Sugar-breaking tongs were used to break and cut the sugar loaf.
Before being shaped into small rectangles or cubes, sugar came in the form of a conical loaf of 1 to 3 kilos, wrapped in greaseproof paper or newspaper.
It would be in the 14th century that the sugar loaf was invented by the Venetians.
It is at this precise moment that the sugar tongs come into play, because the sugar was sold by weight and it had to be crushed with a pick, a hammer, an axe, or pliers before consuming it in small quantities.
Sugar at the time was a rare and expensive condiment
The sugar-breaking tongs have the same shape as a pair of scissors, except that the end is made up of two half-choppers that are tapered, smooth or notched, at the end of each grip and that they come together and touch when the tongs are closed.
WEIGHT: 325 g
LENGTH: 23 cm