this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2025
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It tastes so fucking good, though (lemmy.world)
submitted 6 days ago by PugJesus to c/historymemes
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[–] PugJesus 30 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (2 children)

Explanation: One of the favorite sweeteners of Romans was a concoction called defrutum, which was ~~wine~~ grape juice boiled down into a sweet syrup. Sounds harmless enough, right?

Well, it was boiled down into syrup in lead vessels. Specifically, lead vessels, because copper and iron alloys left an aftertaste; whereas lead reacted with the wine and made the resulting syrup sweeter.

What's worse, the Romans knew lead was unhealthy, both short and long-term.

But hell, what were the rich supposed to do?! Eat their fancy fruit and ice desserts without additional sweeteners??

[–] [email protected] 24 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Actually, they didn't use wine, but grape juice (mustum) as it contains more sugar.
Cheap white wine containing lead acetate as sweetener instead of expensive sugar was also responsible for the fate of our dear composer Ludwig van Beethoven.

[–] PugJesus 9 points 6 days ago

Interesting, I didn't know that!

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

To one up the backward Romans who enjoyed eating one particular poison to flavour their food .... we developed hundreds of new chemical compounds and substances where we know the side effects, some we have clue what will do to people and others that we will find out the negative effects of in a hundred years time.

Now excuse me while I dine on my scientifically flavoured Doritos made with edible pulp and my chemically enhanced and sweetened Mountain Dew.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 6 days ago (2 children)

[–] ChicoSuave 11 points 5 days ago

And it doesn't even taste good! At least lead was a sweetener so there was pretext of continuing to do stupid shit for comfort.

[–] PugJesus 8 points 6 days ago (1 children)

We never learn, it would seem.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 days ago

We do learn ... we just do things from the past faster, with more variety, with more volume and in a shorter space of time.

[–] deathmetal27 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I need this template.

[–] PugJesus 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

[–] deathmetal27 2 points 5 days ago

Thanks