@mattskala@xahlee most ancient food preservation was of six kinds: burying/candying, fermentation, salting, spicing, smoking, or desiccation. Within smoking might be use of sulphur products, though I doubt knowingly so. Article on ancient egyptian honeyed preserves: http://bit.ly/2k2VjU8
@xahlee we used to make rock candy as kids; it's still a thing. You'll find it in places themed "old fashioned" -- it was available at several historical sites in our state parks, and occasionally, might be found in a gas station or country store. It's certainly for sale on Amazon at ridiculously high prices: https://www.amazon.com/Cotton-Individually-Wrapped-Crystal-Sticks/dp/B00OGQH9FS
@xahlee Not exactly -- in the USA, it's usually called "Rock Candy." It's not nearly as popular as it used to be, but we certainly had it, and in some places, you can still find it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_candy
No updates on my home column for the last two days despite new content from people I follow here and elsewhere, missing content from friends followed on other networks... is something wrong? censorship?