Name/Title
Sugar NippersEntry/Object ID
1975.33.1Description
Iron sugar nippers. The nipping ends feature papyrus fans and the handle joint includes an incised rosette.Use
Sugar nippers are specialized tools used to cut small portions from a sugar cone. These blocks are then crushed into granulated sugar using a mortar and pestle.Context
Now commonplace, sugar was once a rare commodity, rationed out in small amounts due to its high value. After enslaved people harvested sugar cane from plantations in the Caribbean, the American South, and northeast South America, the crop was processed into liquefied sugar, which was poured into cone-shaped molds. Once cooled, these hard cones of sugar—also known as sugar loaves—were wrapped in paper and imported throughout Europe and the American colonies. These cones varied in weight, ranging from five pounds to over 25 pounds, with pricing dependent on the level of refinement—a process that involved using lime and clay to remove molasses from the crushed sugar cane.
Heavier cones of sugar were likely used in kitchens for cooking, thus requiring large, plain sugar nippers. Smaller, more refined and expensive sugar cones were kept in lockable decorative sugar boxes in parlors, accompanied by more ornate sugar nippers, for serving during tea.
Sugar loaves and sugar nippers are much less commonplace today due to the availability of granulated sugar.
