The History of Sugar.

21 Oct 2005-19 Feb 2006. A subject dear to everyones heart and tastebuds is explored in depth at the Amsterdam Historisch Museum as of this month with an exhibition all about sugar. From the period when cane sugar was introduced to Amsterdam at the end of the 16th century this exhibition illustrates the history of sugar in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Cultivation of sugarcane by the Dutch in Brazil and Surinam led later to the discovery and development of home grown sugar-beet in the 19th century. The exhibition traces the growth of the many sugar refineries and confectioners which began in Amsterdam in 1620. Paintings of the period are displayed alongside antique silver and china sugar servers, and the interior of the de Granaatappel (the Pomegranate) sugar refinery has been recreated inside the museum.

The slavery on the sugar plantations in the Dutch colonies in the West Indies is another facet of the exhibition, that led to a second golden age of prosperity in the Netherlands. Nowadays sugar is everywhere and in (practically) everything as the exhibition points out, displaying a supermarket shelf with tins of peas and tomato sauce- with sugar this time as the hidden ingredient. Admission 6, 4.50, 3.00. Mon-Fri 10.00-17.00, Sat-Sun and national holidays 11.00-17.00.