In our modern day and age, sugar is found in tiny grains, or even sometimes in a cube form. This method of refining sugar only came into existence at the beginning of the 20th Century. So, what did people do with sugar before?
Sugar used to be refined into what was called a Sugarloaf, a tall cone shape with a rounded top. Although we view it as a funny looking way to refine sugar, historians believe that people in Jordan have been making sugarloaves since at least the 12th Century!
Typically, the bigger the sugarloaf, the lower the grade of sugar. If you wanted a lot of sugar that wasn't very sweet, then you would buy a big loaf. However, if you wanted a really strong sweet taste, you would buy a very small sugarloaf. A small sugarloaf was approximately 5 inches high and 5 inches in diameter at the base. A large sugarloaf was anywhere from 10-14 inches in diameter at the base, and up to 30 inches tall!
If you've got a sweet tooth, check out the source to learn how sugarloaves were made!