Sweet and Low, is a hilarious story about the Eisenstadt family, who invented the artificial sweetener, Sweet and Low. Richard Cohen, the author and disinherited grandson of Ben Eisenstadt, the founder of the company, writes this scathing, witty book about the rise and fall of his family financially and morally.

Sweet and Low cover

The actual history of the product is fascinating in and of itself. Ben actually invented the sugar packet first (after being grossed out by the open sugar bowls in diners) but naivelly (without a patent) took his idea to the Domino sugar company who said thanks and then started manufacturing the packets themselves. He then came up with the idea for an artifical sweetener and the rest is history. Remember your childhood - the sound every morning of your mother shaking that pink packet back and forth before she added it to her coffee. Sweet and Low dominated the market for almost 40 years. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that Equal came on the market and Splenda even more recently.

This book though is so much more than a history of artificial sweeteners. It is a hilarious and scathing portrayal of a dysfunctional Jewish, Brooklyn family (an oxymoron) who let greed, pride and jealousy drive the family apart. Cohen’s relatives are so rich in character: his grandma who clearly wears the pants in the family; his uncle, Marvin, who takes over the day to day running of the business and ends up involved with the Mafia (knowingly or unknowingly is unanswered); his crazy Aunt Gladys who doesn’t leave the house in 30 years but ends up manipulating the grandma to disinherit the mother, etc. etc.

Cohen’s writing is so good that instead of coming across as a bitter diatribe against his family, the reader feels like they are being let in on a funny joke. It is such an enjoyable read. This book delivers the guilty pleasure of reading juicy gossip balanced with a description of the inner workings of a successful American company.