuvaluan coconut puddingUruguayan meringue-peach cakeUzbek whipped sugar sweetVanuatu cassava-coconut puddingVenezuelan caramel flanVietnamese glutinous-rice balls in ginger syrupVincentian sweet potato puddingYellow coconut sweetYemeni honey-layered breadZambian sweet fritters
Palm sugar / gula melakaPalm-sugar sticky-rice ballsPanamanian coconut candyPapua New Guinean sago-coconut dumplingParaguayan papaya preservePersian nougatPeruvian pumpkin-sweet-potato doughnutsPolish filled doughnutsRefined white sugarRomanian festive sweet breadRussian apple fruit confectionRwandan sweet fried breadSacher chocolate cakeSaint Lucian cassava-coconut puddingSalvadoran cheese pound cakeSan Marino fruit-and-cornmeal cakeSão Tomé dark chocolateSaudi spiced date-molasses cookieSemolina syrup cakeSenegalese millet-and-yogurt sweetSerbian vanilla jam cookiesSeychellois banana-coconut dessertSierra Leonean coconut candySingapore steamed rice-flour cakesSlovenian rolled nut cakeSolomon Islands cassava-coconut puddingSouthern African syrup-plait pastrySri Lankan oil cakeSudanese syrup doughnutsSurinamese cassava-coconut cakeSwedish princess cakeSweet cornmeal ribel with applesauceSweet sorghum porridgeSyrian sesame-pistachio biscuitTajik whipped sweet foamTanzanian peanut or coconut brittleThai pinched egg-yolk sweetTimorese coconut rice cakeTongan dumplings in coconut caramelTrinidadian spiced sugar-coated sticksTurin hazelnut chocolateTurkish delightTurkmen fried sweet doughTuvaluan coconut puddingUruguayan meringue-peach cakeUzbek whipped sugar sweetVanuatu cassava-coconut puddingVenezuelan caramel flanVietnamese glutinous-rice balls in ginger syrupVincentian sweet potato puddingYellow coconut sweetYemeni honey-layered breadZambian sweet fritters