It’s always confused me the way sugar was treated as a staple for so long.

In descriptions of daily life in the 19th century, you’ll see a provisions list like “flour, canned beans, dried meat, tallow, loaf of sugar…”

When the going was rough, why was it so important for people to have such a useless delicacy as sugar? Even the Donner Party prioritized it if my reading recollection is right.